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Old Friends
Your four legged friend is more than a hunting tool, but friend and family member. Even the hardest of souls crack when it is apparent that their hunting dog is slowing down and entering their final chapter. Growing up we had English Springer Spaniels and chocolate Labradors; chasing Valley Quail and waterfowl through the hunting seasons in the green Oregon valleys. During our Springer Jennifer’s final years, arthritis took hold but her drive to go hunting never diminished. She made sure she was always near the truck when it was time to go on any early morning, that short docked tail wagging furiously in her attempts to jump on to the tailgate, but ultimately not able to make it. The arthritis kept her short legs from making the jump despite repeated attempts that used to be effortless. Her eyesight was failing as well but her nose for flushing pheasants and tracking greenheads led the way.
A Lost Dog
It was July 15, 2003 and Billy Culp was fixin’ to turn loose for a workout his first green derby of the season. He was training this year on a new place just east of Lignite and south of Route 5. There were twenty pointing dog trainers working within a forty-mile radius of Billy , two hundred or more in the state, some serious pros, some serious amateurs, some just guys with a dog or two and a pickup truck.
Hunting Those Cold, Wet Winter Days in the Fields and Woods for Pheasants
We had parked a half-of-mile down the road. A couple of dozen roosters stood idle in the field. They resembled tiny black checkmarks from a distance against the white backdrop. Every once-in-a-while some would scoot in and out of brush piles and thickets. The snow had covered the land. Tufts of yellow grass were scattered across the field. Most of the grass had been covered by the snow. With no where to hide, the birds found refuge in what little cover they could find. This meant flocks of pheasants sheltering up together out of the elements. A small woodlot seemed to be providing roosters a place to get out of the wind and cold. According to the map the public parcel included an adjacent field of sorghum.
Upland Hunting Vest Round-up
I was on Facebook the other night and saw a post asking about recommendations for an Upland Game Vest. There were so many different brands listed, that I thought it'd be a good idea to list some of them here on Gundog Central for everyone to see, with links to where you can purchase. While researching these Upland Game Vest, I was kind of surprised at how many different ones there were available. It would be impossible for me to list them all here, so I'll stick with the ones I know or might be interested in. I won't be offering any recommendations as to which one you should or shouldn't purchase, mainly because we all have different needs and hunt different types of birds. What's good for someone hunting Quail, might not work as well for someone hunting Pheasant. You might like to travel light, where someone else might want to carry more gear. An older person will have different preferences than a younger person and people in the south would have different needs than someone hunting up north. If you would like to leave any recommendations or feedback, maybe suggest some I missed, you may do some in the comments below.
One Who Gave For Us-And Paid A Price
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Oklahoma is more than OK
Opening Day is the one we wait for all year long. It's the time when we gather our family and friends, our dogs and favorite shotguns, and trade in every day life for the fields. If we're lucky, the day falls on a weekend and we don't need to make special arrangements. But if Opening Day lands during the week, well, then many of us mysteriously get sick. If enough of us bird doggers scrap work then the country's gross national product might suffer. It'll rebound when we return, but if we miss the opener there is a good chance we won't. Belling dogs and following up points isn't all it's cracked up to be; it's much, much more.
Heat Stress: Early Signs and Life-Saving Tactics
Pet owners tend to think of their dogs in human terms. When it's cold, they want to make sure their pets are warm - to the same degree, literally, that they themselves are comfortable. At the Sportsmen's Alliance, we've even seen legislation banning outside dogs when temps drop to 32 degrees.
SportDOG: Gear the way youd design it
My dentist, Doc Biehn, was a waterfowler and I always got to check it out when I got my teeth cleaned as a kid. I remember one visit when he handed me a new, Marlin Super Goose he extracted from his closet. I'd never seen anything like the 10 gauge, bolt action shotgun that took a 3.5 inch shell and came with a two-shell clip and full-choked 34-inch barrel. That beast weighed a whopping 10.5 pounds, making it a virtual shoulder-cannon for waterfowlers. I could barely lift the heavy artillery let alone work the bolt without significant muzzle rock. My amazement turned to confusion, and in the end I couldn't see how that firearm would replace my side-by-side or pump in the blind. The Super Goose must have been designed by someone who didn't hunt geese.
Girls, Guns, and Gun Dogs!
Growing up in the south one gains an appreciation for late fall/early springtime bobwhite quail hunting behind a brace of pointers about as much as anything can be appreciated. The landscape here is dotted with private plantations, public shooting preserves, and small family farms that hold the elusive Gentleman-Bob...opportunities abound. In fact, I cut my gun dog teeth, as it were, training pointing breeds and stumbling around bottom lands I could access hunting quail. It would be some years before I switched my focus over to retrieving breeds entering the world of professional training and trial competition.
Puppy Introductions: Water, Game and Gunfire
Puppyhood plays an integral role in the future of your hunting dog. Introducing her to critical aspects of the hunt, including game, cover, water and especially gunfire, at critical ages and in a controlled manner to ensure a positive experience is important. It doesn't matter if you're training a pointer for the uplands, a retriever for the wetlands or hounds for small- or big-game, by keeping new experiences positive and slowly increasing the scope of that experience will guarantee your gundog loves all the aspects of her future job.
The Great Debate: Pointing or Flushing Dogs for Quail
My wife said I winced when we pulled up to the only game in town. It was an old motel of a vintage that reminded me of the Golden Era of travel by car. Over the years families probably over-nighted here while on their way to any one of a number of the nearby wild quail Valhallas. No visible capital improvements had been done for a long time, at least I couldn't see any renovation. The 30-some-odd rooms looked sad while the adjoining restaurant and tavern was booming.
You Cant Just Have One
I love the saying 'anything done in moderation shows a lack of interest' because it's true. My gun cabinet, my rod rack, my decoy rack and my kennels are all full. I'm immoderate, just like you.
Whatever you do, dont shoot the dog - By Tom Keer
I've never seen a bird dog get shot, but I hear of at least one instance per year. When the stories roll in I get sick to my stomach. They unfold in pretty much the same way. A group of folks review the pre-hunt safety talk. All have heard it before, all are in agreement. The dogs are cut loose, the hunt is underway, and spirits are high. Jokes fly around, conversation is light, and everyone agrees they are more happy in the field than at work.
The Nose Knows: Reading your Birddogs Signs by Tom Keer
If you own a bird dog, let alone a string of 'em, then the odds are high that you know what their every movement and noise means. But if you're hunting over a buddy's dog then you might not be as keyed in to their tells. Here are two common situations that bird dogs encounter and some different ways in which they react.
Bending Drills Teach Dogs to Hunt Efficiently
A dog that searches for birds in a consistent pattern covers ground efficiently and hunts with confidence. Whether you're hunting quail, grouse or pheasants, the result is the same: more shooting opportunities.
