Kaiser Tribute

For months now I've tried to finish this tribute to Kaiser. Overwhelmed and not sure exactly what I wanted to add and how I wanted to edited it, I started and deleted more than a few attempts. Then I just held off on completing it out of frustration. Last night I realized today would have been his birthday and decided I would complete it for this day. Not sure if this really how I wanted it to turn out but this is what I put together. Kaiser would have been 10 today.

In Memoriam

"KAISER"

Frank vom Desert Dancer
Son of Auzie vom Grousehafen and Enck vom Orion
February 10, 2008- November 10, 2017

Goodbye Sweet Boy.

Consolation Prize

Took the old man down south in the hopes finding some roosters.   While we found none I did meet a new hunting buddy while checking out a field.  We ended up hunting together for the morning and managed to flush one hen pheasant.  It was a pleasure hunting with him and he's an excellent source of local information.  He's been hunting these fields for over thirty years so I'm glad I ran into him. 

The field we hunted was a half plowed barley or rye (I'm guessing).  It was pretty thick and tall.  Good cover for these birds.  Unfortunately no roosters were present at this time.  Afterwards Chuck, our new hunting companion, called it quits.  So we tried a couple alfalfa fields but with no success.  Kaiser did get birdy and managed a point but no bird was kicked up.  Might have refused to be steady and ran on him or could have been old scent.  We'll never know.

After giving up on roosters we turned our attention to doves.  In the process we managed to flush a covey of gambels while driving around.  We were unable to pursue them though as they flushed into thick cover.  Although the abundance of track was a good sign for the season and I may have to concentrate on quail for the rest of this year.  We did manage to find a decent number of doves and took home four before calling it a trip.

More Hiking With A Gun

The hiking with a gun series continues but in this case I at least managed to take home a little meat.  After driving around looking for a few huntable fields we stumbled upon a few dove roosting on a tree.  I put a sneak on them and ended up idiotically flock shooting them as they flushed.  Singles and pairs would sporadically come in.  Miss after miss I finally connected with one.  We would drive around about without any success.  We never did see any pheasants.  I did speak with a pair of hunters that did see a rooster earlier in the day but before legal shooting time.  As it sucked I chose to head home and bypass the last day.  That's it for pheasants for this year.

Another Hunter But Seeking A Different Kind Of Game

Hiking With A Gun

This is the last chance to try and get ourselves some pheasants and doves before the season closes.  My intention was on the way here to try and intercept the covey of quail Chul and I flushed while hunting turkey last spring but with the entrance loaded with trucks I decided to bypass that and head straight to the farmlands.  But before that we had stay in cell phone range to receive an important call so we headed for a restaurant for a Persian lunch. 

We arrived at the farmlands with a few hours to roam a few fields,  no pheasants were flushed nor seen.  I managed to flush a dove in a ditch, took a shot and it landed in the nearby field so we gave chase only to have it flush again with me missing him with both shots.  Other than that it was a lot of hiking with a gun.  It was time to head into town for some Thai food and call it a day.

Not Like The Day Before

After staying a night in the biggest shithole motel I've ever slept in, it was time for another day afield.  Sunday's hunt was much different than the previous day's epic duck hunt.  I knew the hunt would be difficult without a group of hunters or dogs to pressure the birds. Despite that I choose to give it a try in the hopes of getting a rooster to rise.  Early in the hunt we managed to flush up two hen pheasants but to have them only fly into a posted field.

One or the first things I noticed this year was a lot more fields were posted this year.  Some of my favorites were now off limits.  Also several fields were barren and were now dirt pits not sure if that is the result of our drought or the farmer's economic conditions nevertheless it was disheartening. But with the Santa Ana winds picking up I was caught up in some massive dust storms for a while so I drove out of those areas.

I drove around looking for new fields.  Kaiser managed to scent a bird in a large alfalfa field that ran on him.  I saw the track it left and we worked the field as thoroughly as possible but the wily bird out ran us.  I'm confident that had we had a number of hunters with us, we could have flushed the little bastard.  While driving around I found a duck club loaded with quality ducks.  Of course it was off limits to me but it was impressive to see the number of mallards, pintails,  among other waterfowl.

Hunting, as I predicted, was tough.  I only managed to flush two hen pheasants that flew into a posted field.  While I saw a number of doves while driving, I only had a minimal number of shots at them.  I did take two for the day. So at least I wasn't skunked on this trip.

Double Limits Menagerie

Day One.  It seems that any plan I make, it only ends up being altered.  I had planned on hitting the Sierra earlier in the week only to have that canceled.  So rather then head north I decided to head south for the weekend and chase pheasants.  On Thursday Jeff called and let me know his regular hunting partner cancelled on him and asked if I wanted to sub for him.  In a heartbeat I answered in the affirmative.  Jeff had ran his dogs on Tuesday at the club and saw an abundance of big ducks.  The northern arctic freeze had pushed the birds down and Jeff predicted a good day.

Not an uncommon sight for the spectacular day

At 3am my alarm went off and I packed up the shotguns and headed to the duck club to meet Jeff.  Unlike our last outing Jeff would have to draw a new blind for this time around since he didn't like the blind he was assigned to for this round.  Luckily he drew number one and chose blind 15, one of the best of day's vacant blinds available.

In the darkness of night while heading to the blind, we could hear the variety of ducks teasing us within the various ponds, pintails, wigeons and mallards before legal shoot time.  We sat patiently as quality ducks flew overhead teasing us as we waited for the buzzard to inform that we could begin hunting.  By 5:56 am Jeff began skillfully calling them in. The first birds to fly by were shovelers and we let them pass, waiting for the quality birds that Jeff was so confident would eventually pass.

Our first pintail

It wasn't long before we had birds falling from the sky.  Jeff was dead on with his Beretta auto taking the first bird, a greenwing teal.  Jeff had several before down before I finally connected with my first bird, a hen spoonie.  My first several misses were caused by my over thinking each shot; I was trying to calculate the lead rather than letting it come naturally.  Once I finally shut the brain off I was connecting with some regularity including my first pintail, a drake in eclipse plumage

Jeff readying himself for a shot

Time in a blind is often spent waiting staring at the sky with a brief moments of action which was the case the last time Jeff invited me to his club.  Usually the only thing to pass the time is excellent conversation but on this day it was not the case.  In fact most of our conversations were abruptly cut off with someone interrupting to point out birds flying by.  For the first several hours it seemed nonstop.  Jeff hooked many and got them to commit to landing in the spread but was ultimately foiled by our neighboring blinds that foolishly skybusted birds.  I thought duck clubs had a better class of hunters than refuge hunters but I guess this is not the case.  Naturally this type of nonsense inflames Jeff and rightfully so, most of the birds the neighboring blinds had taken were because Jeff managed to get he birds to commit and work the area.

I expelled more shot than I care to admit.  Shooting Bismuth, Hevi Shot Classic Double, and Tungsten Matrix, at an average of $3.00 let's just say it was an expensive day.  I actually feared I might run out before we reached our limits.  That would not be the case though thanks mostly due to Jeff's dead aim.  On the advice of Jeff he suggested I ditch the side by side in favor of a gun that can shoot steel.  I agree and if he invites me again, I'll take my Model 12. Financially speaking I think this is prudent especially if we have another day like this one.  I'll keep the Merkel Model 8 for jumpshooting.

We managed our limits and had a just about ever species in our bag.  Three mallards (two of which were drakes), one drake pintail, three greenwings (two drakes), one drake cinnamon teal, one hen bufflehead, one hen spoonie, one hen ringneck, one hen gadwall and two hen wigeon.  It was quite a day and I am truly appreciative of Jeff's generosity and not to mention his patience with Kaiser.   while my drahthaar is an outstanding upland dog, a decent jump shooting dog, he is unfortunately an annoying blind dog.  He simpy wants to run.  Sitting and patience are not his forte at least when it comes to hearing gunfire or birds in the air.

We limited out at around noon.  Since I was already packed for pheasants and my drive already cut in half I decided to continue the day looking for roosters.  I drove down and had about 2 hours of light to work with.  I tried a few new fields but had no luck in finding any.  I headed toward town for some burgers at In-N-Out before looking for a motel to rest up for the next day.

Quality Time On Youtube

Illness has kept me down for the past week or so.  As a result I've been spending much of my time on the web trying to pass the time.  I think I've found my new favorite channel, Shooting Photography by Jonathan M McGee.  Here is just a sampling of his beautifully done videos. 

He has even done the trailer for the reborn John Rigby & Co (now properly located in London once again).

Pheasant With Tarragon and Juniper Sauce

After a week of aging in the fridge, I finally cooked the pheasant I took before Christmas.  I spent the last week debating how I should prepare it.  Initially I thought of roasting it whole in a simple Italian style but when I plucked him, I noticed his thigh was too bloodied up to keep whole. 

I butchered him cleaning and removing the meat of the shot up area.  Since this was an old bird I figured I needed to braise it to keep it somewhat tender and moist.  I hoped the aging process would have helped with that as well.

Ingredients:
Pheasant
Fresh Tarragon
Juniper Berries
Heavy Cream
White Wine
Butter
Shallots
Garlic
Oil

I don't like wasting usable ingredients like the bones and any meat attached to them.  Since one pheasant carcass is really not enough to make a broth, I cheated making a pheasant broth.  I use the left over bones and put them in a pot with chicken stock with onions and carrots.  Bring to a boil and then simmer.

In a separate fry pan on high heat place some oil and butter, add crushed juniper berries and brown the legs on each side.   Once browned add the wings and brown each side.  By this time the stock should be ready.  Strain the contents and add the broth back to the pot and put back on the heat.  Once eth wings and legs are browned add it to the broth and let simmer. 

With the same fry pan, add more butter and place the breasts skin side down.  Once browned flip over.  When the other side has browned, lower the heat and add chopped garlic and shallots.   Deglaze with white wine scraping the bottom clean.  Remove the legs and wings from the broth and place back to the fry pan.  Pour the reduced broth into the fry pan and add cream.  Once the legs and breast are fully cooked, remove and set aside for now.  Turn up the heat, add the tarragon and reduce the sauce by half.

Once reduced put meat back into the sauce just to rewarm it.  When warm it is ready to be served.

Merry X-Mas To All

Kaiser and I wish you and your family a safe and Merry Christmas.  If your sense for humor is  juvenile and immature like mine this video should put a smile on your face.  If not I'd recommend you don't watch.

The video from the last hunt.  It's shitfree I promise.

ROOSTER!!!

The Merkel 147SL With A Very Appropriate Sidelock Engraving.

This is the last weekend for the pheasant and dove season so I wanted to take my last shot at a rooster.  Despite his hectic schedule, Ed finally made it afield with me and Kaiser.  He arrived at my place just after 4am and we made our mad dash south.  We made it just before legal shooting time and prepared for the day.   Within the first few minutes we flush with the Rover a couple quail along the river.  There was no sense in pursuing them as they ran into a impenetrable fortress of brush.  A good sign.

We worked several fields with Kaiser giving us two points but produced no flushes.  The birds must have run on him.  Driving to some new areas for me, I was beginning to see more hunters in this area than I have ever seen.  With the mercury rising we found a field of shallow alfalfa around 11am.  Within this area were a flock of large unidentified shorebirds, Kaiser began to get bridy, thinking that these were the cause I half assed my way toward him.  As the large flock flushed so did a cock pheasant.  It took a few moments for my brain to process the information and finally took the first shot at about 40 yards.  In all the excitement I miss about two feet behind the bird.  This caused me to overcompensate with the second and the bird flew never to be seen again.

Lunchtime.

With the heat increasing we took a siesta and had lunch which allowed Kaiser to cool down and rest.  I really can't stand this SoCal weather.  Its December and it feels like the opener for dove season.  After lunch we worked the other side of the same field that  the rooster flushed.  As Kaiser started to slow down and work more methodically a hen flushed before me.  As we watched to fly away, we began to walk further and a rooster flushed to the right of Ed and he took his first shot.  I saw the bird buckle and appeared to start gliding downward only for a moment and the bird began to lift again.  Ed took another shot but failed to bring the bird down.  As I watched that bird fly away another rooster took flight in front of me and in a panic I wildly shot my first barrel.  I calmed myself and took a proper bead on the bird and took him down with the second shot.  Kaiser gave chase.  It was fun to see the bird and Kaiser play cat and mouse as the cock tried to elude him.  But eventually Kaiser gets his man. 

Kaiser's First Pheasant Retrieve.

This is Kaiser's first taste of pheasant and I'm sure it was sweet.  He has been on pheasants several times but I've never been able to connect with them.  I've always felt guilty about it but I finally got him his bird.  While Kaiser was retrieving the pheasant two hens flushed in front of Ed but of course he had no shot.

The One Inch Spurs.

We worked another nearby field without any success.  This was the field that the hens that flushed in front of Ed landed but even these birds seemed to have disappeared.

Just Some of the Magnificent Feathers of this Asian Import.

Most of the day proved difficult.  We tried our luck on ducks, quail and doves.  We saw all of them but proved difficult.  We managed to see a widgeon in a canal and after giving Ed some bismuth rounds he made a stalk.  Unfortunately the area proved a poor area to make a stalk and the bird flushed out of shotgun range.

We Wait For Dove.

Convinced I could get some doves for Ed, we worked a few productive areas.  The first was a bust.  The second was already occupied and we needed to work in a nearby area.  While there were several doves in the area none were within the shotgun range of Ed's Browning.  I had one which I hit, creating a big puff of feathers.  Despite this, the bird only flinched  turned around and kept flying.  That was it for us and in typical fashion with us while we were packing up several ducks and doves flew overhead.  Typical.  These roosters are now safe from Kaiser and I until next year.



Lonesome Dove

I tried to get at least one of my buddies to come out with me but I must have heard every lame excuse this week, "I have a (bow) competition," "I have to work," "I have to go to my son's game," "My sister's baby is due this weekend." None of the them sounded legitimate to me so it was up to Kaiser and I to work the fields by ourselves.  With just the two of us I knew working the bigger fields would be difficult to get those pheasants to hold for a point.

Without anyone to wait up on, I accidently overslept an hour and a half.  I mistakenly turned off the alarm instead of putting it on snooze.  When I finally made it out I was stuck in traffic!  On a weekend before 6am.  Give me break.  I made the drive and arrived over an hour past the start of legal shooting time for pheasants.  I worked a field adjacent to thick natural vegetation.  The field proved empty at least the area I was working.  We made it back to the Rover and worked the natural vegetation.  Kaiser would go on point and I walked up.  Three Gambels quail would flush and I would miss badly despite the fact the bird looked as big as a softball in my mind.  As I reloaded a couple more could flush out.  We could not give chase as the area was too thick to ford through.  For the life of me I can not hit Gambels.  Granted I rarely go after them but every time I see one here I have always missed them.  In fact I've never taken a Gambels and its starting to piss me off.

Nice Point But These Are Not The Birds We Are Looking For

Most of the day was spent driving around looking for fields to hunt.  I finally found a few but none had even a hen within them.  I did manage to find a few dove in the ditches.  The first single I managed to take with one shot out of the IC barrel of the Merkel 147SL 12 gauge.  The others I missed poorly and I began overthinking my shots.  Swing through, pull away, constant lead, I tried them all and caused me to overthink very shot.  Worst mistake.

Running Out Of Time For the Day And For The Pheasant Season

This outing unlike last week, I had more opportunities to take game.   I even ran into another covey of Gambels in another area in the thick stuff.  One bird flushed out of a tree and I put my bead on him and shot without continuing my swing.  Missed with both shots.  Gambels need not worry about this hunter apparently.  Pathetic.

I managed to take down two more dove unfortunately I was unable to recover them.  Nothing upsets me more.  The first one few in stuff so thick I'd need a bulldozer to get him.  The other fell into an adjacent alfalfa field but we had two canals we needed to navigate past and when we finally made it to the field I lost my mark and Kaiser was unable to find the bird.  Legal shooting time now coming to an end I called it quits and headed back to the truck.  I had talked to a few hunters throughout the day and all of them flushed hens.  Despite bringing provisions for another day of hunting I decided to head home instead.  With no promise of roosters and without enough hunters to thoroughly work a field I thought it prudent.  We have one weekend left to see if we can get ourselves a rooster and with Ed committed and others interested we'll see if we head back out next weekend or if we try our luck on something else.

Such Is Hunting

South of here lies farmland rich with game.  Pheasants were our target but would be happy to take a Gambel's quail, dove, waterfowl or cottontail if presented with one.  It's been a few years since I've hunted this area, at least five years.  Despite poor hunting years, I have always managed to at minimum come home with some sort of game so I hoped for the same this year.  I generally don't travel south as the hunting options are more limited and the fact that I would be sharing fields with illegals hopping the border fence with Border Patrol giving chase.

 

Worried not having been here in so long, my concern was that many of the fields may have been posted and hunting areas more limited than before.  It seems that this is not the case as most of the areas I wanted to hunt are still open to the public. 

 

Normally I don't hunt with rookies.  I don't want to have to worry about the gun safety of a novice, the safety of my dog and the safety of myself or the newbie.  It's tough enough trying to keep track of Kaiser let alone worrying about the muzzle disciple of another who has never felt the excitement of a wild gamebird flushing.  But despite this I took my buddy out for his inaugural hunt.  I made some ground rules before handing him my spare Merkel Model 8.  First until I feel comfortable with him in the field, he would carry the shotgun broken open and when a bird flushed or when Kaiser went on point would he be able to close the gun and prepare to fire.   Of course I went over the basics such as field of fire, muzzle disciple, use of safety and such.   After working a few fields, I was comfortable enough to carry normally with gun on safe and action closed.

All in all it was tough day, not surprisingly given this years state of hunting but we did see birds.  Hunting here is not really my cup of tea.  Don't get me wrong I like hunting farm fields and I like hunting pheasants but I don't like having to hop scotch to one field to the next.  Much of the day is driving around looking for the next field to hunt.  As Chul described it, it's like fishing a Blue Ribbon Steam, you end up driving looking for open holes more than you actually fish.  Its not physically exhausting but more mentally.

 

As we drove we must have flush over 60 doves and a handful of quail for the day with the Rover while searching for the next field.  None of them were really hunted as by the time we could give chase they were gone.  On our very first farm field, Kaiser became birdy and went on point, adjusted as the bird zigzagged trying to escape.  It flushed before me but as I began my mount, I realized it was a hen so no shot was taken.

We would spend much of the day driving around looking for areas.  Kaiser would give us three or four more points throughout the day but all the birds would elude us and no more pheasants would flush in the alfalfa fields.

Earlier in the day we worked more wild habitat and I managed to take a jack.  Toward the end of the day we worked the natural habitat near the fields.  I have had success here in the past flushing roosters, dove, quail and rabbits so this would be the last chance if we wanted to come home with some meat.

We would eventually flush a few pheasants none of which were within a firing lane nor were they easily identified as a rooster so no shots were taken at them.  Also quail flushed wild too quick and far for a shot.  They flew into the most dense area, impenetrable for us humans so giving chase was nearly impossible.  A few quail did run in front of us about a hundred yards but by the time we were even close to them they were gone too.

On the hike back to the truck, I did manage to take a dove with the last few minutes of legal hunting time.  With the light now fading fast it was time to drive back home.   I decided to give my harvested meat to my buddy so he could try it and also take the hide of the jack so he use it for tying or for use as lining on his new bow quiver.  It's was too bad I wasn't able to get him on any game but such is hunting.

We went for a white truffle burger at a new joint I hadn't tried yet.  Although it was fine, personally I should have just ordered a regular hamburger.  I'm not quite sure of these so called "gourmet" burgers, sometimes they are more gimmick than anything else. 

Papa Hemingway With His Shotguns