Our First Wild Roosters

This was a bucket list item that has been handily checked off!

What a great time and so many thanks to Ryan and Jason for their kind and respective efforts in making it possible.

I could not be more pleased and proud of a young puppy and thankful for the opportunity provided by my friend Ryan.
What a giving host and his good friend Jason.
We hunted a private land and a wild pheasant experience Max and I enjoyed to the hilt.
What a day! A bucket list item slam dunked in spades. Wow!
Max was a joy to watch. I stand in awe of breeding and nature or a series of accidental happenstance. Max is a 17 month old Llewellin English Setter. I will attempt to describe the doings at some point when my heart stops skipping.

Heart has slowed down some….:-)

The first bird pointed solid and pinned between us was a 25 t0 30 yard right to left crossed head shot. Easy for the situation.
Cut corn on the right and grass left. I was on the seam and Max was working the edge. The wind was in my face. Max scented the bird and worked back toward me and pinned it. It had no where to go but left into the high grass cover. It went out and banked left. The Citori came up and just passing the neck ring went bang.
Max was happy to mark and retrieve it with a proud and full of himself smile.
It was glorious.
The second bird was a similar scenario, but a going away shot. The first drew feathers and a leg dropped, the second barrel dropped it but still not dead. I had yellow 7.5s and so as imagined.
Max got to the rooster first and Ellie second. I think in the moment and a puppy’s intimidation of the moment, Ellie clamped down.
Both birds were all young Max.

In both cases I was walking a cut corn edge as instructed with grass to the left. In both cases, Max had turned back toward me with wind in my face and pointed the birds between us. The roosters went out to my left–the first ended up being a going away right to left and dropped dead with the first shot. It was quick. The second was going away and slightly to the right. This was a slower affair and the rooster got a bit further. It took both SK1 and SK2 to the rear to bring it down. In both cases, Max loved the bird on the ground. The first he carried over to me looking very pleased with himself. What a picture that would have been.

A good day!