stesch_s10 wrote:Awesome hunt and memories! Where in South Dakota did you go?
South of Miller, near Wall Lake. My Mom grew up out there and we hunt the old farm and my cousins' farms.
Our first trip, with my son, Dad, brother, and nephew, was for 4 days during the first week in November. On 3 of those days we got our limit in under 4 hours each day. The last day we didn't get our limit, but we also didn't get to hunt a full day.
Over the first weekend in December, my son & I went back out for 3 days. Unlike our normal group of 5 to 8 hunters, we ended up with large groups of 12 to 16 hunters. At one point we had 10 dogs in the field.
I don't like hunting with large groups like that, but we were asked to join by one of my cousins and I wasn't about to turn him down.
The best part of the trips this year is that my son finally figured out how to shoot. Last year he struggled to get any. This year he managed to shoot his own limit both times. It's such a joy to watch your dog point a bird, your son flush and shoot the bird, then your dog chase and retrieve the bird. This year, when we'd get close to our limit, I'd leave the gun behind and bring the camera. Next year I'll have to bring the video recorder.
I had heard the bird population was down 50% in SoDak this year compared to last year. From what we saw, it was down, but nowhere near that bad.
IIRC, you're from the Redfield area, right? I'll have to find out my cousin's wife's family's name. I think she's from that area.
