Sprint To The Finish

This is the last week of upland bird hunting season here in Nevada and I will be taking at least one day off work this week so that I can get a few more days in the field before it is all over. Usually my annual pattern is that I am kind of worn out and relieved when the season is over, then two weeks later I am ready to cry myself to sleep at night because the realization that I am something like 7 months away from bird hunting again has set in.

I have been wrestling on and off the majority of my life starting at about 10 years old. I love one on one competition, and I can’t image a more pure form of it. In the last 8 years I have been training extensively in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is a form of submission wrestling, and Saturday I was promoted to black belt. So, that is my excuse for not hunting.

Sunday I hunted one of my all time favorite spots, and it was a letdown. My buddy Darin hunted with me and we knocked down some birds, but I was really expecting a lot more action than we found. We had a great time anyway though. The dogs got in some good bird work and they will sleep well today, so I am happy with that.

I have found more new places to hunt quail this year than in the last 8 or 9 years combined. I think that the forecast Wednesday is for a good quail hunt. Peepers beware...

A pretty nice view, if you ask me.

Between Porter and Cash, they don’t let very many get away… Porter found this cripple in a creek bed under this big boulder. (You can see the birds tail feather in the far back.) With a little prodding from a long stick I was able to get the bird to run out of the little cave, and Cash was right there to snatch him up as he was trying to get under another set of rocks.

Jay Kincaid

SHOT SHOW

Paolo and I were at the annual SHOT Show last week in Las Vegas representing Glacier Glove. It was a good time, like always, as it really is the most amazing place for people who are passionate about shooting and hunting. We had the opportunity to see a bunch of our dealers, and the opportunity to meet and hang out with a whole bunch of people that love to hunt just like we do. In particular I got to speak with a bunch of really good dog handlers and upland bird hunters. For me, that is always a pleasure. Thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth.

My wife was home with our 3 month old twins all week, and when I got home Friday night it was very obvious that she needed a break and that I would not be hunting on Saturday. It is VERY rare that she ever asks me to not go hunting, so when she does I know that there must be a good reason for it, and I don’t go. It doesn’t take a lot of common sense to know that she needed a break, so I hung out on Saturday with the babies, and was happy to do so.

I have never had what I would consider a good upland bird hunt after a really big windstorm, or during a big windstorm. Never. Not even one time… We had big winds in northern Nevada late in the week with gusts up to 70 mph. Sunday I hunted a mountain that I had hunted the weekend before. I only had a few hours, but I did not see a single bird. That is very rare. In fact I can only think of a small handful of hunts ever that I have not even seen a bird. I can add yesterday to that short list. No worries, next weekend I could have some of the best hunting of my life. All you can do is keep after it, and have fun either way. The good news is that some well needed moisture blew in, and every drop of that moisture is really helpful to our desert wildlife, especially in a dry year like this.

Our booth at the SHOT Show.

I looked over at my GPS on my dashboard Sunday morning and I thought that someone was messing with me. It is kind of hard to read, but it does say what you are thinking that it says.

Jay Kincaid

More Exploring

I  managed to talk my buddy Darin into another exploratory mission this weekend. We hunted a mountain that I had wondered about for years. This has kind of been the year for me to try a bunch of new stuff within an hour and a half of town. I really like this particular spot and the area in general, and I will for sure be heading back out that direction to hunt.

This may also be the first time that I can remember seeing chukar at a guzzler trying to get water in January. Unfortunatly the water in the guzzler was frozen solid. It is obviously really dry for this time of year.

Another cold clear day in the desert. We really need some moisture and it sounds like it may FINALLY be arriving this week.

The resiliency of the high desert. Sage brush growing out of a small crack in the rock.

Cash with a retrieve.

Jay Kincaid

Better Than Sitting on The Couch

I hunted this weekend with our Sales Manager here at Glacier Glove, Paolo, who is a good friend of mine. We didn’t have the best hunting ever, but it was a lot better than sitting on the couch doing nothing. We knocked down some birds and like always had a great time.

Porter on Point with Cash backing.

Cash (aka, Senor Blanco) making a retrieve. Just prior to this retrieve the dogs had a great point. Paolo and I walked in right on top of these birds, and knocked down four.

Porter found this bird dead, and Cash retrieved it.

Paolo with one of the Chukar.

A pair of Quail that Paolo knocked down.

I am always talking about the hunt itself, but this is the result of a good hunt. The best free-range organic meat in the world. We made these birds up into a nice Chukar Piccata. I dont think that anything tastes better.

Lastly, I have got to say that I am starting to get really nervous about our lack of moisture. I know that there is still plenty of time left, but with that said day by day we are running out of time, and if we don’t get some serious moisture fairly soon, we are going to have no birds next year to speak of. And that is not mentioning all of the other desert critters that need the food and water that moisture provides. I am nervous….
Jay Kincaid

A Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone.
As I wrote about in my last update, my Dad was in town and we did some hunting. We got out one more day together and again had a great hunt. On our way out of where we hunted the first day we saw some birds in a place that I wouldn’t have expected. So, we went back to do a little bit of exploring and things worked out really well. That has kind of been the name of the game for me this year. I have been exclusively hunting within about an hour and a half radius of Reno, as I can’t be gone all day with the new babies at home. This has really given me a good opportunity to explore some places close to home that I have always wanted to explore. Some days this has resulted in hunts that were not very good, and other days it has resulted in some of the best hunts that I have ever had.

Cash on Point

Cash Retrieving

The Result of Another Good Day Hunting With Dad

Porter Retrieving

Cash Retrieving

Jay Kincaid