North Dakota Pheasant and Duck Hunting

Pictured is my Dad Ralph who got my brother and I involved in hunting as a young boy. As we grew older, he would volunteer to milk the cows and do the chores so that we could go hunting.

Even though his body does not move like in his younger years, he was still able to shoot a couple of birds as an 80 year old. Just don't ask him to walk in the cattails or swamps. He says that is what young people are for. He does the easy posting from the gravel road while we walk the cattails near the road.

Raph is currently 85 and still makes a regular trip up to North Dakota even though he no longer hunts.

Thankfully our wonderful brides understand that Thanksgiving week is for hunting and enjoying the bounties of the land.

Back at camp after an afternoon of Pheasant Rooster hunting. Beautiful weather, great dogs, excellent hunting partners, and some good shooting allowed us to enjoying Thanksgiving Turkey (pheasant).

Pictured left to right: Wiley the dog, Brian, Todd, Bob, Tom, Brady, & Dennis.

Beautiful day of pheasant hunting with the "Young Bucks" Ages 50 - 81. Even though the eyes and legs might get a little weak with age, they can still shoot accurately at a cock rooster in full color.

Back Row: Phil and my Dad Ralph (81)
Fron Row: Dennis, Ken, Don

Snow blows and blows across the open land in the Dakotas. It seems to only stop in groves, ditches, towns, and swamps.

Pictured below Gunner the dog (on left) and hunting partner Dave who decided to walk across a ditch without knowing how deep it was. You will notice that Gunner is having a tough time getting out even though he is a large yellow lab.

Every hunting group needs at least one member who can really "talk the bull" and that would be Don the native North Dakotan. Don is pictured in a ND pothole with a couple of mallards that he "uglied" as he would say.

Don, Tom, and Dennis are pictured after a succussful day hunting mallards in late October. The mallards where shot from a variety of potholes in the middle of harvested fields.

Early morning in North Dakota field hunting for ducks. This picture was taken about 10 minutes before sunrise.

A beautiful picture with Tom retrieving a mallard that he shot as the sun was rising in the east. This picture has been lightened.

Life is hard on the North Dakota prairie in the winter. Pictured above is an area in a picked bean field where the pheasants have scratched away the snow in their search for food. Where there is food & cover, there will be pheasants found in the winter time. All of the marks in the snow are pheasant tracks that were made in 3 days since the last snow fall.

Pictured in the lower left of the picture (dots in white field under the horizon) is my brother Dennis and friend Bob along with their two dogs (Wiley & Molly). They have just finished hunting a cattail swamp on the lower right and now must walk across a snow covered field back to the road to be picked up.

We have experienced many acts of kindness over the years hunting in North Dakota. Some acts of kindness:

Farmers who gave us permission to hunt on their land.
Giving some of our cleaned birds to farmers.
Letting a hunting partner have first shot at a bird.
Pulling a rural mail carrier out of a snowbank.
Borrowing a dog to another hunter who does not have one.
A complimentary hunting guide.
A resident who volunteers to call another landowner for permission.
Pulling a truck out of a ditch for a man taking his young son hunting.
And many, many more.

Check out the web site from a friend of mind --Click Here For One Act of Kindness

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