Any reports?

Somebeach

New member
Any reports on how it looks to the guys that have been here for a few years? I spent the first three days of season in the southwest part of the state. I had never been in the area before and it was a little overwhelming deciding where to turn the dogs out as the country was the same for hundreds of miles. We found enough to keep it interesting. Just me and my oldest boy and a load of dogs. My oldest shot his first gambles. Ran into some javalinas and way too many rattlesnakes. I heard some decent reports from some guys at work that went to another part of the state. Will head out closer to home tomorrow and possibly another weekend trip over the thanksgiving holiday.
 
I went out for a quick hunt this afternoon, saw 10, shot at 3, killed one (scaled). Cover was better but I saw more birds last year in the same area.....maybe the wind etc.
 
with the last couple of seasons as reference, this year's numbers are a nice surprise - already moved/seen more birds this year than all of last year, which is great for the younger dog because I can count on my fingers & toes the number of wild bird contacts he has had in the last two seasons

we too had a javelina sighting, well javelina encounter, it was 15 minutes in opening morning; my older dog is working some nice cover, hear a bark & then a yelp, out comes a "little piggy" followed by the dog; dog now has 8 stitches & 8 staples from mr. piggy and is lucky to be alive. I'll quote the vet "looks like the pig went for a kill shot"

made me realize that for all the stuff that we train our dogs to do/don't do; there is always something else

congrats to your son on his first gambels
 
Beaker,

Glad your dog is ok, some of the worst wounds I have been presented with (30 years in veterinary practice) have been from Javalinas, those things scare me. Maybe we should develop Javalina aversion training for NM dogs similar to rattlesnake aversion training, lol. Good luck the rest of the season.
 
not to divert the thread,

in all seriousness, I have been scribbling down ideas on how to "train" javelina avoidance since last week

because of a suggestion made on this forum, "to keep a vet contact list where ever you travel with your dog", my guy is still with me. It was an hour fifteen minute drive to the nearest, open vet.

as with any bird dog owner, I have done my fair share of "tailgate" vet tech work - I'll can say with certainty, that the damage inflicted by a javelina in less than a few seconds is way beyond my abilities & scary as heck

staples come out this Saturday, would think by 13 December he'll be back to light/moderate activity

zia, are you still practicing? having an interesting time finding a vet that understands bird dogs/bird dog owners
 
Yes I still practice in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, I understand bird dogs pretty well but bird dog owners...........hmm,ummm, well, cough (and I am speaking as one)
 
Hope your dog has a speedy recovery. I would be interested to see what you come up with for javalina avoidance. This is the second time I had an encounter and knock on would they just resulted in a stare down between me and the pig, no dogs involved.
 
saw around 35 birds today, some good dog work but bad shooting. I try to hunt most Sundays if any NM hunters want to team up ( I am in the Albuquerque area)
 
somebeach, the dog thanks you for the well wishes

staples came out yesterday, everything seems to be healing as expected; a little stiffness in the shoulder, that should work itself out over the next few weeks

zia, us bird dog owners are a "unique breed"

bird report -
out last Wednesday, moved 4-5 nice sized coveys; no quail taken, it is sure fun watching a young dog learn how handle wild birds
 
Report

I went out Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Seen one big covey, I was exploring new areas. I did find fresh tracks in a lot of the areas just wasn't able to locate them, I'm sure the warm weather had something to do with the dogs scentin ability.

Zia-
I'm game, pm sent.
 
out and about a couple times in the last week, a few new locations
moved a handful of average sized coveys each outing; had one covey with really good numbers

the young dog has started locking solid on birds - two nicely pointed birds, two birds in the game bag
the season is a success :thumbsup:
 
out and about a couple times in the last week, a few new locations
moved a handful of average sized coveys each outing; had one covey with really good numbers

the young dog has started locking solid on birds - two nicely pointed birds, two birds in the game bag
the season is a success :thumbsup:

Way to go!
 
Quick hunt

Went out for a quick hunt the other day to get the young guy on some birds. He is coming along, a covey running in front of him is still a little much for him to handle but he does well on singles.

 
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