Not perfect dog work

It's getting that time of the year when chukar interest is at a low. Not for me. Although it's hard to get started up the hill, once I get going it's like a drug and I start wanting more. It's getting close to the end of February and Jake and I are finding lot's of birds everywhere. Almost every hun we are finding is paired but the chukar's are still bunched up. Pretty normal for this time of year. Jake is having a ball finding and pointing birds. Sometimes he does a stellar job of holding birds until I flush and sometimes not so good. I have one video from today where Jake breaks a little soon. Most good trainers would say that's a no-no, but it was good enough for me. Especially since it took me about five minutes to get down to his point and into position to start filming. The best part of this clip is where the birds flushed from. After reviewing the film if you look hard enough you can actually see a head or two. At the time Jake and I were only 25 yards apart ,so these birds are a testament to how tight these chukars may sit and how easy it might be in the early season to walk right past them when the scent is not as strong. There were about 6 more birds that took off right after this where Jake was pointing.

The next video is also one that good dog trainers will scoff at. It's a great video to show as to why you should train your pup to hold until you release him or her. I trained one dog to hold to shot and we seemed to have lost more birds. It may have been just coincidence but I have since let my boys go at the flush and know better than to take a shot in these instances. I just feel it's a lot less pressure on the dog.

I hope you enjoy these clips as much as I did walking up on them.

Chukar vs. quail

I quite often get asked why I don't hunt quail more? The simple answer is the dog work. All of my dogs have handled quail a lot different than chukar/hun. Although quail will hold well at times they quite often don't vacate the area and create as much flushing as they do pointing. It's hard for a dog to hold point on a bird that is moving through the brush chattering and jumping from limb to limb.

Here is Jake on a pair of huns. Once I flush the birds he makes a short chase hoping I might get one and then is off looking for the next covey. He may make a short check from where the birds flushed from to make sure there are no stragglers but soon is off in the distance.

Jake will also point quail but once they flush he realizes they haven't gone that far and loves pursuing them into the brush or wherever they fly to. In this short clip you'll notice he points a few different times but also flushes birds as much as he points. It is a lot of fun action but just not what I want.

Quail hunting can be a ton of fun and is especially great for introducing young people to bird hunting. There is very little time to get bored. You just have to makes sure you educated them as to where their shooting lanes are. Quail are random flyers and will often fly right at you or close to the dog. While chukar hunting I will often shoot at a pointed quail but won't pursue the covey. Another reason I don't shoot many quail is because I don't carry enough shells. Those little buggers are hard to hit. Every shell spent on a shot at a quail might leave me with too few for chukars.

Lastly, there is no place like those places chukar inhabit. Yes, quail hunting may be easier on the legs but something about the chukar mountain pulls me in like a magnet.

New trial

Bear with me one more time. I'm still trying to edit movies for my blog. Let me know if you can see this video. Thanks for letting me know the last time Ben.

Question

I've been getting several calls about my thoughts on guzzlers and so I'm passing that same question on to you. Agree with me or not I promise not to throw you under the bus. That is what makes us better people. The ability to listen to both sides and maybe understand better.

Simply put, I don't see what they can hurt but don't see the need for them as far as chukar hunting goes. Why do we have to carry so much water for our dogs during the early season? We seem to find birds where there doesn't seem to be any water. There is water somewhere and the birds we hunt know where it is. That's part of the fun of hunting for me. To find out what attracts the birds to different areas at different times of the year. Chukars have done well in the west since they were introduced and for the most part have done it without guzzlers. In my opinion guzzlers, although they can't hurt, do more for the hunter than for the birds. Guzzlers are good starting points for those who have never hunted chukars before.

So, to **** ****** who e mailed me last week and mentioned that maybe I should start helping with the guzzlers since I benefit from them and the number of birds I get is related to the amount of work and money he has put in I disagree. The only guzzlers I am aware of are the guzzlers made by mother nature and all the wildlife I see seem to be doing fine.

If they dry up there is another one not too far away even though we may not be able to find them.

So with that being discussed and dismissed, on to the fun stuff. Boy, I've been having lot's of it. I wish I could do a better job of editing and show  it all to you and help keep you excited for next season. I'll be working on that but for now I'll show my favorite picture of yesterday and hopefully then a short clip.

One more note. I finally got rid of my land line and am now a cell phone only person. That number is 208-861-2907. Make sure you leave a message because I'm usually not around my cell phone but will eventually return your call, good or bad.