Snake Den Firsts

Last week at the Snake Den we encountered several things that had never happened before.  On September 1st, the opener of the Preserve season we were in the field with the first group of the year.  It felt good to get out early in the morning, and have that first rooster flush underfoot and fall to the sounds of autumn.  There were actually a lot of roosters that flushed and flew away unscathed because they were still too young to identify.  Eventually, we found enough older birds that we had a dozen or so in the bag, and it was time to head in for lunch.  That concluded the first day of the season with many more to look forward to.  The boys headed to the River to meet Brandon for an afternoon of fishing.  Six walleyes in the bag, and 30 mph winds switched the plans to the next days hunt

The second day began like no other had as we headed to the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation for a buffalo hunt.  Jared was looking for a young bull, and it didn't take long to find one.  Jared's guide picked a young bull out of the herd and got Jared into position for a shot.  One shot from the rifle and bison dropped to the ground.  Jared was unsure of his shooting abilities with a borrowed rifle and the adrenaline rush that he was experiencing.  One buffalo down, a couple bites of liver (Dances with Wolves style), and a dozen pheasants to go, so off we went. 

It was a little breezy the second afternoon, so the shooting was a bit of a challenge, but we managed to bag our birds and head in for the day.  The third morning was similar to the first, and before we knew it the first group of the season was in the books, and headed down the road.  Definitely a great way to start the season.