Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Blinged Chickens



The blinged chicken hunting has been excellent this year in the wilds of Kansas. So far the weather has been fairly cooperative. As usual there was a brisk wind that sucked up what little moisture there was, really could have used some snow tho’.
Opening weekend was really good but as usual all the dumber ones were dispatched fairly early. As the weekend progressed the smarter ones became wilder as the hours passed.
Our “gang” consisted of six guns and four dogs and we dispatched a good many of those colorful creatures. It is a good thing that we don’t have to hunt the public areas only as there were some very large “war parties” tramping around. Every group that you talked to had a good hunt and a good harvest. The motel where we stay sets up a bird cleaning station complete with running water for the patrons every year. This year the dumpster seemed to contain a good deal more of the leavins’ than the past couple of years.
This past Thanksgiving weekend we also had some excellent hunting and dog work. The weekend was cut short due to a family catastrophe which I will not discuss now.
Our dogs had many points and retrieves which made the trips even more enjoyable. Due to the dog work and the accuracy of some of the shooters we managed to put a good many birds in the freezer.
Due to my macular degeneration in my left (master) eye I am in the process of trying to learn to shoot right-handed after shooting left-handed for sixty one years. It is very challenging and my results are far from successful. After several points  my dog Guy pointed a rooster that I managed to put in the dirt (for my first right-handed kill) and he made a perfect to hand retrieve for me all-in-all that made my trip(s). Per my poor math skills I figger that that bird cost me approximately $484 and change, again I re-iterate that it was well worth it.
I will be making at least one more trip to the wilds of Kansas around Christmas time and again, hopefully another in January. I am planning to bring the cost per bird down dramatically!! Wish me luck.
At the very least my supply of pheasant tails has increased dramatically!