Dove Hunting with My Rachel

I will not say that I did not pressure Rachel a little bit about maybe spending time with me in the field this year, but I did it enough to finally convince her to join me for a morning dove hunt. We did not leave super early but got out about sun up. Rachel is a good sport, but she can be a bit of a bear in the morning...

 It was fun to watch Lou continue her retrieving and have the Mrs. out with me. This does not happen very often, so I soaked up every moment I could. I let Rachel take as many first shots as possible as I wanted her to finally shoot her own bird. We had no more than finished a discussion about not leaving the field until she shoots one, and a loan dove drifted to our left and her second shot dropped it in the field!

As you can probably guess, I was far more excited about it than Rachel. This morning's hunt was not as hot and heavy as it was with two days prior on the same field, but we were managing a fair number of doves.
 For much of the morning, we watched the geese filter into the field on the far side, and despite our barrage of dove shells, they did not seem too concerned and I took that as a sign to return when I was able.
The bonus birds in the mix were the pigeons which wanted in our spread in the worst way. I made the best of as many opportunities as possible and I think we ended up with 7 or 8 pigeons by the end of the day.

It was beyond spectacular to spend this kind of time in the field with Rachel as it just doesn't happen. I can't blame her as I do a lot of stupid shit and wake up at unholy hours to chase just about anything that is fair game. I get a lot more out of the outdoor world than she does, but that is ok; to each their own. I hope to enjoy a few more outings with her this fall, but I will cherish this one greatly.


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