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Three Shots to Master Ahead of Hunting Season
We slogged through an hour-long alder hell and didn't move a bird. The boys and I were shocked, for we called the covert Old Reliable. We were at the end, and I broke open my side-by-side and leashed Cider for the walk back to the truck. Wouldn't you know it, there was a brood of grouse feeding on insects at the edge of the field? Cider pointed, and the grouse flushed like a covey of quail. Two went to the left, two went straight away, and two went to the right. Bob missed one of the crossing shots, and Tim missed the straight-aways. Me? I gave 'em grief, 'cause that's what friends are for.
Field Cocker Madness
The brace of pointers was stunning, and they were locked up on the edge of one of the thickest patches of greenbriar I'd ever seen. The tangle was so dense it resembled unfurled rolls of concertina wire. A little cocker named Rip didn't care, for when he was cut loose, he snaked his way through that mess with more moves than a belly dancer. I'd I couldn't see him, but to know where he was I just needed to see which section of greenbriar was shaking. When the dog locked on his target, a covey of wild quail exploded. They believed if they held their ground they'd never have to leave. How wrong they were.
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.
The Code by M.R. Thompson
We'd been walking for several hours, neither of us speaking a word. Even the dogs at heel sensed the tension in the air. Frank looked hangdog while he occasionally checked his cell phone for service. My feet were sore and only getting worse in anticipation of the ten miles back to civilization when all of a sudden we heard the gravel crunch and diesel roar of a truck coming toward us on the logging road. We looked at each other, grabbed our dogs by the collars and jumped off the road and into the underbrush. The truck roared by and I tried to puzzle out the day's events that brought us to this sorry state of affairs.
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.
Training Your Retriever for Double Duty
If you own a waterfowl dog, chances are that sooner or later you're going to ask it to perform upland duty. It might be a pheasant hunt as a sideline to your Dakota duck hunt, or maybe an afternoon of quail hunting after a morning goose hunt. Most retrievers handle their second job pretty well. You can help your dog perform that job even better.
Choosing a Dog Box
If you are in the market for a dog box to haul your dogs to field trials and hunting, there are a number of decisions you
