collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: Chucker Hunt gone wrong  (Read 5879 times)

Offline Goose74

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Pilgrim
  • *
  • Join Date: Nov 2015
  • Posts: 10
  • Location: Selah
Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« on: November 21, 2018, 07:17:55 PM »
I don’t normally post on hunt Washington but I spend way more time than I care think about on here reading other people’s hunting stories and looking at their harvest photos.  With that said I feel that the hunt that my dog and I went on yesterday needed to be shared if nothing else for the lessons to be learned

 My dog Moses, a 12 year old Britney spaniel, and I left around 7:00 tuesday morning and headed to the l.t. Murray north of where I live.  We hunted for a couple of hours with nothing to show for except plenty of sweat and sore legs.  After a break for some water for Moses and I we headed down a ridge that separated two large draws on our way back to the truck.  As we worked down the finger Moses made several false points and I remember getting frustrated hoping one of these points would actually be for real.  We got to where the ridge we were on dropped off into where two large draws meet and Moses went on point again.  This time a covey of 20ish birds got up just out of range.  I threw out a couple hail Marie’s but no dice.  We went another 30 yards or so and another large covey got up once again just out of range.  Moving down the hill Moses went on point again and a bird got up that I missed completely   Moses started off after the bird as it sailed across the canyon and over to the next ridge   I worked my way down the hill a little ways and jumped 4 or 5 birds and managed to dump one.  I worked my way down and retrieved the bird.  After getting the bird I looked around and realized Moses was nowhere to be seen. 

From around 10am until it was too dark to see I searched up and down high and low and could not find Moses anywhere.  At about noon I texted my wife and told her I had lost Moses about an hour and a half Earlier.  She immediately searched on the internet about what to do if you lose your hunting dog.  The net said to put your shirt on the ground where you last saw your dog and he/she will be laying on it the next morning.  Unfortunately I didn’t read the text until late in the afternoon so I had to make one more trek Back to where I lost him.  I found a large sagebrush that would somewhat protect him from the wind if he did find it. 
After a long night I got up early the next morning and packed up some dog food and plenty of water and headed back up the hill fully expecting either to not find him or find crows or coyotes eating on his carcass.

You can probably guess what happens next but The feelings that came over me when I finally climbed that hill and saw that white spot laying where I left my shirt were overwhelming.  He was in pretty rough shape, shivering and sore but he was alive.  After some water and some food he started to perk up and it was time to start heading down the hill   Moses was not moving well as we started to leave so I was preparing myself to have to carry him all the way back to the truck.  Luckily after carrying him down the steep hill to the bottom of the canyon I put him down and he started running around hunting almost like nothing happened. 

I had been contemplating retiring Moses before this season started and now there is no question he is done which is unfortunate but this was way too close.  He loves to hunt and there are a lot of chucker nearby but if I want to chase them it will be without Moses. 

I know this was long but thanks for reading and I hope this helps some of my fellow bird hunters out there if they lose their bird dog.

Jason







Offline Shoofly09

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 166
  • Location: Western Washington
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2018, 07:22:41 PM »
Glad you found your dog!    Something to be thankful for as you eat turkey tomorrow...

Offline Pinetar

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Apr 2010
  • Posts: 1620
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2018, 07:24:15 PM »
So glad you got Moses back, while reading I was expecting a worse ending. Good tip, Thanks for sharing and glad Moses is safe.

Offline Boss .300 winmag

  • FLY NAVAL AVIATION
  • Washington For Wildlife
  • Trade Count: (+22)
  • Explorer
  • ******
  • Join Date: Oct 2010
  • Posts: 17764
  • Location: Skagit Valley
  • How do you measure trying, you do, or you don’t.
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2018, 07:26:00 PM »
Wow, great ending to a sad beginning. :tup:
"Just because I like granola, and I have stretched my arms around a few trees, doesn't mean I'm a tree hugger!
Hi I'm 8156, our leader is Bearpaw.
YOU CANNOT REASON WITH A TIGER WHEN YOUR HEAD IS IN ITS MOUTH! Winston Churchill

Keep Calm And Duc/Ski Doo On!

Offline Mfowl

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 4152
  • Location: westside
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2018, 07:27:51 PM »
Good to hear things worked out! Happy Thanskiving!
Fish hard, hunt harder!

Offline huntnfmly

  • Trade Count: (+36)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Apr 2007
  • Posts: 4707
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2018, 07:32:44 PM »
Very happy you got your dog back.
That was a long sleepless night I'm sure
I'm your dam tour guide Arnie please don’t wonder off the dam tour.
Take as many dam pictures as you want ....
Are there any dam questions ..

Offline elkspert

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jun 2009
  • Posts: 188
  • Location: rochester,wa
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2018, 07:37:29 PM »
Great tip,  thanks for sharing.
I hope when I die my wife doesn't sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them.

Offline ghosthunter

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+19)
  • Old Salt
  • ******
  • Join Date: Apr 2011
  • Posts: 7155
  • Location: Mount Vernon WA
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2018, 08:10:17 PM »
Yeah good story.
GHOST CAMP "We Came To Hunt"
Proud Parent of A United States Marine

We are all traveling from Birth to the Packing House. ( Broken Trail)

“I f he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

Offline boneaddict

  • Site Sponsor
  • Administrator
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 49687
  • Location: Selah, Washington
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #8 on: November 21, 2018, 08:33:00 PM »
Amazing tip.   I’m glad your wife found it and it turned out as good as it did. 

Offline full choke

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+13)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jan 2009
  • Posts: 2503
  • Location: Maple Valley
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2018, 09:43:56 PM »
Happy Thanksgiving goose74!

That is a good tip to know. Thanks for passing it along. And scruff up moses' ears one time for me, he earned it.
"If you think our wars over oil are bad, wait until we are fighting over water..."

Offline bornhunter

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2018
  • Posts: 2499
  • Location: Lewis County
  • Groups: NRA, RMEF, Wa Cattlemens Assc, Stevens County Cattlemens Assc
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2018, 09:56:14 PM »
Really glad you got your dog back and I am really glad I read this. My little yellow female lab is so birdy she has left me a few times but so far has always returned. Now I know what to do if I have to leave her overnight. Thanks for sharing this and Happy Thanksgiving.

Offline Limhangerslayer

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+3)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 1540
  • Location: Dryside
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2018, 10:43:23 PM »
Glad that worked out for you.  We always left a shirt out over night wherever we let our hounds loose if they got lost we would throw it out and almost always pick them up in that spot in the morning

Offline jackson7

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • ****
  • Join Date: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 339
  • Location: kitsap
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2018, 10:47:11 PM »
1st thought OMG. Glad it worked out. Scary for sure.

Offline John B

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 198
  • Location: Buckley
  • Groups: Master Hunter, NRA, DU
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #13 on: November 22, 2018, 06:30:53 AM »
Glad you found him. I'll have to remember that tip if I ever lose a dog. I lost my dog on his first hunt for a couple hours, found him laying under the truck

Offline boneaddict

  • Site Sponsor
  • Administrator
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 49687
  • Location: Selah, Washington
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2018, 07:48:54 AM »
I bet the mood today around the family home is way better than it would have been.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Offline Goose74

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Pilgrim
  • *
  • Join Date: Nov 2015
  • Posts: 10
  • Location: Selah
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #15 on: November 22, 2018, 08:03:15 AM »
Thanks for all the replies. 

It was a long night but way worse for him than me
We always have a lot to be thankful for but today even more so!
His feet are scuffed up some but he is being well taken care of by the wife and I. 

My wife was convinced he had had a heart attack or fallen off a ledge but I think looking back he somehow went up the canyon without me seeing him   I last saw him going down canyon chasing a bird and thought there was no way he could have gotten by me so thats where I started my search after waiting around for a while to see if he would come back.  By the time I went back up to look for him who knows where he went.
Despite his age, when he gets on scent he can be hard to stop and there were a lot of birds in the area.
I have been close to losing him before but I could always call or whistle and get him back.  With his hearing and vision probably not what it used to be, this time those things didn’t work and that’s why he’s retired.

Thanks again and happy thanksgiving!!!

Offline redandwhitebrit

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Pilgrim
  • *
  • Join Date: Aug 2013
  • Posts: 20
  • Location: Olympia, WA
  • Groups: NRA
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #16 on: November 22, 2018, 08:27:55 AM »
A lost dog is very hard to deal with, and I like others are pleased you got your hunter back. This scenario has played out for a couple of friends of mine over the years. Last year a buddy I hunt with in Arizona lost his dog, and it showed up in a remote camp a week later. Same with another friend in Idaho, but it was two weeks later at a remote ranch. It is important to have an ID tag with your contact information, and I have recently purchased a tracking and training collar for my Brittany hunter. The collar keeps track of my dog, and I can correct him with tone, vibrate and shock. Brittanies love to hunt and you need as much help as possible to keep track of them. Happy Thanksgiving, and make sure your dog gets some turkey and stuffing!
« Last Edit: November 24, 2018, 11:05:58 AM by redandwhitebrit »

Offline Forks

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 615
  • Location: McCleary
  • Groups: NRA Phes. Forev.
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #17 on: November 22, 2018, 10:37:37 AM »
Sure glad it ended up as it did, it’s a sickening feeling loosing them for 30 minutes let alone overnight. My Astro has taken so much stress out of the hunt and I would never put a dog down without one.

Offline Westside88

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2013
  • Posts: 1089
  • Location: Western Wa
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #18 on: November 22, 2018, 10:56:42 AM »
Very glad that it worked out for the best. Thank you for sharing, this may help someone else with a lost dog. Good tip

Offline Alex4200

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Nov 2015
  • Posts: 195
  • Location: Central Washington
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #19 on: November 22, 2018, 11:28:11 AM »
Glad everything worked out for you and the dog. I have lost a dog twice. I know what a sickening feeling it is. First time someone else found her and called because of info on the collar. Second time I found her waiting for me back at the car.

Here are my two tips that I have learned to keep it from happening again. Both times it happened when I started getting tired. I guess I quit paying close enough attention to where my dog was. Now when I start getting tired I start paying more attention to my dog. And secondly, just plan stop in your tracks when you lose track of your dog or even go back to the last place you saw the dog. Wait there. And start calling. When I have done this they have always found me. Sometimes it will seem like an eternity even though it is only a few minutes.

I am glad you posted this. Great reminder for everyone. It is truly one of the worst feelings you can experience in the field.

Offline TVHunts

  • Past Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (+56)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 1109
  • Location: Marysville
  • Groups: NRA-RSO,RMEF,DU, Marysville Rifle Club
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #20 on: November 22, 2018, 01:33:00 PM »
Glad you got the old boy back! 

It is an awful feeling for sure. I lost mine within a 1/2 mile of a hiway and she was headed that way chasing a crippled pheasant.  She was only gone for 30 minutes, I was sure she was dead on that hiway. 

Went out and bought the Garmin gps collar the next week and it works great.  Now I can work towards her when I make a crappy shot and she has to clean up the wreckage!
MAGA

Hey Slobbering JOE,

 STOP the freaking INVASION

Offline PaulM

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Tracker
  • **
  • Join Date: Aug 2010
  • Posts: 60
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #21 on: November 22, 2018, 04:44:00 PM »
I had my shorthair Max keel over chukar hunting one year. I had to re-hydrate him and give him my granola bar. 50 yards later he was flushing more birds. I heeled him back to the truck 2900 ft uphill. So scary when the pups get hurt. I have my other dog drake on injured reserve now. His eye was injured chasing pheasants on the east side. He will need to stay out of commission the rest of this year. I am very concerned with his recovery. The way I look at the injuries is, when it happens it always seems overdue. They put in hard miles and I try my best to keep them safe but sometimes stuff happens. Glad you pup was found ok. Thanks for the tip on the shirt. I had heard this before but not sure I would remember this if needed.

Offline JBG

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • ****
  • Join Date: May 2010
  • Posts: 255
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #22 on: November 26, 2018, 08:34:17 PM »
Wow so glad to hear you got your pup back.  If i had made that call to my wife she wouldn't have said to leave a shirt out, it would have been "sit your *SS under the sage brush and wait for our child to find you!!"  It sucks to retire a dog but at some point the body cant keep up with their mind.  Maybe you can do an annual hunt on some pen raised birds that will get them out and ensure they get on birds without too much effort.   

Offline birddogdad

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2014
  • Posts: 1855
  • Location: WA
  • Groups: LMAC, NRA
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #23 on: November 27, 2018, 06:51:48 AM »
Great news you found your dog! this has always been a concern of mine running all 3 of my girls. its a chore to keep eyes on them in the coulees! i purchased an Garmin Alpha tracking gps system that can run several dogs. works great line of sight but OTH not so good. The winds and sound doesn't travel well and this has been such a valuable tool for me in my chukar hunting that i wont even go without it, even if just running a single dog... to me, the cost totally outweighs the potential loss!
USN retired
1981-2011

Offline Schmalzfam

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Oct 2008
  • Posts: 522
  • Location: Skagit valley
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #24 on: November 28, 2018, 10:02:18 AM »
I'm so glad you were able to get Moses back!
That is one of the worst feeling ever.
Thank you for the advice, it makes sense.
I hope Moses can make it out for a couple easy hunts...old dogs need a little something to keep the spark.
Thanks again :)

Offline Gearnut

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Tracker
  • **
  • Join Date: Nov 2017
  • Posts: 27
  • Location: Pasco
    • never
  • Groups: joining some soon
Re: Chucker Hunt gone wrong
« Reply #25 on: November 30, 2018, 08:53:32 AM »
Great story

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

Springer Fishing Opportunity 3/29 & 3/30 by xXLojackXx
[Today at 11:47:13 AM]


Bearpaw Season - Spring 2024 by bearpaw
[Today at 11:45:41 AM]


Walked a cougar down by Rainier10
[Today at 11:17:49 AM]


SB 5444 signed by Inslee on 03/26 Takes Effect on 06/06/24 by hughjorgan
[Today at 09:03:26 AM]


Springer 2024 Columbia River by WSU
[Today at 08:31:10 AM]


Average by lhrbull
[Today at 07:31:56 AM]


Let’s see your best Washington buck by Pathfinder101
[Today at 07:22:11 AM]


CVA optima V2 LR tapped hole for front sight by Remdawg
[Today at 07:09:22 AM]


Which 12” boat trailer tires? by timberhunter
[Yesterday at 08:22:18 PM]


Lowest power 22 round? by JakeLand
[Yesterday at 08:06:13 PM]

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal