Moving closer, the flock of ringneck ducks flushed. Shooting twice, the drake escaped, but a hen lie dead on the water, courtesy of some #4 Hevi-Steel. Trigger was released to do the honors.

To me, bird hunting in general, and duck hunting in particular, isn't hunting unless there's a dog involved. Birds can certainly be shot without a dog, but it's the finding that gets tricky without one. A dog's nose is an invaluable asset, not only for flushing game birds, but more importantly for finding them.

Plus, I detest wearing waders, instead requiring my canine friend do all the dirty work and earn his puppy chow.

I can understand how some may not be able to have a dog, since they do require a substantial time and monetary investment over the course of their lifetime. However, it all becomes worth it when you watch the dog work at the job they were meant to do hunt.

I read somewhere once where the author stated he would rather go hunting without his gun than without his dog. At the time, I didn't fully understand that statement. After all, a shooting instrument of some sort is kind of an essential element in the process of hunting.

However, after following a dog over hill and dale for over a decade now, I all too well understand what he meant.

With ringneck in hand, we decided to go find some more ducks. The next spot we jumped would be our last. As we burst through the reeds, a flock of puddle ducks erupted. Three shots later, three ducks were down.

I could see one duck escaping downstream, as I reloaded some No. 6 steel swatter loads in place of the relatively expensive Hevi-Steel. I let it go, because I had two closer ducks to deal with.

Dispatching the first one, the second duck dove under the water. Trigger swam out to the first one and, grabbing it, brought it closer to shore. Ducks were everywhere in the air. Another flock emerged to my left, and I dropped a single teal with the swatter load, then finished him up on the water with my final round.

Trigger left the first duck and came on shore to help me look for the duck I'd just shot. About that time, the second duck resurfaced. I'd since reloaded my gun with Hevi-Steel, a swarm of which now greeted the sneaky duck upon its reemergence.

We left it for now, and went looking for the teal. Trigger found it shortly, then we went back and he finished retrieving the other two.

A quick inventory was made. Besides the ringneck from earlier, three bluewing teal had now been added to the bag. Plus, we still had the swimmer downstream to account for. We went after it.

The surface of the water was devoid of any duck sign. But, up on the bank, Trigger started sniffing around under the mat of grass. He was making a lot of movement under there.

I encouraged him to "get it," trusting that he was on to something, and he did. When he poked his head up through the thick vegetation, a fat mallard hen was in his mouth. I definitely would have never found that one without him.

We now had five ducks in the bag. Depending on the species and the season, the maximum number of ducks one can shoot per day in Nebraska is six. Our mixture of teal, ringneck, and mallard allowed one more.

I was considering trying another spot, but Trigger had a simpler solution in mind. Jumping down off the bank, he started probing into a muskrat hole. Quickly, he would pull his head out of the hole and jump on the bank to sniff above it, only to jump back down and go back in the hole.

Again, I admonished him to get it, having faith that he hadn't lost his mind.

He pulled another bluewing out of that hole. I don't know when I shot it, but it must have been during the initial flush. As I'm sitting here looking at the box of Hevi-Steel used that day, six shells are missing that's two expended on the flock of ringnecks, three on the flushing mixed-flock of bluewings and mallards, and one fired at the diving teal after it resurfaced. Another teal, as mentioned, had also been shot using regular steel.

Any way you look at it, I hit four ducks with three shots on the mixed-flock flush a feat that has to be credited to the power of Environ-Metal's new Hevi-Steel.

The ducks made it to the bag, however, courtesy of an old dog, who at 11 years old, still had a few tricks up his figurative sleeve.

Forget rabbits and hats, he'd pulled an unexpected teal from a hole a far more impressive trick. We headed home with a limit of ducks.

Jarrod Spilger writes an outdoor column for The Independent.