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A couple of weeks ago I took my first trip out to South Dakota for a Pheasant Hunting trip. We had seven guys and two dogs. Definitely could have used more dogs! We hunted on some private ground near Doland, SD.

Not a big town at all, but friendly folks, and a couple of nice taverns/restaurants nearby.

We had good weather the first day, saw a fair amount of birds and Ruby got a workout in. She did a great job finding birds in some of the shelter belts and holding them tight until we got there. Its always a challenge when folks that have never hunted over a ranging pointer do it for the first time, and an even bigger challenge when you have a flusher and a pointer as the only two dogs in the group. Animals and humans both acquitted themselves well and we had a great day.

A couple of nights we ended up at the Time Out and had a great time hanging out with the locals.

I’m not so sure Ruby approved.

Last two days were a bit rougher weather-wise but we saw hundreds of birds and the hunting was good. Ruby ranged out a bit and between the wind and the miles of corn it took some time to get her back on track. She also pointed a bobcat in a rock pile, but fortunately we got her and the other dog away before they mixed it up.

We had a couple of fun hunts this year. The first was with a few guys from town at a place out in Dundee, Illinois at the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation. Pretty amazing place, a fun morning of hunting, patient guides.

A few week later we went out to the Sugar Grove, IL area and hunted at Millbrook, a private club. We were the guests of a dad who’s son played freshman football with my oldest. There were ten or so of us, some of which were somewhat inexperienced, but we had a fantastic time. Ruby ran well, my oldest shot safely and well as usual, and the hunt was a lot of fun.

Whistles really seem to come down, at least for me, to what you like. The pitch or tone never seems to matter much to Ruby, while I have one whistle I use primarily, I’ve used others and even used my steel “coaches” whistle when I forgot my usual one.

What’s my usual one? I really favor the orange Ray Gonia Special training whistle. I think I paid about five dollars for it.