From the moment you get that new puppy in the door, life changes. It’s a new member of the family. My new pup, Deke, was going to be a house dog. A Small Munsterlander, a pointer that also retrieves ducks, almost demanded it because this pup requires and needs attention. I was onboard with all that. I wanted this pup to be special. At age 70 who knows how many pups are in my future.
The only problem was me. I needed back surgery to fix something that had kept me down and out for 244 days but who’s counting. Now with surgery 6 weeks behind me, I’m up and moving. After getting all of the directions and protocols from the doctor I thought I had asked all the pertinent questions. My wife the nurse asked the obvious question I never thought of, “When can Jim shoot a gun.” The look on the Spine Surgeon, Manuel Pinto was one of surprise. After he was assured I was not a terrorist he laughed and joined in the fun. His timeline was made in heaven. September 25, date of our 48th Annual Duck Camp was when I could shoot my 12 or 20 gauge shotgun!
I had plans to get Deke, out in the woods for the grouse opener September 15 using a tiny .410 shotgun. Deke was ready and I was pain free! The opener was warm and buggy. The first spot we wanted to hunt was already occupied so Deke and I moved to spot two. About 100 yards into the hunt a grouse flushed right off the trail in front of me and flew ever slow slowly over my head. A single shot from the tiny .410 side by side dropped the bird dead on the woodsy road. Deke came running in hot because he had been trained to know that shooting from starter pistols, dummy launchers and the .410 meant fun for him.
He picked up the scent of the flushed bird and went nuts. Nose in the wind, on the ground and in the brush he began barking like The Hound of the Baskervilles. Out of the brush he charged, located the dead bird and went on a perfect point for over a minute until he couldn’t take it anymore and picked up the dead grouse eagerly. The 5 month old puppy had done it all better than I ever expected on his first hunt. I’d say nearly to perfection.
Later he flushed two more birds in thick cover that I never saw. I couldn’t see what happened but his excitement and eagerness to work the thick stuff was impressive even for a guy who’s trained dogs for nearly 50 years. He was hunting like a 2 year old. I was as excited as a 12 year old for how good he did.
Jim Bennett is an outdoorsman who lives and worked in the St. Croix Valley and can be reached at jamesbennett24@gmail.com for comments.
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