I received a call early Monday morning. The caller was from the North Dakota Parks and Game Commission and he asked if I was the owner of a retriever kennel. Had to admit to my culpability to this and then he explained that he was given my phone number by a local banker and Chamber of Commerce official. The hunting season had just finished but the Commission had authorized a video and necessary special hunt to promote ND's opportunities for late season pheasant hunting. His question was will you help by working a team of your retrievers for the production. My reply was to say that I was eager to be part but would like to know how it was being set up before I gave my final answer.

Wednesday morning before sun up there was a crew of Commission officials and filming crew members at my front door. We scouted a couple of dozen locations and decided to get land owner permission for three of the places. There was a discussion about how many hunters were to be included and we settled on 8. They told me to bring dogs that would look good on a video screen and the date for us to do this was the following tuesday.

We began about 10 AM with the line of guns walking a large snow covered area of small grain stubble and some grasslands. I brought 3 Chessies and 2 flatcoats and chose a large sedge male and two females (a DG and a brown) likewise the flatcoats were represented by a black male and a liver female. Only the 8 year old brown Chessie and the 6 year old flatcoat male were experienced dogs the remaining were first season animals. The walk up took about 45 minutes but produced nothing but pretty footage of the dogs quartering as a team and the fluching of a small flock of grey partridge. I started the morning very nervous about the dogs staying under comntrol. When the partridge went up they just stood watching so I got to relax a bit.


The next location was a 3/4 mile long woods about 50 yards wide with knee deep snow and lots of down trees and branches. The dogs and I along with two gamewardens were to walk the woods from north to south and the other five guns were to block the south end. As we walked we flushed several pheasants and each of us shot a couple. Because of the camera positioning only the guns on the sides of the woods and the birds they shot in the open were visable to the camara crew. The dogs kept working but seemed to be checking something to the west side of the woods when a large buck bolted from the woods and froze for a few moments staring at the activity. Good camera footage I am sure but quite a temtation for the young dogs. Luckily they all sat on the whistle and then went back to work. Between 200 and 150 yards short of the south end of the treeline the woods just exploded with 2-300 pheasants flushing almost at once. the side guns on the walk up each took their third cock birds but the blocking guns sounded like they were in a firefight. I was too concentrated on my dogs to skoot but to my great relief all five froze whenthe birds flushed ( probably as shocked as the humans at the number) and sat when I hit the whistle hard. After a few moments the shooting stopped and some one yell WOW!!! The dogs working as a team quickly collected the 16 birds dead in the snow. One bird was a very strong runner and the flatcoat puppy took off on the blood trail ignoring the dead birds. The bird traveled across the snow at least another 3/4 mile back tracked and circled twice and then dove into the small area of brush. Puppy followeed and as we watched on the screen with the help of the big zoom lense the bird made one futil try to go up but the pup caught it in mid air.


The final site used for the shoot was a small slough with lots of sedges and cattails. Because of the smaller area only two dogs and 3 guns were used. Since it was a real deadgrass area I choose the sedge colored male and the DG bitch to work this spot. each flushed several birds and the guns brought down 5. When the birds had been collected including some nice film of the big sedge dog crashing through the thin ice of the slough both dogs kept looking in the same direction that one of the birds had flown off. Figuring that the dogs sometimes know more than we do one camera truck drove out for a better position up the hill and then about 10 minutes after the shots were fired I sent the sedge male. He took his own line crossing the tire tracks without hesitation and from where I was disappeared over the hill. A couple of minutes later the camaera man on top of the rig that was up the hill started waving one arm and then over the crest came the dog flying as fast as his legs could propel him with what turned out to be a dead cock bird.

The filming session ended with the birds spread out on the snow in front of the dogs and hunters and the commontater saying some very complimentary things about the quality of the hunt, the lovely scenery and making a big deal that these dogs that had made this super hunt particularly memorable for all the hunters. The video will be used next winter for a half hour TV show and several TV spot advts to promote the after Christmas hunting opportunities in ND. I have been promissed covies on DVD format but have no idea when I will get these from the out of area production company.

Oh as we relaxed for lunch the eight year old Chessie bitch managed to steal two sandwiches and, no, she never shared with the others.

Hey! That's pretty neat - great to show off some of the 'lesser' known breeds.....

Ed

Cool !

I would be interested in seeing the footage if you find out when it airs or copies of the DVD (my dime of course)

Regards
Lorne

I believe this is a crock, and why haven't the dept parks and game ever heard of you? O"H isn't it the dept of game and wildlife?

This guy claimed he has hunted with me, I guarentee you folks that has never happened! Where is my private slough and why haven't I bought a Pheasent lic in 15 years (cause I don't hunt them)

Ssuttle13,
I think you forgot to take your meds, or maybe you need another drink.

People become chemically dependent when reality overwhelms them and use them as a escape. I personally am screwtanized by random drug test and federally mandated to a 24-7 .04 blood achahol level, and am a superviser of a truck fleet contracted to some of the most respected and succesful road and excavating contractors in the state. I have no problem producing my credentials, personal refrences,and documention.
My father read statements for their true value and he and I would respond to your comment by put your brain in gear before your mouth!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ssuttle13,

Well, the blood alcohol level explains everything. At 24/7 level of 4.0, the guy's dead.

Did I miss a good drunk?????????????

No.....the post was edited. It originally read blood alcohol level of 4.0. Now it's changed to .40, which is still way over the legally impaired level, which I think is like .08? So, while he may not be dead, he's still really, really drunk.

I knew it.I missed a good bender!

A typo error doesn't change the facts!!! Thats the point of the post not what jokes can be made.

I blew a .12 once.....

The rest of the story; I was on my way to get more hooch...

That was a long time ago...