Letter to Manny on his first NAVHDA test

Dear Manny,

You are so much better than I let you be at your first NAVHDA Natural Ability test. So many distractions that you hadn't been prepared for, a driving, drenching, bone-chilling rain, and  stressed owner who let it show. I'm sorry.  

Less stressful times

You did your best, when you could figure out what I wanted from you. But when your pent-up energy and my tension met, they created a perfect storm on the field. Judges called it "willful mutilation of a game bird as to be unfit for the table" and we were out. They did their best to help you - and me - do things right after that, but we weren't in the running for any kind of prize after you reduced that chukar to its component parts.

 

Yes, it is a test of your genetics, designed to find out if your family tree is fruitful. But more training from me would have helped bring out your instincts, or at least insulate you from the distractions. You shone in so many areas: searched in that high-energy balls-out way that shows so much joy, pointed like a champ in that downpour, tracked a pheasant 50 yards then pointed it. But one slip and we were off the "A" list - for that day.Read more ...   

 

  

    

 

         

   

Bye bye van; hello Ram 

Okay UPLAND NATION, time to get your hands greasy and your heads into a creative place. Let's trick this truck.

 

It's history

It's pretty basic now, but that's how I like things - at least to start. My wife the painter first puts down a layer of white gesso on every canvas, then starts splashing on the colors ... lots of them. Like her blank canvas, this rig is white. Now the fun begins.

 

It's a 2011 Dodge Ram (yes, that thing has a hemi), half-ton chassis, crew cab. Besides your great personalized license plate suggestions, what would you put on, pull behind, stack up, or otherwise do to this truck to make it the ultimate bird hunting rig? Practical, sure. Just plain cool stuff? You bet. What do you wish you'd spec'd out on yours? What have you seen that is now on your wish list?

 

Let's get started

You make the suggestions. Then I'll start making the calls. We'll all see the results next year on Wingshooting USA.

 

Already on the list: TruckVault secure vehicle storage system and a Fausti DEA SL side-by-side 20 ga. shotgun! 

  

Subscribe here, and you'll be notified every time there's a new survey, blog post by Buddy, Manny or me. Get in on the next contest or the latest argument over dog food and training methods!

 

TruckVault Cares ... about conservation, canines & kids

 

You'll soon be hearing more about our exciting on-air, online, multimedia effort to support "the good guys" in our world by helping raise funds and recruit new members. Here is one of the groups that will benefit:

 

The International Hunter Education Association has a simple, critically important mission: Continuing the heritage of hunting worldwide by developing safe, responsible, and knowledgeable hunters. They do this by training hunters education instructors, providing logistical resources and equipment, administering online courses and publishing the Hunter's Handbook. Among their most important goals is: cultivate honesty, self-discipline, self-reliance, responsible behavior, and good citizenship among hunters.

 

Get the full story here, then stay tuned for more information on IHEA and "TruckVault Cares."