I'll just tag this report onto the previous one.
Went to Eckman Hunting Preserve again last Sunday. Perfect conditions for a hunt: some snow on the grown, temp just below freezing and a slight breeze. Very comfortable, easy walking and the dogs did well once they settled down. I got to shoot a new 20 gauge I bought last fall for the first time. I'm gonna like it.
My older Brittany Max is 12 years old now. On the way out there my son and I talked about the fact that this may just be his last hunt. Once in the field I kept an eye on him and he seemed to do fine. He kept it going for 2-½ hours, but he was spent by then. Ruby is 7 and has a ton of energy. She probably ran 4 times as much as Max. She was done too.
We ended up with three, which was two less than we shot at. I had one fly straight at me -- I let it go over and shot at it going away. Twice. And missed twice. 2.3 missed another and we had 2-3 flush out of range early on.
The old man Max was really stoved up that afternoon and evening. He was stiff-legged the rest of the day and could barely make it up the steps that night. He had bounced back pretty well by mid-day the next day, but I'm not sure I'll put him through that again. It was hard to watch.
Here he is with a nice point:
Then he photobombed this pic:
Nice points by both, but nothing doing:
Max: