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Just finished my rookie season hunting whitetail. The real reason I bought my Kansas tag was because my dog can�t go the distance for roosters anymore. He still lives to hunt and I don�t want to take that away from him. At his age he is good for maybe 2 or 3 fields in the morning and 2 in the afternoon if supplied with tramadol and/or rimadyl. The rest of the day I walk the dry creek beds alone looking for deer. That leaves me with some extra time and in most fields I can hunt either pheasant or deer. It became a wing and hoof hunt. Mixing in some still hunting for Kansas whitetail gives the old dog a break. At age 13 he can�t hunt all day like he used to. I�ve had a season to be thankful for. A bighorn ewe in September and a cow elk in October fill my freezer. My bull elk hunt was limited by snow and was still enjoyable but not successful. I know zero about whitetail hunting and didn�t expect to be successful just by exploring the dry creek beds but there are deer trails everywhere there and it was interesting. A herd bugs out after taunting me from the safety of a private field. SW Kansas really is a sportsmans paradise in many ways. The public access is great. While driving around looking for deer haunts I found ponds that look pretty sweet for waterfowl and it looks like some enjoyable fishing. Witcher Ranch is a great hunting lodge in the area that is worth a visit. It�s address is Campo, CO but I think it may actually be closer to Elkhart. There are very few roads in this CO, KS, OK corner. Witcher Ranch makes up the SE CO portion and on the KS side (the Cimmarron) has a special designation as elk habitat by the KDPW. The primary business of Witcher Ranch seems to be guided elk hunts. It seems like a great location for people in that part of the country looking for a guided elk hunt. The lodge at Witcher Ranch is very nice, reasonable rates, excellent accommodations, great hospitality, and it�s about the only place to stay in that area with a kennel to accommodate hunting dogs. The bright spot is that the puppy loves to hunt. She started off enthusiastic about finding anything but she quickly learned from the old dog that roosters were the objective. This year I bought a gun with less db report but I still can�t bring myself to shoot over the 18 month old. It won�t be long before it is all up to her. [img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...1M/n8zXFLjwrMk/w640-h480-no/P1130817.JPG[/img] The 13 year old dog is a good mentor for her. She will be the senior dog soon enough and it is encouraging to see her enthusiasm for roosters and her physical stamina. On the very best fields I leave the pup in the truck so I can shoot with the old boy. When I return she shows her displeasure by putting her nose between her paws, ears back, and pouting � refusing to leave the truck. Returning home from the hunt my 3rd dog, the oldest one, limps out to greet me. For the first time she has to be left at home. She tries to climb into the truck. She knows the hunt is over but she wants to make sure that I know that she knows that she didn�t get to go. In her day she loved waterfowl retrieving tests and would actually dive below a frozen ice shelf to pull back a diving cripple. She hunted CO, NM, KS, WY, MT, ND, SK with me. I tell her that she didn�t miss anything. She is not buying it. [img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...AE6s/0J_U87isig8/w640-h480-no/Heidi1.jpg[/img] The old matriarch in her younger days. On my last morning a small herd runs across the road ahead and onto a legal native grass field. My heart thumps in my chest. By the time I stop the truck and put the binos on them they are already disappearing over the horizon. I didn�t get a whitetail but then I didn�t deserve one with no knowledge of the species and only hunting part time. I�m hooked however. Next year I�ll know the creek bottoms a little better.
Last edited by Alamosa; 12/16/14.
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Great pics!
dogs getting old is a tough deal no doubt.
As for whitetails, they aren't that tough to figure out. They are creatures of habit and lazy. They follow the same routes, at the same times day after day unless they get too much pressure. It won't take long for you to figure out when and where they're going to be on any given day.
Stupidity is expensive If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
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Joined: Feb 2010
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Good story and some nice pics to go along with it.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
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Cool never seen Heelers used as hunting dogs. Not suprised though they are smart dogs.
I've always been different with one foot over the line.....
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2001
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Food, water,shelter,space. And sex.
Great post.
The only true cost of having a dog is its death.
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Joined: Jul 2007
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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As for whitetails, they aren't that tough to figure out. They are creatures of habit and lazy. They follow the same routes, at the same times day after day unless they get too much pressure. It won't take long for you to figure out when and where they're going to be on any given day.
Interesting. Alamosa, looks like you had a fine trip with some fine hunting partners.
WWP53D
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Love them Heelers. Hate when they get old...
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Sounds like a great time with a couple of good partners. Well done! The family and I will be getting a hunting dog this spring/summer and I'm looking forward to trips like you had As for whitetails, they aren't that tough to figure out. They are creatures of habit and lazy. They follow the same routes, at the same times day after day unless they get too much pressure. It won't take long for you to figure out when and where they're going to be on any given day.
Interesting. Alamosa, looks like you had a fine trip with some fine hunting partners. It is. I'd like to see him hang a few pics of good bucks he's taken...
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Joined: Oct 2002
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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Those are good looking dogs. A day with a dog is never a wasted day.
"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
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Joined: Mar 2007
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I've never killed any really great bucks. I shoot the first legal deer that shows up. I grew up hunting whitetails on the family farm back in southern Maryland. I still don't chase horns. Just not my thing.
Stupidity is expensive If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I really enjoyed reading that Alamosa, and the great pictures really were an added bonus. Thanks for taking the time to post 'em up for us. Looks like you had a great adventure.
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
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Ditto. Great post and a great read. Thanks for take the time to share!
Bob Enjoy life now -- it has an expiration date. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2011
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Ditto. Great post and a great read. Thanks for take the time to share! Great writing, real easy reading. Nice job.
_______________________________________________________ An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack
LOL
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Great post. I enjoyed reading it as well as looking at the excellent pictures.
Thank you.
Reno
The time is drawing nearer for the American People to stand up for what they believe in. To stop having their rights trampled by the a$$holes in Washington D.C.
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New Member
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New Member
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sounds like a great time, thanks!
Hunting is where you prove yourself
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Campfire Outfitter
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nothing wrong with being a meat hunter. i'm always out to fill the freezer. if a real trophy buck comes along its alway good. if not i'll be eating deer all year anyway.
great pic's,good read.
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Great pixels & prose. Sounds to me like both you and the pups had a successful rookie season, indeed....
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Great post and tribute to your friends. Well done. How close do they range? Flushers I'm guessing, if so do they bore into the scent with a hard charge? Natural retrievers? Home bodies or do you have to make sure they don't head for the hills?
Last edited by battue; 12/21/14.
laissez les bons temps rouler
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OP
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Great post and tribute to your friends. Well done. How close do they range? Flushers I'm guessing, if so do they bore into the scent with a hard charge? Natural retrievers? Home bodies or do you have to make sure they don't head for the hills? Back in his day his ranging was just where I wanted. He reached his best about 3 years ago when he was age 10. He would stay within a reasonable distance, flushed well but he would honor another dogs point. He always retrieves the birds. Now at age 13 his hearing is starting to fail and he hunts just by his nose if the pup isn�t there to help him. We�ve learned to work the edges and corners to compensate for that. I never intended any of them to be hunting dogs - just dogs, but this breed seeks work to do. In his early years I tried to make him into a waterfowl retriever because that is what the other heeler excelled at. I gave up, brought him on some elk hunts instead. It wasn�t until he was 6 or 7 that I discovered that he was pretty good at finding roosters. Helping to pack out some elk loins What little bit I know about dog training is only what I had to learn on the fly with the old white dog. There was a point where she was advancing fast. Who knows how good she might have become if she�d had a better trainer/handler. I don�t push the puppy to be a gun dog. If she wants to then that is fine. She is interested in ducks and especially pheasants, but if she goes another way it is fine. The furthest mine roam is to molest barn cats. The puppy makes off with a duck. Still looking for her place and purpose.
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Thanks for sharing
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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