[sniper john]

Sometimes things just don't happen as planned and the game changes.

I was on one of my Snipe hunts about three years ago. It was late season and the flooded field conditions were perfect for snipe hunting. But typical for late season, once the birds were flushed from the field, they did not return.

Apparently the flooded field conditions were also perfect for Crawfish! On the walk back Blaze started rooting them out of the grass and they were giants too. Blaze would run ahead, stop and stick her nose in the grass, sometimes getting pinched and having to shake off a Crawfish. I would bag the Crawdad and send her on for the next one. She was finding them as fast as I could pick them up. I bagged more than a pound of them. It was fun. I was laughing out loud. I must have looked crazy to anyone in the distance. Made for some good eating a few days later.

 

[sniper john]

Coyotes.........

Many of you that hunt much have probably seen them and like me not thought much about them. I have gotten glimpses of them on hunts. On a Sage grouse hunt in Colorado I did have one that stayed with us, but from a distance. Blaze as typical for a Vizsla never ranged extremely far so though I kept an eye on the Yote, I was not concerned. I figured it was just curious. I did take a picture of it.

But things changed on a Spring Turkey hunt this year in Texas. On a back field of our hunting lease I found three Turkeys in the distance across the field. I sat Blaze a few feet behind me in a low spot and I started calling to try and draw the Turkeys to my side of the field. I was ignored at first, so I stepped it up with some loud aggressive calling. The birds were finally working towards me, but suddenly stopped and looked agitated. I was well hidden so my first thought was that Blaze was being a bad girl and had run off into the field. Now this is as I used to say when I rode bulls and things got wild "things got western!". I turned to see if Blaze was still there. She was, but there was a Coyote running full out towards her. No hint of stopping and closing fast. Shocked to see this I spin on around with the shotgun and stop it with a load of #5 hevi shot. It cartwheels but turns to the field despite a broken leg. Blaze knowing her job this day as a Turkey catch dog, does what she thinks she is supposed to do and charges the Coyote. Me yelling Whoa of course. If Blaze could talk she might have said " Doesn't really look like a bird, but he shot it, so I'll go get it."The Coyote with teeth showing turns to make a stand, but I finished things with another shot before Blaze had a chance to connect.

Now believe it or not, trained Decoy dogs used by Professional Coyote hunters are not as unusual as you would expect. But I don't think it would be something I would really want my Vizsla doing. On the other hand, I would not mind having another pound of Crawdads!

 

[Sahara]

Great stories Sniper John. Thanks for sharing them. I might have to take Tizane out in the rice fields at my father in law's next crawfish season. I'm sure she'd have a blast goung after them and I know we'd like eating them.