My buddy JC

My buddy JC shares the affliction of birds, dogs and guns. We met went he was doing his residency in orthopedic surgery at my former hospital. We got to talking about birddogs and hit it off immediately. While JC we was still in residency, we hunted together as much as our schedules would allow. We also spent a lot of summer evenings "running the dogs", which is basically where we walk along and talk and the dogs run, mostly just burning off their crazed energy, but hopefully once in a while pointing something interesting.

There are some notable differences between JC and I. As I've mentioned, I like old guns. I don't much care to shoot a gun that doesn't appeal to the eye. For a while there, I was buying and selling guns like a used car dealer, but without the profits. JC shot one gun for as long as we hunted together. It is an old pump gun that is as ugly as sin on Sunday. It has one of the those composite stocks, rather than wood, so the whole thing is a faded black color. It has all the grace of a farm implement. It weighs in about two pounds heavier than the guns I shoot. To top it off, it is fitted with a sling and one of those sleeves on the stock that holds a few extra shells. I mean, it is just plain unsigthly. But man, can he shoot that thing. It probably helps that he grew up in rural Canada and then moved to South Dakota. Shooting is a birth right in that neck of the woods. He's one of those guys that makes shots you can't believe, and he can't begin to tell you how he did it. It's enough to make a guy feel inadequate.

His dog is another story. He runs a German shorthair pointer named Maya. That dog loves to hunt. I'm not sure if she even likes JC, but man, does she hunt for him. JC bought her from a guy that is basically a back-yard breeder. She has had no formal training other than running with JC's father's more experienced birddogs. She has a drive that would make an honors student blush. She has a remarkable nose and bird sense to spare. About the only place my dog betters her is in retrieving, which I think is by choice. Maya can retrieve just fine, she'd just rather move on and find the next bird. My dog, on the other hand, retrieves like she is possessed. She'll bring back a wing-tipped cripple that ran off into the next county. And Maya will let her.

So, shooting with JC can get interesting. His dog has a slight edge in bird finding over mine. He's also a better shot than I am. Factor in that my dog would just assume retrieve his birds rather go find me one, and you could see how things could get a little one sided. Yet, they never do. JC and I enjoy an easy company that is hard to come by. Besides, the sight of one of our dogs pointing a bird and the other honoring the point makes you forget about the little things.

JC was exiled to New Jersey last year to complete his specialty training. I just found he's returning to Wisconsin this summer to begin practice. We spoke today, and after not talking for about a year, we picked up where we left off. I look forward to a reunion in the fields of fall.