Recent content by Abbeyroad

Odyssey is another good one.

Highfire - nice looking dogs and Hege-Haus lines. Am i reading their contract correctly that the total price of the pup is $3000? I paid $1000 for my last one 12 yrs ago and would pay $1500 today from the same breeder for similar lines, as a comparison.

I'm pretty sure you can find similar genetics to top gun in several other NAVHDA -type kennels and maybe you'll find improved availability. Off the top of my head, Garbonita comes to mind as a possibility. If memory serves, a lot of those kennels were heavy on sharp shooter, hustler, and...

Quailnerd, What did the podcast say about crippling rates? I think they're higher than we would think across most of the upland hunting spectrum.

I like those griffons. I've seen a couple and they were really nice dogs. The ones I saw were well-described as slow and methodical. Here's my issue - What happens when a slow dog at age 3 turns 9 - not a big deal if all you hunt is heavy cover and want a dog that's tight, but maybe a little...

Long post alert! GSPs here. They've been out-of-the-box hunters with solid pointing, search, and retrieving. Mine don't want to play fetch with a ball, but they desperately want that bird in their mouth, so that helps. I think they were the perfect fit for me as a novice bird dog guy. With...

I like Remington Nitro Steel and Speed Shoks. I've had good luck with Rios. Xperts were fairly effective, but, jeez, you cut one open and find the full spectrum of shot sizes and shapes. #1 through #6, and most not very round. I've taken quite a few birds with them though, but it's hard to...

Typical winter off-season question, but usually pretty fun. Any shortcomings or areas of particular strength that you've noticed with you breed?

Shot size is more important than extreme velocity in my experience. #3s or #2s at 1300-1400 are plenty for pheasant, with the exception of the 40 yard straight-away. That's a tough one for about any load. For me, 1 oz of 3s at 1300 is a great min for sub 40 yard shots in my 20. 1 1/4 of 2s...

Tough to beat an IC in a repeater or IC/Mod in a double over points. I'd be tempted to go straight modified in a repeater if hunting jumpy birds or behind a flusher.

I remember one year in Kansas I dropped a rooster at 25 yards going straight away into a freshly picked cornfield about 20 yards from cover. The bird hit the ground hard and gave it everything he had to make it back to the cover bordering the field. He made it about 15 yards before expiring...

I admire folks and dogs that yield low loss %s on game. We should all strive for that. I think that the reality is that wounding/loss rates in general are likely too high. This includes 'misses' where a bird flies off with a pellet or two to die later. Having lost some birds over the years...

Yup - they've been on the radar for a minute - but I went in different direction in 2016. Coming up on puppy time as my gsp is nearing 13. I've looked at lots of breeds here lately. Soon it'll be time to put a deposit down.

How is the VDD getting more strict? Are there some good litters coming up that you know about? Around here, I wouldn't call it a buyers market. Versatile pups from good breeders are spendy - $1500- 2500 pretty regularly.

Missedagain - believe it or not I've watched your dogs on that channel and actually wondered how I could get in touch with you. Both of those dogs were impressive - the PP appeared to be a large-bodied critter while the dd was more medium sized - maybe 55lbs? They had to make some tough...