A South Dakota Pheasant Hunt by Larry Dowden

11/3/06 (early)

Hey guys, greeting from the beautiful cold state of South Dakota.

We are all getting ready to go out and find some pheasants.  I big group of guys are cooking breakfast and I’m drinking coffee.  The lodge is really nice.  It has a big dinning area and kitchen, a big screen TV for football, and a place for lots of stories.  There are guys here from all over the country.  Three are from Alaska; one’s a retired attorney.  I could never afford a hunt like this.  I can’t wait to put a pheasant in my bag.

I would guess it’s around 15 degrees this morning.  Maggie had ice in her kennel last night from her breath.  I sure felt bad for her with me in a warm bed with pheasant mounts all around me.  I went with the guide yesterday evening to dump trash.  We must have seen 50 pheasant and six – eight deer.  The deer look like horses – huge.  Well it’s about time to feed our bellies and then we’re off to warm the shotguns.

11/3/06 (late)

What a morning!  We limited out in about two hours.  I was on the outside and most of the birds flew my way.  I ended up getting to shoot six and missed at least that many.  It was great.  We are about to go and hunt the public land and do it all over.

Check out the sun rise (below) that God gave us this morning…wow.

11/4/06

Wow, it was better than we could have hoped for.  We had a fantastic hunt yesterday evening on some public land.  I jump four rosters and twice as many hens.  I got one and Ian got one; the others got away.  Maggie did a great job.  She retrieved both kills and flushed three rosters and many more hens.  I’m so impressed at how well she is working.

Today she made an unreal retrieve.  I shot a roster that went down about 120 yards away.  She went right to it, brought it back to me and dropped it right in my hand.  Eric Sutton did a fantastic job with her.  For a dog that was so soft and started training at over a year old, not to bad.  She has received a lot of compliments.  Great job Eric!

We are managing to stay nourished, we had clam chowder, clams, steak, and lobster last night.  All were flown in from New England and FedExed to us live.  Tonight I hear some guys from Alaska are having Alaskan Blue Crab sent in.  Just another roughing it hunting trip.

What a hunt, I’m Blessed to be apart of it.