Behind The Bird Dog

ColdWeather South Dakota Hunt Last fall I trudged across a field for a ½ mile in South Dakota to get back to my truck. I was making my way across a picked field after hunting a field corner with great habitat. What made the walk so memorable was the freezing cold which made my hands numb. My beloved leather Orvis shooting gloves were no match for the unseasonably cold early November weather. As soon as I got home I started searching for a proper cold weather shooting glove. I had a few requirements which included  maintaining dexterity, being able to access my Garmin watch for dog location, durability, and reasonably warm. An added bonus for me would be the ability to be able to use my phone screen for taking photos and checking OnX maps with taking my gloves off.  After researchingI decided  on the Pyke Dakota Cold Weather Glove, which retails for $89.95 Over the rest of the season I utilized the glove on multiple hunts including my annual Nebraska quail and pheasant hun...

09/25/26 Went to a county forest with Bucky and Copper. Left around 5:30AM so we could hunt around first light to avoid the heat. It was about mid 60's when we started and humid. Hunted a side road off [location omitted]. Heard 1 grouse flush off the trail. When moving spots saw 1 running into the woods. Let Bucky out. After a few minutes heard it flush a distance away. Lots of leaves on trees still. Moved 2 grouse. No shots.

There are things I have done as an upland hunter that have heightened my knowledge and passion for all things uplands. In no particular order the ones that had the biggest impact include purchasing my first real bird dog, joining a local Pheasants Forever Chapter as a board member, and most recently joining and participating with a local chapter of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA).   NAVHDA is a training and hunt test organization founded in 1969 with a stated goal to foster, promote, and improve versatile hunting dog breeds across the United States and Canada. A hunt test has some similarities to field trialing with some distinct differences. In field trials, dogs compete head-to-head with other dogs. As an example, if 10 dogs compete, they will be ranked from 1st through 10th place. In a hunt test, a dog's performance is judged against a known standard. Although, at this point, I have never participated in a field trial, I think the hunt test for...

Nebraska — Nov 4th–8th 2021 Arrived in town and had dinner at Quinns house. Tasty Wilbur Hotdogs. We got out to the house with 15 mins or so of shooting light. Copper got into a covey of Quail in a CRP field right off of a picked corn field. We ended up w/ 2 Quail. There was some disagreement between Jon, Quinn, and I about who actually got the Quail. Day 1 — mid 70's We started out at the field by Becky's Normally renters are not able to hunt the field but because we were in good w/ Quinn we had permission. Copper pointed a covey of Quail where he had the previous night. Lots of shooting. No Birds. We ended up having lots of Bird action but not lots of shooting. Copper pointed and 6 hens flushed. We also saw some roosters, but  no shots. On the way back Tucker found and flushed his first wild Birds! Both Josh and Jon were impressed. A bunch of Quail went by a woody area by the Road in front of the house. Copper pointed these. When we flushed them one of...

October 16, 2021 (Saturday) Opening for pheasant was attended by myself, Chase, Josh, Jack, Jon Kellerman and including Max. Cory Millard was there w/ one of his sons. Dog power was provided by Copper, Tucker, and Cory's Dog. It was a nice clear day with a high of 59°. Copper went on point from the parking lot about 10 mins before shooting. About 5 mins after 9am Copper went on point. As I approached I could see the head of the pheasant poking out of the grass. The Rooster flushed cross ways giving me a shot. I put it down with one shot. Unfortunately we never found it. We suspect it was running on us. Jon flushed a rooster w/o a dog and got it with 2 shots. This year the hamburger fry was BACK ON!

11/02/20 — Pheasant & Quail Hunt Mike, Abe, Josh and I on this trip. Dog power compliments of Copper and Reagan. All of us had to cram into 1 Room for the night because Steve gave our room away. We made due and it gave something to ride Steve about for the week. We started the morning at a wheat stubble field. I missed 2 pheasants. First one Copper had been birdy but did not point. Had a small puff of feathers when I shot But overall unscathed. Josh and Mike may have seen a Sharptail. After our “family” lunch with Quinn we went to a private drainage surrounded by corn stubble. We had a delightful Afternoon Shooting at that spot in spite of the heat. I shot 3 Quail and really enjoyed my New Sweet 16. I believe we got 6 Quail at that spot and 2 at the next also private. Copper provided Decent Dog work and even pointed a hen Pheasant that I Flushed. We ended the Day with Copper hot on the trail of what we presumed was a rooster. Other than the Mid 70° weather it was one of our Best Hu...

11/07/20 —  The hunt started at 6:04am with temps in the 50's. Nice Sunrise. The walking was fairly tough and was wet in areas. Copper and I moved over to another area and walked a mowed fire break. A rooster cackling lured me off the trail.  We did not find the offender, but we kicked up a Whitetail. Towards the End I faintly smelled a SKUNK indicating it was time to leave. I was Not Disappointed I went hunting but was left with the thought WI upland Bird hunting Is pretty Bleak in comparison to Nebraska.

11/04/20 The day started out slow. We hit the same field corner from the day before except the other 2 corners. First corner did not hold any birds. The second corner had 3 hens we pushed. We hit another field of wheat and foxtail. Nothing. A Gentleman told us about a milo stubble field nearby they had done well at. I had turned him onto the concept of hitting stubble fields in the early morning so I suspect he was returning the favor. The field consisted of 300+ acres of tall milo stubble with classic Nebraska drainages where we planned to concentrate for Quail. A Rooster flushed from the milo near Josh and flew low. Copper and I walked the top of a drainage and he went on point 120 yards straight in front of me. I found him on a solid point and flushed a single Quail and downed it with 1 shot.  Copper was to top of it right away and had a good retrieve. I shot 1 more Quail. Absolutely Great Sunset! What a Great trip. Nebraska does not disappoint!

11/3/20 — Nebraska This day got very hot with a high of 86°! Our first hunt was crop corners of wheat stubble surrounding a picked corn field, which had been picked. I miss one rooster. Copper had been running and he stopped on a dime. He turned briefly, pointed and started working the area around him while being birdy. The rooster flushed, I shot and missed. The rooster went into the middle of the corn field. We also found a covey of Quail that we eventually got some shooting on, but Mike and I missed. Spent midday at the County Reservoir. Our last hunt for the day provided some good action but no game taken. We hunted a small grass strip off of a stubble field of corn.  Copper saw a zip from a cattle fence. It didn't slow him down though. Beautiful point on a hen. Shortly after another hen flushed. We helped Copper chase a pheasant along a thin strip of cover. Copper kept pointing and then would run forwards working the cover. He was birdy as hell! At the end of the row, no bird ...

10/18/20 — Pheasant On the way home I drove through the [area] to look for pheasants. Copper got very excited when I started driving slower. I decided to stop for a quick hunt. 2 Gentlemen (sarcastic) stopped in the lot while I was getting ready. I remember them as North Carolina Hill Billy and Pretentious Vizsla guy. They got into a shouting match on their opposing views of Covid. Copper and I took a quick walk. It was a very nice afternoon. No pheasants were had. I did identify a New Purple Flower for me. The New England Aster.

Pheasant Opener  10/17/20 Family and I spent the weekend pheasant hunting. Copper and I arrived at the hunting grounds at 8am, an hour before shooting. The lot was already full. Josh, Mike, Abe, Corey, and his kid were the participants. Copper, Reese, and Cory's 2 dogs rounded off the crew. Talks to his dogs to much. Shut up and let them hunt! A Rooster flushed wild in front of the group. Mike shot it. The Dogs had a very difficult time getting it. Mike actually found it before the dogs did. The day was cloudy w/ drizzle. No hamburger fry this year because of the Rona. ☹️ RANDOM Before pheasant opener & After Somewhere in here I had 2 hunts at a different hunting area. One was for grouse only with no grouse spotted. The other one was for grouse and pheasant. No grouse - Saw 1 Rooster on a private drive after pushing a field by a creek.

I recently finished A Hunter's Road by Jim Fergus, which I enjoyed very much. Published in 1993 the book recounts an upland hunting road trip, which takes the author and his dog, a lab named Sweetz across the country on a 3 month long trip. During the trip Sweetz retrieved 21 different species of birds. Jim shares has a wide variety of experiences ranging from hunting solo on public lands to hunting quail on large plantations in the southeast usually reserved for aristocrats. Although the book is dated the author interviews some of the most knowledgable upland hunters and biologist in the nation. A Hunter's Road is an enjoyable blend of story telling along with thought provoking philosophical writing. Besides telling the story of his hunts topics include habitat loss, anti hunting, and the economics of upland bird hunting. The area I found most interesting was his experiences hunting the plantations of the southeast. An upland tradition I knew little about until reading t...