steelbull85
New member
Every year after Thanksgiving we get together with our neighbors and friends for "Deer Camp" to bring in the first day of rifle season. As you can imagine deer camp includes much more than just hunting. It includes, stories, good food, camaraderie, poker, and maybe a few beverages. One of the best things about deer camp is the small game hunt that takes place on Friday or Saturday before opening day. This year we went to a local game farm and purchased some Chukar for us all to hunt and have a fun time with. We took them out, planted them and then went back home for some breakfast before we began. Since my lab is 5 months old, she is in a good spot to introduce to live birds. We have already introduced her to frozen birds and wings and nothing gets her fired up more than the smell of some birds and feathers. Needless to say, this was a perfect training opportunity.
I started her out on a check cord and gave her the "hunt 'em up" command, and man did she jump into action. Within a couple minutes she had her first flush and retrieve, and that is all it took. The dog was hooked. She knew exactly what it was that she was supposed to do. She worked hard....in tall grass, in thick brush, and into groups of fallen trees. She had her mistakes (most of which were my mistakes), but I couldn't be more impressed for a 5 month old puppy. Some things I need to work on include calling her off birds, sitting on flush, marking falls, and working on retrieving (we've been taking a break because she's been teething). The thing I was most concerned about was shooting over her. I have taken her to the local trap/skeet range and had her around gunfire, and had her close to gunfire, but never shot over her. I was so happy after the first shot that she didn't even care. She was so focused on the bird that the shooting was the least of her concerns. At the end of the day she had around 15 flushes (some birds multiple times....great shooting by us). I'm itching to get her out and work more with her, and know that I am going to have a hunting machine on my hands. It's going to take some time, but it will be well worth it. I already can't wait for next pheasant season!
Here is a picture of her at the end of the hunt with my neighbors grandson. Boy did they bond before, during, and after the hunt. :cheers:
I started her out on a check cord and gave her the "hunt 'em up" command, and man did she jump into action. Within a couple minutes she had her first flush and retrieve, and that is all it took. The dog was hooked. She knew exactly what it was that she was supposed to do. She worked hard....in tall grass, in thick brush, and into groups of fallen trees. She had her mistakes (most of which were my mistakes), but I couldn't be more impressed for a 5 month old puppy. Some things I need to work on include calling her off birds, sitting on flush, marking falls, and working on retrieving (we've been taking a break because she's been teething). The thing I was most concerned about was shooting over her. I have taken her to the local trap/skeet range and had her around gunfire, and had her close to gunfire, but never shot over her. I was so happy after the first shot that she didn't even care. She was so focused on the bird that the shooting was the least of her concerns. At the end of the day she had around 15 flushes (some birds multiple times....great shooting by us). I'm itching to get her out and work more with her, and know that I am going to have a hunting machine on my hands. It's going to take some time, but it will be well worth it. I already can't wait for next pheasant season!
Here is a picture of her at the end of the hunt with my neighbors grandson. Boy did they bond before, during, and after the hunt. :cheers:
