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Near Cushendall, Co Antrim.
E 1 - 2 Started off bright but ended up persistent rain. Dull, obviously.
Chris.
Learnt tonight that Chris doesn't do partridge from a launcher.Having said that he does hunt for them, just doesn't point them. It would have been nice for Ross to be able to take Chris to their first trial together confident about how Chris handles game but that wasn't to be. I could care less however as long as he can handle a grouse. He ended up getting a retrieve. One of the partridge, obviously unwell, didn't fly right and was down almost as soon as it was up. I was able to send Chris for the retrieve so that we could dispatch the bird. The dead bird proved handy later on.
Roxy.
Didn't handle a bit well but she can handle birds alright. Having had quite a bit of stuff shot over her last season I learnt nothing in this respect. I will just have to work harder at getting her fit and sharpening up her responses.
Basso.
I enjoyed him tonight. We made progress or more correctly proved the wee dog's capability around game. Basso was just about last out with the result that there was plenty of scent about but this wasn't about hunting it was about game handling. I forgot to mention that we were using a 12 bore. Lawrence, my host, is heading for the mainland next week and it is necessary to remind the dogs about what a shotgun sounds like. Basso was cast off not so very far from the planted birds. (Two remote launchers) Having contrived to get up wind of the birds I eventually got him down wind of them again and he came on point at a distance of about thirty yards. The Jury gave him 9.9 for style. I got him to about ten yards and I triggered the bird for a shot to be fired in the air about fifty yards away. I was concentrating on the dog and didn't realise that the bird had dropped in maybe only twenty back and slightly to the left. He broke off towards the bird and pointed. This time the bird was maybe only three feet in front of him and sitting on flat grass in plain view. I am convinced however that Basso couldn't see the bird. He was completely zonked by the scent. He was standing in a very classic head up point with his nose being almost imperceptibly moved from side to side "searching" for the bird. I am convinced that if I had waved my hand close in front of his face it wouldn't have registered. I was able to walk in in front of him and flush the bird with my foot. He didn't drop to the flush but stayed on point. I gave him 11 out of ten for staunchness. I then encouraged him on and he pointed the second bird in the launcher. I triggered the bird at about fifteen yards and although he moved back at the shot I encouraged him forward to have a good long sniff at the dead bird from earlier on. These were Basso's first finds on game with me and his first proper shots from a shotgun.
In addition to my dogs Lawrence had engineered a find from a back to Roxy's point for his pup and it pointed nicely and was steady to the shot(It's first). He also had a nice find with his middle dog, nice and clean.
The Man of the Match award goes to Lawrence's Lagopus Yogi. He had good running up to the birds and came on point nicely remaining steady on point when the first shot was fired. But what was particularly impressive was that far from being distracted by all the activity he remained staunchly on point and then roaded on to the second bird some five yards further up wind. The whole thing was seamless. Very nice work.
A plan was hatched tonight. We will be doing more of this next year

The Hunt.

The Point. (With optional " What the **** are you doing there?" look)

The Road.

The Flush.

As Gordon Ramsey would say,
"Hunt, point, road, flush. Done!"