This is the week 13 recap and the last one for the 2024 pheasant season. We ended the season with a trip to Iowa that turned out to be the best trip of the year!
After our late December trip to Iowa, Stella had limped for a couple days. That cleared up prior to our last Minnesota trip but reappeared after that trip. A quick visit to the vet and she checked out fine. But, I was still concerned that the she might not be able to hunt two days in a row so we planned on one final hunt in Iowa.
The plan was to drive down Thursday night, stay in a motel and then hunt Friday, which was the last day of the 2024-2025 Iowa season. We arrived at our motel about 7:00 PM with light snow falling. The room seemed kind of warm so we turned down the thermostat and went to bed. The room was so hot that it was impossible to sleep. After making adjustments and opening a window, I finally got a couple hours.
January 10th - Iowa
We wanted to make sure we got our spot so we left the motel early and arrived at the parking spot about 20 minutes before shooting time and waited. Just before 8:00 AM we got out and finished getting ready.
Starting Out
Our plan was to walk east along the road. By the time we were ready Stella had other ideas. We got birdy about 30 yards from the truck so we followed her. She tracked through waist high grass that was somewhat sparse. The birds were running. After a couple hundred yards, hens started flushing 30 yards in front of us. Eventually, about 8-10 hens flushed from that area.
After that we headed back towards the road and Stella picked up another track. She tracked all the way to the road before we flushed another hen. (On the video).
Rooster 1
We completed our walk to the east, moved north a bit then stared heading west. Stella got birdy a few times, tracked for a while then lost the tracks. After about 400 yards, she started tracking what turned out to be a hen. We continued on and she started tracking. She followed this track about 300 yards before losing the track. She went into search mode and picked up the track and then going on point. Kevin walked up and a hen flushed but Stella remained on point. Kevin moved up and we saw grass moving as a rooster ran about 10 feet before flushing. We both fired and the bird dropped. That was one bird in the bag. (On the video).
Rooster 2
After taking a quick water break we were just starting to continue when a rooster wild flushed behind us. Kevin dropped it with one shot. He went to where we thought it had fallen and there was a pile of feathers. Stella was nearby and we called her over. Within seconds, she was on a solid point about 8 feet away in some short grass. I walked over and started to move grass away when I saw a tail feather. Then I put my foot on where the bird was, gave my gun to Kevin and dropped to my knees. I was able to pin the bird while I moved grass away enough to grab it’s neck. That was two in the bag. (Not on the video, I forgot to turn the camera on.)
Rooster 3
Now we had two birds in the bag so we continued west along the road. Kevin had a rooster wild flush near him which he dropped. Stella found the bird and now we had three. (Retrieve on video.)
Rooster 4
Finishing the walk to the west, we moved north a bit then started back east. After about 300 yards, I received a “point” warning on the handheld. Stella was about 50 yards south of us and pointing. We walked over and found her. A rooster flushed which I dropped with one shot. Kevin found the bird before Stella did. That was four. (On the video.)
Rooster 5
Continuing on, we walked back north to where we had left off and then continued east. Another couple hundred yards and Stella got birdy, eventually tracking to a point. She was facing upwind towards a clump of medium height grass. Kevin and I got positioned and Stella worked her way forward. A rooster popped out of some low grass and I dropped it with my second shot. Kevin had an issue and did not get a shot off. That was five in the bag. (On the video.)
Rooster 6 - The one that got away
Heading east, after a hundred yards, Stella went on point in some waist high grass. Using the handheld, I located her as she continued to track. A rooster flushed behind me. Kevin missed two shots. I must have missed taking the safety off as I brought the gun up so when I pulled the trigger nothing happened. I clicked off the safety and took a shot but missed. (On the video.)
Rooster 7
We continued east through an area that had very little cover. As we got to the other side of the open area, where grass was still pretty sparse, Stella started tracking. Given how sparse the grass was, the birds was running. After a few minutes she went on point. A rooster flushed and we both fired, Kevin firing a fraction of a second before I did. The bird dropped. After the retrieve, we had our two man-limit for the day. (On the video.)
We unloaded our guns and headed for the truck. On the way back, Stella got birdy a couple more times and tracked until I called her off. She would have been happy spending the rest of the day there.
Video
From a video perspective I had a good day. I captured the tracking and points on multiple hens as well as five roosters out of the seven we saw. I only start recording when we think there is a bird, such as when Stella is tracking. As a result, I did not capture video of the two birds that wild flushed. I did miss recording the retrieve of the second bird which I did on my hands and knees.
I have switched over to using the GoPro “Capture” voice commands to start and stop recording. That is working much better. As a result the week 13 recap video has more bird action.
Lessons Learned
We adjusted how we hunt this particular field so that we could focus on where the cover was. At least on this day that change in strategy worked.
The GoPro “capture” voice commands worked much better than the “Start/Stop Recording” commands I have been using.
Summary
This has been the week 13 recap. We had an outstanding hunt with a two-man Iowa limit in just over 3 hours. Compared to rest of the season this was a really good day.
