# Blaze's 1st Hunting Road trip of 2012, OK-KS photo essay



## sniper john (Jun 17, 2010)

Blaze had and eventually won a battle with Ehrlichiosis immediately following this
trip so I never got chance to share it with y'all when it was current. I write these for Blaze's hunting diary and myself and for lack of time it is pretty much cut and
pasted without shortening it. So sorry it is so long.

Jan 8 - 9.
I loaded the truck, hooked up the big decked pirogue, had blaze jump into
her crate in the back seat, and we headed north to western Oklahoma. We
arrived at our destination after dark. Threw down a small tent then brief
scouting was done in the dark to check water levels and a hunt location
picked relative to the conditions.

Boat was launched and mudded with shovels of mud from the bank. Then loaded
with a few duck decoys, and several Canada decoys comprised of a dozen
floaters, one and a half dozen Higdon motion shell decoys, and maybe 4 dozen
silhouettes. With all that gear, Blaze had to sit up on the deck, but it is
a very stable boat. After paddling a bit, a spot was picked on the bank at a
sandbar behind a crosswind. A Canada decoy spread up the bank, the boat in
shallow water with silhouettes around it to give it some cover, floaters
farther out in the water, some diver duck decoys on the upwind side, and
puddlers downwind. Hunting was from a layout blind in the boat with Blaze
behind me.










A couple Widgeon were taken early.










But Geese were the main target and I must admit I probably had ducks come by
that I never saw because I was sleeping. I saw Geese leave a refuge in the
distance, and the hope was they might return via our direction so we could
make our attempts to call and decoy them to us.










It was a long wait, but they did come our way, though most avoided us with a
mission to both avoid the shorelines and to return to the distant refuge.




























Blaze did finally get to do her part.



















The last flock was a big one full of white geese, they came fast and by the
1000s. The sky above us filled with them in every direction. Blaze whined a
bit in anticipation with all the birds and noise, but she did a good job
staying down. When the birds were low enough I took my shots. I only hit
one. A Ross Goose actually. Unfortunately when the shooting started, twice
as fast as they arrived, they where then gone. It was a pleasant morning.










After noon everything was picked up and loaded up and we headed to Kansas.
Some public WIHA areas were checked for possible Quail hunting in south west
KS, but nothing sang to me. The drought had clearly taken a toll on the
area. Onward we went to our State Park destination in Kansas.

Again arriving just after sunset, but just light enough to get a look at the
lake we would be hunting.










This was to be base camp, so involved the cabin tent, heater, propane stove,
and all the gear. Blaze found her place near the heater as usual. We slept
well and got up at sunrise with a plan to scout then go Pheasant hunting the
next day.










Jan 10
The morning was started with some scouting to pattern the area Geese. We had
hoped to do three mornings of Goose hunting, but with no Geese seen it
worried me. Visiting with the park ranger, I learned a drawn youth hunt on
the area that weekend, had been canceled due to lack of birds. This was a
Kansas Special Hunts public hunt. I knew that two local goose hunters had
also been drawn for this hunt, so with help from the State Park staff I gave
them a call to see if they were still hunting. We felt it best to combine
resources and hunt together. We hoped some birds would arrive ahead of an
impending cold front.

Took this nice picture of the moon over the lake at sunrise, then hit the
road.










Hunting started in KS near Liberal. I actually was checking a WIHA unit for
rabbits and found a couple nearby units still with some good CRP Grass and a
good edge next to a wheat field so I could work with the dog and block the
corners. Only one hen pheasant was found.










Next destination was in far South East Cimmaron County in the Oklahoma
panhandle to a place we had permission to hunt. Yes, it was a long drive
that cut into our hunting time, but it was worth it. The location had four
crop circles. Two in winter wheat. Hunting was done by closing in on the
edges of CRP type grass in the middle. First walk with Blaze had her very
birdy with some false points, but no birds at the end.

2nd Walk was a different story. At the end Blaze worked some scent hard and
as she closed in a nice big mature Rooster came up in front of us and easily
taken. I held the bird high holding it in the sun admiring it's colors and
did a victory dance. This broke one of my first two rules of pheasant
hunting. "Always be ready". As I stood there holding the pheasant in one
hand and an unloaded shotgun in the other I see Blaze out of the corner of
my eye and she is not done. She is pointing!. Then another Rooster comes up
and flies away. Then a hen as I am loading the gun. I finally drop to shells
in the gun and Blaze is now working and another Pheasant is found nearby. It
proves to be a Rooster and taken down. One to go.










So we walk across part of one of the crop circles with very low stubble to
start another push. I let Blaze work in front of me, but keep her close. I
then break my other rule of pheasant hunting. "Always believe there is a
bird in front of you". I have my gun down to my side and not really paying
attention, not really thinking we would find a bird out in the open like
that. So yep, Blaze bumps a bird, it's a Rooster, and I only knock some tail
feathers off with my startled late shot and the birds sails far into the
distance.

At the end of the next drive, I knock down Rooster #3, but it runs to some
thick cover on the edge of the circle. We think we have it trapped. I worked
both sides of the cover with Blaze and she is telling me nothing is there.
Just out of the corner of my eye I think I see a critter walking off in the
distance. I think it is a Coyote, but as I study it I realize it is our
wounded pheasant hopping along. I open the action on the gun and run like
the wind with Blaze at heal. As we got close I could tell she was seeing
what I was seeing, so I sent her on and let her catch it. I was so out of
breath I would have missed anyway.










I would like to note a big public thank you to John Giles who helped
greatly with this hunt. Being one of the better pheasant hunt days I have
had with Blaze, I appreciated it more than he could ever know.

Jan 11,
1st Goose hunt day. Locals Brad his friend Brian met me near the
hunting area and a plan of action is made. Other than youth hunts, this was
the first ever hunt to be open to the public at this location due to
problems the state was having with blue green algae toxins caused by high
nutrient levels in the water felt to be due to the large number of geese
that normally winter on the lake. The lake had been closed much of the
summer, but was reopened after testing in September. Therefore it was safe
to hunt.

Brad and Brian









We chose to set up on the edge of a closed swim beach. Mixing decoys, we had
a great spread of Brian's full bodies on the beach, My higdon motion decoys
as a feed line working up into the park behind our layouts, and my floaters
out front. Fortunately geese did arrive late in the morning. A strong wind
picked up causing the Geese to have to land out in the lake, and had to be
called into the decoys by water and it worked. Blaze was good girl. We had
geese in the decoys for a very long time, both land and water as we waited
for them to be in a position so everyone could shoot. Blaze as down and
quiet the entire time. Blaze got hold of one crippled Greater Canada that
did not want to be retrieved. She had fun dragging it backwards out of the
water as it fought to get away.



















That evening I had some time to kill just before Sunset, so I decided to
take a walkabout with Blaze to hunt rabbits on a nearby Wildlife Management
area. We walked the edge of a refuge portion that had a creek bottom. Really
beautiful rugged country around us. The thought that the coming front would
have the rabbits out in the open feeding ahead of the front. I was right.



















Jan 12
2nd Goose hunt day. Word is the temps had reached 10 degrees during the
night. Fortunately I knew it was coming and had picked up a 2nd heater for
the tent when I passed a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma. Blaze had acclimated to the
cold well, but temps in the low teens, much of the lake frozen,and winds
early morning that we were told got up to 44 mph; I felt this too much for
Blaze. So I did leave her in the truck early morning and only brought her
out later to retrieve any Geese we could not retrieve ourselves. This was a
great morning with several flocks of Geese coming in over a time. Most were
magnum Greater Canadas.










This is a great picture I got of one of the late returning flocks of geese
after the hunt.










After righting my tent and repairing two tent poles the morning wind
buckled, Blaze and me hit the road for Oklahoma again. More pheasant areas
checked but found nothing or hens. I had been told of Snow Geese roosting in
Boise City Oklahoma right in town, so I drove on to check it out. I did have
phone numbers for a couple local landowners and had plenty of snow goose
decoys in the truck just in case. They were there all right.










I spent a small amount of time talking to some locals to get an idea where
or what direction they may be flying to every morning, but really did not
get any good intel. I looked at a nearby winter wheat crop circle for a
possible hunt, but too many cows, more Canadas than snows, and not knowing
if the geese would be flying that way, I decided it was not going to work.
Short on time I went straight to where I had taken Pheasants the day before.
I love the patchwork of dirt roads here. All straight and in a grid of
square mile sections. The go on forever it seems.










We worked everything we had taken Pheasants on the day before and more. Only
one rooster and one hen was found. You can't see it in this picture other
than Blaze's reaction, but a Rooster is about to rise. Because I was taking
this picture. I missed the Pheasant both with the camera and the gun.











Jan 13
This was our last Goose hunt at the State Park. Not as good as day two with
birds arriving late again and we did not see the magnum greaters like the
day before, but not a bad day. Here is a great picture of a flock cupped
above our decoys and a picture of our decoy spread from a distance.



















Blaze retrieving in the Ice.



















Another public thank you to Brad, Brian, Matt Trujillo and the rest of the
State Park Staff. I truly had a blast on these hunts.










I was just not up to another drive into Oklahoma, so Blaze and me just
stayed in camp the rest of the day to take it easy, ate my extra food left
from the week, loaded or rearranged most of my gear, then finished the
evening by burning the last of my firewood and finishing the last of my
Makers Mark. The wind flapping my tent was like rain on a tin roof to me. I
slept about as good as I have in a long time.

Jan 14.
Before sun-up, I dropped the tent and rolled it up, but should have put it
in the dumpster. The wind so bad at times pretty much destroyed it. Loaded
up Blaze and headed East. We did make some stops and hit some good looking
WIHA land and did stop for some short hunts, but nothing killed. I got to
watch a Coyote make a Pheasant kill. A Coyote ran a Pheasant blocking it at
the road and caught it. When the Coyote went trotting back away from the
road I then noticed the Coyotes mate standing out in the field waiting for
it. Things happened too fast and too far away to capture it with the camera
I was using, but I'm not sure I would have taken my eyes off the scene long
enough to take pictures anyway.

Though my destination was another Special Hunts draw unit. This one private
land that is leased by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, I did check out
yet more public land. I looked around Byron Walker Wildlife area, but being
so close to Wichita on a weekend, I found too many hunters for the hunting
experience I prefer. Initially I felt good about the special hunts unit as
no one should have hunted it before me.

The two Special hunts units we got to hunt looked really good. About perfect
cover and bordered on some sides with crop land. It was hunted hard and
every time Blaze found a bird, it was a hen. A couple rabbits where missed,
but I admit I did not try too hard on the shots, being the last hunt before
heading home. Judging by the amount of foot prints I found, and the fact all
those tracks would have been made after the most recent rain, I was pretty
sure others had hunted this land before me despite it being closed for the
special hunts.










Last I briefly scouted nearby Cheney Reservoir just in case I ever pass
through the area again, then hit the road for home. Not a bad road trip at
all and I was able to experience hunting in an area of the country I had
never visited or hunted before.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

All the best to Blaze. 

Very nice pictures.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Sounds like fun! thanks for taking the time to post it up and glad to hear Blaze pulled through.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Your pictures and stories are always interesting. Thanks for posting. Glad to hear Blaze is ok!


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Great pictures & journaling! Blaze is one of the most versatile hunting V's I have seen. Is there anything she doesn't or won't hunt? Glad she is on the rebound & hope the Ehrilchiosis is not chronic. She has been through a lot & one tough girl. Best wishes to her!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

John hasn't been active on the forum for a long time, but his adventures with Blaze will always be cherished.
Blaze gained her angel wings the day after Christmas. She was 16 years old. 
Fly high Blaze, your next adventure awaits you.


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