Cooper and I went on a pheasant hunting trip to South Dakota with our friends Brad and Christine and their German Shorthair Pointer, Roxie. We leased a 1200 acre farm and rented a house in Hoven, South Dakota to hunt wild pheasants for four days. I had been out to South Dakota a few years ago with my wife and Cooper and we had an absolute blast. She couldn't make the trip this time, but I wanted to get Cooper out (at least) one more time while he was in his prime.
We had an awesome trip, but the hunting was definitely tough. The overall bird numbers were down in South Dakota this year and this farm gets hunted by a different group of hunters each week. We saw a lot of hens and much fewer roosters and the birds were highly educated and wily this late in the season. We saw many birds that just seemed to flush just outside of shotgun range and the birds that came up in range were fast and tough. Every bird we got was earned through some long tough miles and relentless dog work.
I cant wait to come back out here one day with the kids and a few more dogs!
 |
| Brad / Roxy and me / Cooper |
 |
| Cooper making the first retrieve of the trip |
 |
| Old windmill on the prairie |
 |
| Roxie on a nice retrieve |
 |
| First afternoon on public land. Great start! |
 |
| One proud Lab after a hard day's work |
 |
| My wild pheasant and portabella crock pot recipe |
 |
| Living room of the rental house |
 |
| Best part of the day! |
  |
| Cooper and Roxie with fine retrieves |
 |
A pointer and a retriever can work together well!
|
 |
| Cooper and I with a beautiful wild Ringneck using Dad's old Beretta 12 gauge |
 |
| Beer of the trip = Bells Midwestern Pale Ale |
 |
| Brad and Christine with a gigantic cottontail rabbit |
 |
Random old port-a-potty at the reclaimed
gravel pit yard. Strange, but convenient! |
 |
| SouthDakotaWild.com |
 |
| Just another breath taking SD sunset. |
 |
| Cooper being Cooper. Captain Nitwit! |
 |
| Small game bonanza - 11/25 |
 |
Trip Summary from Pittsburgh - South Dakota
- Lynchburg, VA. 3,230 miles! |
 |
| I found the worlds BEST sunflower seeds. |
 |
| Sunset over the old farmstead in Hoven, SD after the last day's hunt while sitting on the tail gate drinking a cold one. |
