Hunting November 2002 (click pictures to enlarge)

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Jim, Jake the dog, and I went hunting in Iowa and Minnesota on Sunday November 3, 2002.


  2002a.jpg We stayed the night in western Minnesota close to the Iowa border and got up about 7:00 a.m. to go down to Iowa. The Iowa season opens each day at 8:00 a.m., in Minnesota it's 9:00. We saw two roosters by the side of the road near a farm in Minnesota as we drove. Just into Iowa we spotted this *giant* stuffed llama at a llama farm.
 
One llama checks me out. The morning was coldly crisp, but not painfully so.
  I faced the other way and took a picture of the sun continuing to come up in the east. It is about 15 minutes before we can hunt. We took the first gravel road we found off the highway in Iowa and immediately began to see pheasants. I saw a hen in the ditch, and soon we saw three roosters just outside a belt of corn out in a field. Soon it was 8:00 a.m. and time to hunt.
  Very soon Jim spotted a rooster in the ditch and we hopped out and let the dog go. Jim shot the rooster but it landed just in the standing corn beyond about 25 picked rows. Jake the dog found this bird and brought it to Jim - luckily the bird did not run. Just look at the colors on this pheasant! CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND ENLARGE IT.
 
Look at the light green color on the top front of his head. I could never take a picture like this unless Jim was there to hold him for a close up.
 
Jim and Jake with and Iowa fall in the background.
 
We got out at this spot and started to walk. After about 10 minutes we gave up because there didn't seem to be any sign of pheasants.
  We drove past the end of this corn the first time and both Jim and I heard roosters crowing. Jim hit the brakes and backed up to about this spot. We hopped and with Jake went up the road and looked toward the left down the edge of the fields. Many pheasants flew, but my only shot was at a running rooster. Jim said the dirt all around the bird flew up, but the little guy just kept on running. Hopefully, he wasn't hurt and makes it to spring.
  I saw three pheasants sneaking along this ditch. Jim kept driving, dropped me off, then drove back past the birds a ways and got out with Jake. We walked toward each other, but the birds in the middle flew before we were close enough to shoot. With little heavy cover in this ditch, pheasants are likely to spook and fly more easily.
  Jake.
 
I don't remember why we stopped here, I think we walked a railroad track. Here is Jim and Jake.
  This is me. I don't worry how I look while I hunt, so I am no fashion statement. I have my new Danner boots, which are the best boots I have ever had. I walked all day in them brand new without getting one blister. I have some heavy duty brush pants on - so no prickly cockleburs can stick to me. I have a light jacket on and light gloves. This day was perfect hunting weather.
  We are back in Minnesota now. This is a bad shot of the farmer who let us walk the tree line in his farmyard when we spotted some pheasants in it as we drove by. His wife walked out to talk to him. He also told us he saw 50 pheasants while picking corn earlier and sent us off with permission to hunt his land and directions to his it. Many thanks to you, Mr. Farmer.
  2002n.jpg This is the farmers land. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to cover it all. We flushed a few hens close, and Jim got a shot at a rooster, but we didn't see the big group of pheasants. We did hunt a crick line later and I missed two roosters in high wind. Then we both shot at a rooster and he dropped in a picked cornfield but ran so fast Jake couldn't find him. I also hit one huge pheasant and downy feathers floated downwind on to Jim, but again we couldn't find him.
  2002o.jpg


Darkness has fallen and Jim figures out how to get us back home.



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