Today was a bit different. We did not see a rooster until 30 minutes before the final bell (4:30 pm). But we got him when we did. We did a photo opt as the light was fading pretty fast on a grey day, and it sure didn't seem like we would see much more.
But Gus thought otherwise.
At 4:23, he puts up another, and I made a not-so-great shot. Gus covered for me with a nice quick, open-field tackle, and we had #2 in the bag.
7 minutes and 300 yds left to go, but no birds. Gus got a little interested twice on that 300 yd march but nothing showed, so 10' from the truck I unloaded and dropped the shells in my vest pocket, and THEN Gus goes off. There is clearly something right next to the left from tire. A short chase and bird #3 is in the bag, no shots fired. It was a broken wing bird that someone else had lost. But we will take it.