Category Archives: Hunting

Upland, Waterfowl and Big Game

Hunting

The One

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For over 30,000 years, humans have loved dogs. Domesticated canines are loyal, caring, and compassionate friends. For those of us that hunt with their dogs, the relationship between owner and their pups is profoundly unique. The symbiosis is obvious; we count on them to help improve our odds of success, and they expect that we will fulfill our responsibilities in the joint pursuit of the target prey. Their excitement, effort, and determination inspire us to deliver on the unstated objective.

Echo turned 9 in December. Age has brought on a few health issues that have challenged some of her natural abilities. Like most any gundog, her drive as well as the adrenaline brought on by doing what we love to do, keeps the chronic symptoms at bay. Despite our advanced ages and minor physical challenges, we still hunt hard.

Echo and I have been teamed together for a long time. We’ve experienced tremendous successes as well as unexpected adversities. She always remains positive and continues to be relentless despite my annual shooting slumps. For that fact, I am forever grateful. It is not easy to look her in the eyes after whiffing on a bird that she spent so much energy locating. While I feel both guilty and miserable, Echo quickly moves onto the next chase.  

It is hard for me to effectively articulate what Echo means to me. My life is better because she is in it. She seems to understand how much I love her. During our hunts, she will unexpectedly leap in the air to give me a kiss. I feel that this is a sign that she is pleased and focused on the work that has yet to be done.

I don’t know how many more adventures that Echo and I will experience together. I will not push her to continue to hunt if her body will not tolerate the physical exertion. It is important to me that I retire her before she demonstrates any signs of despair. I am hopeful that we have at least one more season together. I cannot imagine ever leaving her behind.

Hunting

Fortunate

The last 5 years underscored the fact that life is both short as well as fragile. Unfortunately, some of my contemporaries unexpectedly succumbed to a variety of different types of ailments that took them from the physical world. Most battled to remain alive, while others voluntarily perished. It has been difficult for me to witness these heartbreaking circumstances. Life is always challenging but adding disease or psychosis to the equation makes for a brutally difficult existence. As a believer in preventative medicine, I consistently employ healthy habits that should improve my ability to continue living. While there are no guarantees, I want to give myself the best chance to continue to evolve. Given what I have recently witnessed, however, I recognize that remaining alive is tricky. To that point, while I continue to walk amongst the masses, I want to offer an expression of gratitude to those people that positively influence my life.

To my wife, thank you for the love and support over the last 22 years. Our journey has been filled with great times as well as unexpected trials and tribulations. We battle adversity together. Your integrity, composure, and practicality keep me grounded.  

To my sons Ty and Jesse, you are both humble, kind, empathetic, smart, and brave. The greatest blessing in my life is being your dad. You both possess great character and immaculate souls. The future is bright for both of you. I admire who you are now, as well as the men that you are becoming.

To my parents, thank you for teaching me about honor, compassion, discipline, tenacity, and grit. I learned the fundamental principles of my life from both of you.

To my friends, thank you all for the bond we created. Navigating life with righteous, insightful, trustworthy, and loyal allies is something that I value. It’s a privilege to earn relationships that are not blood affiliated.

Lastly, I rarely contemplate how I want to be remembered after I am gone. There is a bit of narcissism associated with this type of thinking. As I get older, however, I do hope that the most important people in my life reflect positively on our time together. I would like those closest to me to remember me as honest, loyal, caring, and dependable. I also hope that they recognize the unfettered, genuine love that I have for them.

I don’t plan on going anywhere soon, and I hope to meet other great human beings that positively impact my life.

Hunting

Golf – It’s Hard to Get Better

Like many people that are addicted to the sport, I want to be a good golfer. I envy those who find the sport easy to play. Golfers that possess geometrically precise swings, and can launch a ball mile, keep me motivated to work to improve my game. I enjoy practicing, but my range game generally doesn’t translate to a similar performance on the course. My expectation that the latest equipment advancements will help me achieve my scoring objectives generally ends in disappointment. Some of the professional instruction I have received over the last 30 years has helped me execute better than I would have if I had not taken the lessons. I own almost every training aid that has been invented, but only a handful have assisted me in producing positive results.

I have never hit the ball very far, and my ball contact has always been suboptimal. Those issues have undermined my ability to consistently score well. When I was playing more often, and my body was more flexible, my handicap dropped to a 5.7 index for a few seasons. Now that I play less, and I am older, it has become more difficult to create a reliably effective golf swing. My handicap has ballooned to a 9.9 index (even higher at times), and it seems as though I hit an improvement wall.

In December of 2021 I visited the PXG store in Arizona. They were kind enough to oversee me as I tried to get the ball airborne in their facility. My driver swing speed averaged 95 mph and the ball dispersion on the clubface was ghastly. Additionally, my swing path was surprisingly and regularly over-the-top. As I drove away from the facility, I realized that I would have to make radical changes, or golf would become perpetually frustrating for me.

Things began to slowly improve when I incorporated two new training aids. This past winter, I read an article featuring the Rypstick. During my subsequent research on the product, I watched Dr. Luke Benoit, Director of Instruction at Interlachen Country Club, and inventor of the Rypstick, discuss the science behind his device. I was desperate to get better, and unafraid to invest the money, so I ordered one. Once it arrived, I followed the training protocol suggested. Over the next few months, I did almost everything Dr. Luke demonstrated. The workouts were rigorous and swinging outside in cold temperatures was unpleasant. That said, when I was able to get back on a launch monitor, my driver swing speed averaged 101 mph. When spring arrived, and I was able to hit a ball outside, I realized carry distances that I never thought were possible. Unfortunately, my swing path remained over-the-top, and I couldn’t find a way to create an inside-out path. All that said, when I hit the ball squarely, my ball went farther than it had in years.

I ended up hiring a friend, and PGA professional, to help me better my game. For years, I snatched the club inside, and then dropped the club even further inside on the downswing. My miss was a nasty snap hook, but I regularly hit a “draw” loaded with distance-gaining, ground topspin. Late in 2021, I surprisingly got over-the-top, and my ball regularly flew feebly to the right. My instructor told me that my club was not on plane, and he asked me to work on both my alignment as well the shaft position on my backswing. That is what I continue to work on during my practice sessions. The outside-in path remains a challenge for me, and it must change if I am going to continue to evolve.

Early last season, I purchased the Lag Shot Golf 7 iron. Most amateur golfers struggle with rushing their swing from the top as well as casting the club. I am no different, and this flaw is a power-killer. My pre-round routine now includes 10 minutes warming up with the Lag Shot. I try to get a feel of how I should be swinging my actual clubs during the round. When I can consistently hit the ball with the Lag Shot, my confidence improves. That is a good thing when I get to the first tee.

I am far from where I want to be. I will continue to work with my instructor, as well as utilizing both the Rypstick and the Lag Shot. I will remain dedicated to improving my strength, flexibility, and pliability. Golf is hard, and my regular regressions make the game maddening. Quitting is not an option, so I will embrace the struggle.

Please feel free to offer up any sage advice if you feel like you can positively impact my game.

  • If you want to improve your swing speed, and you’re willing to put in the work, purchase the Rypstick. Use this link and enter this code “HUNTFISHGOLF” for 20% off your purchase.
  • If you want to work on your temp and transition, purchase a Lag Shot product. Use this link and enter this code “HUNTFISHGOLF” for 20% off your purchase.
  • If you want to reduce inflammation and pain, while improving mobility, purchase a Kineon MOVE+ product. Use this link and enter this code “HUNTFISHGOLF” for 15% off your purchase. I use the MOVE+ to relieve painful arthritis in my fingers, as well as tendonitis in my elbow.
  • If you want to diminish soreness while you are playing, put STAMINAPRO patches on your body. Click on this link and use code “TFG20” for 20% off any purchase made.
Hunting

Most

It is September of 2022, and most of the citizens of United States of America are angry and divided. Politicians and the media continue to produce contrived narratives that blur facts and undermine the truth. Their actions are deliberate, and they have successfully pitted neighbors against neighbors, friends against friends, and family members against family members. Power and money make up the core reasons for this relentless and corrupt attack against the people of our country.

It is my contention that most American citizens want the devolving of our society to end. We want to live in a free country where skin color, religion, sexual preference, gender, and political affiliation are not a matter of consequence. Most of us want to work hard, raise a family, and experience happiness. It is my contention that:

  • Most people believe in God.
  • Most people are kind.
  • Most people are inclusive.
  • Most people have integrity.
  • Most people are generous.  
  • Most people value a meritocracy.   
  • Most people protect the most vulnerable.
  • Most people appreciate free speech.
  • Most people want to protect the planet.

Americans need and deserve representatives that are honest, transparent, and selfless. Elected officials must prioritize bettering the lives of their constituents versus angling themselves for personal gain. The people that report the facts must disregard their political bias and stop perpetuating obvious falsehoods.  The blatant narcissism and self-aggrandizing must end. The system must work as our forefathers intended if the citizens of this country are going to prosper.

Family, Hunting

The 225 Mile U Turn

I can recall almost every hunt that Echo and I have experienced over the last 5 years. There are some hunts however that stand out because something remarkable occurs. Most often it is Echo doing something so tremendous that the moment is emblazoned in my mind forever. 

On this cold December day, Echo and I took the long drive to our favorite farm in Wray, Colorado. The plan was to meet up with a good friend and his dog by mid-morning. I know the area well, and I wanted to hunt a piece of land that we had not hit too many times over the last few years. The cows had not been let into both the north and southwest corners, so the cover circling the corn field was dense enough to hold birds. The wind was blowing over 10 mph from the northeast, so we started our walk from the opposite corner. Echo and I took a circuitous route to the end of the southwest corner so we hopefully would catch a pheasant napping. Once we got 20 yards out from the combination of grass and tumbleweeds, Echo started to get birdy. While I knew that we were in business, I was feeling a bit groggy from the long drive. When the rooster busted 15 yards to my right, I struggled to square up to the speedy bird. Two shots later, Echo paused her run as she realized that I had missed. My apology was heard, and we continued our work along the edge of the corn field. Echo will point when a bird freezes, and just moments after my failure, she stopped in her tracks. When she suddenly popped up, it caused the rooster to take flight. One shot of HEVI-METAL #4 knocked the bird out of the air.

With a bird in the vest, we continued our walk north into the next corner. There is tumbleweed filled ditches that surround this part of the field. Many times, the birds will evade our pursuit by carefully navigating these channels. About halfway through the middle of the northwest corner, Echo started to move with a purpose. While no birds took flight, I believed that she was pursuing more than one of the targeted species. As we approached the four rung barbed wire fence that abutted a ditch, Echo elevated into beast mode. Fueled by the scent of our quarry, my dog exploded through the bottom rung, but she caught a buckle of her chest protector on a single barb. That contact caused the entire vest to tear off her body. Once I put the fragments of the material in my pack, we started to work both sides of the ditch heading east. Echo remained hot but were not able to get the runners to fly.

My friend Oneal finally arrived, and he and Marley took the north side of the tree line that paralleled the two ditches we had just been hunting. As we walked west, Echo became excited as the northeast wind told her that birds were still present. Once Echo stopped and turned to our right, a rooster got up from the ditch and flew across the road. My first shot was behind the bird, but my next round knocked the bird to the ground. Unfortunately, the long shot was not lethal, and the speedy cock ran through the ditch and under the first fence. Echo was in full stride as she circumvented the lowest wire. She tore across the northwest corner just a few yards behind the bird. As the pheasant cut left it went under a second and then a third barbed wire fence. Echo tackled the bird, and headed back to me with the rooster in her mouth. After grabbing the bird, I noticed that my hand was covered in blood. It only took a few seconds to realize that Echo’s ear was split in half, and blood was gushing everywhere. It took me 30 minutes to slow the bleeding, and make the decision to head home. Almost 4 hours later, we arrived at the veterinarian, and Echo was stitched up.

This was the first major injury Echo suffered in all of our days spent in the field. Unfortunately, it would not be the last. On our first hunting trip after her ear had healed, Echo tore her knee open at some point during the day. The wounds Echo suffered shook me up. I thought I was prepared for handling my dog’s in-field ordeals. I wasn’t, and I am not sure how I am going improve my veterinarian skills.