Southbound tomorrow!
 

Well, it's that time of year for myself and Zippo, we are headed south to team up with Oldgutpile for our annual Alberta Bird Safari.
Sadly, Hornhead will not be joining us this year nor will sdvc , and our week long trip is going to be cut down to three days, but what can an old guy do?:thinking-006:
Ordnance will be downsized as well, no muzzle loaders this year, probably just my 12 BP cartridge gun and my 20 gauge .
For those that have met Louie, this will likely be his last hard go, he is 12 now and slowing down a bit- but then I'm getting slower as well! LOL.
It seems this hunting season so far has been nothing but delays and set backs, but Hope springs eternal!:sHa_shakeshout:
Cat

Sounds like you'll have a great time!

You're going to post pics afterwards, I hope!

Giver heck Cat and Louie, every day you spend behind a dog in the field is like a day in heaven, enjoy:)

Good luck pics and report after good sir

Good luck Cat. I’m sure you guys will have a great hunt! Pics, pics, pics….

Safe travels & Happy Hunting!!!!

Good luck Cat, great time of the year to be out chasing birds. Look forward to the story and pics from your adventure!

Thanks guys!
For those that live down there it may not be a big deal but for us Northetn boys it takes a full day just to get down and back so yeah, it 's a big deal for us!:)
Cat

Same as us going north… something I dearly love to do.

Have fun guys!...:)

Enjoy the trip, every day in the field with family and friends is a special time.

Good luck on the hunts, Cat, looking forward to the pics!!

Have a great shoot Cat

Walk off that turkey dinner:sHa_shakeshout:

Great weather forecast for the next week in the Lethbridge area. 23 on Sun :) Might appear to be a bit breezy for those not accustomed to the wind, 45 gusting 68 on Fri

Have a great hunt Cat

Well, we rolled into Rochon Sands just as Donny Bear and his pal were packing up.
Slow day, saw a couple of road runners and one flying .
I shot one and Louie hooked on a solid point but the rooster flew into a no shoot zone !:budo:
Stopped into Stettler on the way down to a very nice store ( PROnature) and bought a bunch of compnanymts, copper plated #6 shot and some 6.5 Etips amongst other stuff!:sHa_shakeshout:
The proprietary has lots of ammo and components as well as a good assortment of decoys, clothes and fishing f stuff as we.
I would suggest you stop in and check it out if you are in the area, really friendly folks:)
Well, tomorrow we go hard!:sHa_shakeshout:
Cat

Should be a good week for ya buddy!

My dog and I are headed out for the afternoon tomorrow. Gonna chase wild birds… see if we’re still a match for their wits.

Good luck Dave, wow has it really been 12 years since ya got Louie, man does time flys. I haven’t really been looking hard but can’t say as I’ve seen any wild birds around here this year.

Jim…

Hope the rest of the trip goes great for you!

We saw 2 wild roosters SE of magrath today and got on one, some sharpies and Huns rounded out the trip for us.

Whelp, all done and over with for another year!:)
This wasn't a real Great Alberta Bird Safari mind you because we didn't do any waterfowl and only chased Sharptails and wild roosters for one day, it was more of an abrevieayed bird safari!
I dud pick up another nice gun, a 16x16 over 9.3x72R hammer drilling, and shot some birds with the 16 barrels
Pics tomorrow. :)
Cat

Saw more BC plates cruising around hunting in 108 then red!

Well, back yesterday, unpacked and decompressed.
We normally don't do the opening weekend , but with my son's schedules being what they are, couldn't get away from it this year.:thinking-006:
Started out a bit rough at Rochon Sands with two birds up and only one got a shot on one but it went into the bag, but did meet up with Donny Bear! hadn't seen him or heard from him for quite a while , but he is doing great.

Down to Brooks , having to stay at the Travel Lodge because we tried to book a bit late this year and the Patricia was booked full!:(
First morning out was the usual , hunters coming out of the field when we were just getting there, but that is another story!:sign0161:
Pretty danged slow in the morning , but did pick some up .
However, once we got into wild bird country with Oldgutpile, things got fun!
Chasing Sharptails on foot is not for the weak of heart , and with Louie getting on in age , and my bad leg, it was challenging to keep up with the kid and Jim's super fast Goldens, but every year we do the same thing and have a riot!
My new to me drilling 16x16/9.3X72R carries pretty danged well, better than Zippo's 12x12/375 H&H that is for sure!
he made a fantastic crossing shot at about 50 yards on a full tilt rooster the dogs kicked up while we were chasing the Sharpies though, we weren't expecting that one, and there was a few more in there .
Things went bad for me after that with my leg , so we headed out on Sunday and picked up some release birds so I could get a bit of easy shooting in without the guys having to put me out of my misery after!:sHa_sarcasticlol:

All in all, it was a short but good trip, old Louie did very well for his age, better than me I think all things considered, and it was great to be able to hunt with OldGutpile again.:sHa_shakeshout:

The weather however was FANTASTIC, we couldn't have asked for better. I am glad we decided not to take the muzzle loaders this though, things are super dry down there for you guys!:thinking-006:
Cat
https://i.imgur.com/gl7rAvp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/PBdIcYR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5tlDosO.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0pIZh5i.jpg

Good Job, O'l Louey looks like He's still ready to go in the last pic

Thanks for sharing the pictures Cat, looks like a good bag for all the work you put in. D.H.

he is a typical bird dog, he will go until he drops, that is the problem, we as hunters and owners have to keep an eye on them or else a dog can get hurt or worse very easily , what with heat and joint problems, etc.:thinking-006:
But he sure does love it!:sHa_shakeshout:
Oldgutpile's Goldens are machines and still pretty much in their prime, those two are crazy fast for retrievers, Cruiser especially.:)
Cat

Thanks David, yup Lots of work , but yup, worth it just to be able to shoot a few birds with some vintage guns!:sHa_shakeshout:
Cat

https://i.imgur.com/eAb3uZV.jpg
Cruiser and lexi, certified bird machines!
Cat
https://i.imgur.com/foCvNJp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vlxRiso.jpg

wise words cat...gotta watch the dogs cuz they just want to go and really have no quite until its too late...great pic thx for sharing.