A Hunt to Remember
A Hunt to Remember
by Brian Stroik
Let’s start at the beginning, July 6, 2014, the day that I was fortunate enough to bring home a six-month-old rescue, Llewellyn Setter. That Llewellyn Setter’s name was Buddy.
Buddy was a very special pup that came to me as a started bird dog from a home that could no longer keep him. He was my first upland bird dog who taught me more about bird hunting than I taught him.
Together, Buddy and I learned the game of upland hunting, from chasing Ruffed Grouse, Woodcock, Sharp-tailed Grouse and Pheasant all over the country. As my best friend and I traveled the countryside meeting new people and dogs, along the way we were able to help other new upland hunters learn about habitat and the joys of hunting behind a bird dog.
Sadly, as we all know, our best friends never stay with us long enough. Unexpectedly, on Christmas Day 2023 Buddy passed from a very fast spreading cancer. When we started our hunting season together in September of 2023, Buddy had a clean bill of health, and we had our best season ever. As the season progressed, not knowing at the time cancer was spreading through his lungs, Buddy never missed a hunt, and he gave his all every day in the field. After these hunts, he was tired, and I thought it was just age catching up with him only to find out on Christmas Day that cancer had completely spread through one of his lungs and I had to say goodbye to my best friend Buddy.
The story doesn’t end there….fast forward to the Summer of 2024.
I had heard about a special hunt called the “Hank Hunt” that was put together by Scott Fransen from The Flush, a bird dog/hunting focused show that airs on the Outdoor Channel. The “Hank Hunt” began five years ago when Scott lost his young Labrador Retriever to cancer. The “Hank Hunt” is a special hunt that takes place in honor of bird dogs we’ve lost, bird dogs we have and bird dogs we will have. It is a hunt that is filmed for TV with a very limited number of hunters.
Earlier in the year after the passing of Buddy, I told my wife that I would love to be part the the “Hank Hunt” to honor and remember my beloved Llewellyn Setter. Much to my surprise in July of 2024, I had learned that I was lucky enough to be part of an upcoming episode of the “Hank Hunt” that would be filmed in South Dakota with The Flush, at Brown’s Lodge & Hunting Ranch.
In December 2024, almost a year to the date that I lost Buddy, I loaded my truck and along with Chili my 6-year-old Deutsch Drahthaar headed to South Dakota with high hopes of countless pheasants, sharp-tails and the odd idea of a cameraman following us to capture a hunt being filmed for Outdoor Television. Chili moved to the top spot in our pack of bird dogs after the passing of Buddy and we were both looking forward to being part of the newest “Hank Hunt”.
When Chili and I arrived at Brown’s Lodge and Hunting Ranch on the banks of the Missouri River we met Scott Fransen, Ron Schara and a handful of other hunters from all over the country with their bird dogs.
Over the next few days Chili and I hunted hard, we saw clouds of wild pheasants and many Sharp-tailed grouse. Chili quickly made friends with Pete, our cameraman, and Ron Schara, the host of the show. This was Ron’s first hunt over a Deutsch Drahthaar and Pete filmed some perfect points, retrieves and shots over Chili.
In the evenings, we spent time relaxing and telling tales of the day’s hunts with great food and fellowship. It’s an amazing feeling when strangers, who become quick friends from all walks of life, share stories of their bird dogs and honor our dedicated four-legged best friends that give us their everything for the love of the hunt.
Who would’ve thought from that day in July, when I rescued a lonely Llewellyn Setter, it would have turned into a love of all things upland hunting and most importantly, the special dogs we meet along the way.
Truly a Hunt to Remember….
If you’d like to see Chili on The Flush. “Hank Hunt” 4 will air on the Outdoor Channel during the last week of August.
