Pass Along RJ
January 2010

ould that all our seasons be a symphony of golden leaves, flawless retrieves, and clean second barrels. But that, of course, isn't life, and it certainly isn't our lives. Face it - some seasons are a flat-out bust: weather, work schedules, family obligations... those are a constant in the sense that something will always come up that keeps us out of the field or marsh for days and sometimes weeks. A hospital stint and at-home recupe cost me and my dog the entire 2006 season (I was in the hospital, not the dog). What I mean is the seasons when the birds just don't cooperate or, more likely, they just aren't there.

I know, I know: Shooting birds isn't the whole experience. I think we all feel that way to one degree or another. But it's also pretty obvious that shooting birds is a big part of it, the reason we carry shotguns, after all.

But some years, it just isn't happening: The ducks are either trying to survive a drought or are content to pass the daylight hours flapping about in the military jet lanes... the pheasants, grouse, woodcock, quail, Huns, sharptails, et al, suffer a bad hatch, and about the only birds left are the cagey veterans of previous seasons... places you used to hunt in relative obscurity have been discovered by the masses, and your favorite bird cover has a parking attendant who expects to be tipped... our annual out-of-state trip where the dog gets most of his bird contacts gets cancelled so all your hunting is around home. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, and eventually all of them will. Murphy's Law. (Q: Gee, Steve, why did you name your pup Murphy? A: Anticipation.)

What are we going to do, stay home? And do what? Clean the garage, recaulk the bathroom shower, go shopping for carpet with the Old Ball and Chain? Not hardly. We're going hunting. Just not like always, because we'll do well to have both different expectations and objectives in mind. And with that in mind, let's look at a few things....

The full article "Good Year, Bad Year" by Steve Smith appears in the upcoming February/March 2010 issue of The Retriever Journal.

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