Post by salt on Nov 25, 2014 20:09:18 GMT -5
I got invited to go to Roush for the Put and Take today. I have never been to a DNR Put and Take. Here is what I "took" away from it...
We checked in at 8:40AM. The staff was very nice. But, because of the line, they gave very little instruction. We arrived at our designated area and saw 3 other groups. A couple of guys were friendly. A couple were not so much. My hunting partner and I decided to not follow the crowd and head a different direction. Big mistake. We ended up running into some of the thickest stuff I have ever seen. After wasting an hour, we returned back to the truck and headed the direction of the crowd. Just as we were entering a large field, we were greeted with lead falling from the sky. I guess a bird had flushed and flown in our direction. We did find a few birds. There were multiple times that we met another group and were either in the wrong section or found that the other group was in the wrong section. We also talked to a couple of guys who didn't understand the check-in procedure and said they were going to hunt anyways.
In summary, I really had an enjoyable time despite some negative experiences. Like any other hunt, you learn from your mistakes. I will check out my area better in advance next time. I will follow the guys who appear to know more about it than me. It was great to get my Brittany on some pheasants for a change. Bella never missed a beat as we walked an estimated 8 miles. I will be happy to be back on familiar ground hunting chukars this weekend. It is always a pleasure to watch a bird dog do what they were bred to do.
We checked in at 8:40AM. The staff was very nice. But, because of the line, they gave very little instruction. We arrived at our designated area and saw 3 other groups. A couple of guys were friendly. A couple were not so much. My hunting partner and I decided to not follow the crowd and head a different direction. Big mistake. We ended up running into some of the thickest stuff I have ever seen. After wasting an hour, we returned back to the truck and headed the direction of the crowd. Just as we were entering a large field, we were greeted with lead falling from the sky. I guess a bird had flushed and flown in our direction. We did find a few birds. There were multiple times that we met another group and were either in the wrong section or found that the other group was in the wrong section. We also talked to a couple of guys who didn't understand the check-in procedure and said they were going to hunt anyways.
In summary, I really had an enjoyable time despite some negative experiences. Like any other hunt, you learn from your mistakes. I will check out my area better in advance next time. I will follow the guys who appear to know more about it than me. It was great to get my Brittany on some pheasants for a change. Bella never missed a beat as we walked an estimated 8 miles. I will be happy to be back on familiar ground hunting chukars this weekend. It is always a pleasure to watch a bird dog do what they were bred to do.
