Tools of the trade

Took the dogs for a good workout this morning.  Sis' fitness level continues to amaze.  She's a beast.  Moll-dog continues to cause me worry, I feel bad about how poor her fitness level is.  But she's coming no matter what.  Post-workout picture:

In addition, I'm continuing to narrow down areas I want to hunt.  Here are some of the resources I've found to valuable for planning a trip that's 2000+ miles away.

The Montana wildlife department (FWP) distributes a booklet with maps of all the Block Management Areas (BMA's) and a description of each one.  The BMA's are privately owned land that the landowners have decided to enroll for public use.  This is what makes Western states such an awesome destination for hunters.  That and the fact that states like Idaho are somewhere around 60% publicly-owned land, almost all of it open to hunters.  

Also, Ben O. Williams has written some handy books for traveling bird hunters.  The one I'm referring to here is called Wingshooting Wisdom: Prairie.  It's a good resource.

Last but not least is the DeLorme Atlas and Gazeteer of Montana.  Always helpful.

Early morning workout

Took Molly (gsp) and Sis (brittany) to the park first thing this morning.  We have a really nice park 2 minutes from our house.  I let them run for about 20 minutes on the soccer and baseball fields.  I plan to do this a few times a week and add to their time on the ground each outing.  Hopefully this will build some base-level endurance.

I'm really happy with where Sis is at physically but Molly is struggling.  It's nobody's fault but mine.  She is 7 years old now and I've never had to worry about her fitness until recently.  To be fair, it was already 80+ degrees by the time we got out there and I know that the heat plays a huge role.  I'm not a field trialer and I'm not interested in competitive bird-hunting so if my dogs aren't olympic athletes that's ok.  At the same time, it's more enjoyable for them and for me if they are fit and ready.

Daydreaming

Nothing new to report today.  Did a little logistical planning last night, narrowing down areas I want to hunt in MT.  

Other than that, just trying to keep the dogs in shape.  It's a little tougher when you live in the city, but not impossible.  

So without much further ado, here are some pics from previous hunts to keep the dream alive.  Location: somewhere in Idaho.  Or Wyoming.  Or Montana.  

abandoned homesteader's barn

my first ruffed grouse

Another abandoned barn.  I always feel like a wimp when I think of how tough and determined these homesteaders must have been.  I doubt they complained much.  Didn't have time.

Molly looking out over the river.  This is a really special area.  You can find sharpies up on the bench, then as your hiking down into the canyon you'll encounter ruffs.  Once down in the river bottom you can jump mallards.  It's the type of hunting that makes a Southerner want to move out West.  Just look out for bears.

Too soon?

I may be getting a little ahead of myself.  But to be fair, I have been planning this trip since 2011.

Back then I was planning a full-blown 2 week trip to Montana in which I would drive all the way from NC.  I would spend around 10 days hunting and the remainder set aside as travel time.  Well, that's not happening.  For one thing, I don't want to be away from my lovely wife for that long, and for another my work responsibilities have increased a lot in the last 3 years and I'm not able to be gone that long.

No biggie.  I'll do that trip someday.  But this October I'm doing a 5 day trip.  I'm flying into Billings, MT and hunting for 3 days in the North Central area of the state and then flying back.

The trickiest part of this trip is traveling with the dogs.  I've transported my dogs via air before and I don't worry about their safety, I just don't like the idea of them being cooped up for 7 and a half hours in their crates.  But I got Sis' crate out of storage today and they voluntarily crammed into it:

"We're good.  When do we leave for this hunting trip?"

They'll have their own separate crates but I don't think they're too worried about the traveling aspect.  Bird dogs seem to sense when there is a hunting trip on the horizon and they definitely perked up when I started getting some of the gear out today.  

The countdown begins.