Pointing dogs, flushing birds, great action shots or happy hunters, this is a collection of some of my favorite moments I caught on camera last season.

Here it is, the worst of the worst blow-ups I got on camera last season.  23 mostly, cringe-worthy shots that were just too close or too often or both.  Enjoy and if you recognize yourself, count to three before you pull the trigger.

Brad Ruckman brought out his daughter, Allyson for her first pheasant hunt along with his buddy, Rob Frost.  Rob got out his German shorthair, Susie to do the finding and retrieving.  I set out some pheasant and chukar in the Clubhouse Field and bottom pasture.  Susie did a nice job finding and pointing the birds.  Although the first pheasant got away on foot, the second took flight and Allyson knocked it down with one shot.  Really nice hunt with lots of action as Susie found a pile of quail to point as well.

Rod Ferguson came down for an overnight hunt with his two sons, Zach and Taylor to get their new puppies on some birds.  Rod and Zach picked up two, sister, German wirehaired pointers that are now 10 months old and just couldn’t wait to get out in the field to find some quail and pheasant.  The first afternoon we started off with a few quail singles to get the dogs in tune to what they were out here for, then on to a whole pile of quail coveys up all around the edges of the clubhouse field and pasture.  The pups did a nice job finding, pointing and chasing the quail around the pasture and bottom, even with the hot weather and dense cover.  We enjoyed a nice evening meal, and the baby bears even won a playoff game for them.  The next morning after coffee, eggs and bacon they headed back out starting out with some quail coveys and then on to some pheasant.  Zella and Zoe again had a blast and got better with each find.

TJ Onstott brought out his young German shorthaired pointer, Dixie, to get her on to some birds early in the season.  Dixie did a nice job finding almost all the birds on a hot, thick late morning hunt.  I put out some pheasant, but Dixie found a bunch of quail to add to the hunt.

Bob Dasenbrock came out with his young setter, Libby, to get a warmup on some quail. Libby found all the quail I set out, but a few got away, so maybe Bob needs a little warmup too.

Bill Warix and Alan Feezel started off the new game preserve season with a pheasant hunt with their two German Shorthairs, Whip and Harley. Warm weather and thick cover made the bird finding a little tough, but the dogs were able to track most of them down and give the pair some shooting opportunities.

Jeff Marshall bred his Derby Dog of the Year, B, with Brad Hire’s Roundabout.  What came out is a nice litter of setter puppies, some tricolors and orange and whites.  There are 5 females and 2 males still available and they approaching seven weeks of age soon.  Some nice looking pups, check out the pics and give Jeff Marshall a call 217-370-6176.

Homestead’s B

Roundabout

John McIntosh came out for the last day of the season with his elder setter, Elsie, for a quail hunt.  Eighty degrees and sunny, not ideal for dog work or bird flight, Elsie still had some nice finds and points.  John knocked a few down with his 16 gauge, LC Smith, double barrell for an enjoyable finish to a great upland bird season.

My cousin, Joe Blythe, came out to hunt some pheasants on a beautiful, warm spring afternoon.  Not ideal pheasant hunting conditions, but there was not much wind and the birds behaved fairly well.  We started out chasing some down the fencerow  and then out into the Clubhouse Field to find the rest.   One hen disappeared into the Pasture Field, hopefully to find some cover and a rooster.