Astro user question...

R

Rooster Roaster

Banned
Astro users, are you also using a beeper with the Astro in thick cover like switch grass, etc.?

I'm pretty set on moving to an Astro, but wondering if I'll still need a beeper when the dog is in the really heavy cover.

I'd love to never strap on a beeper again. Yes, they work, but...
 
Rooster Roaster said:
Astro users, are you also using a beeper with the Astro in thick cover like switch grass, etc.?

I'm pretty set on moving to an Astro, but wondering if I'll still need a beeper when the dog is in the really heavy cover.

I'd love to never strap on a beeper again. Yes, they work, but...
Click to expand...

We have prairie grass that is 6'+ high if it has not been grazed. I do not use a beeper and do not have problems finding the dog on point.

I really do not like beepers any more. I think it is one of the reasons some of my older dogs lost so much of their hearing.
 
Thanks Setternut. Yes, beepers are a harsh sounding thing. Nature of the beast I guess, but also a warning to all of the birds that we're up to no good.

In a good year I'm hunting WI, MN, IA and SD and at least three of the four most years. Some of my better spots involve some very thick and tall switch grass, and it's jungle combat in there. Those spots make me wish I had a flusher at times, but I'm a pointing dog man at heart, so I adapt with the irritating beepers.
 
You can find your dog quickly with an astro. I don't think the beeper is necessary with it. But there are guys that do.
 
Thinking back and more, roaster of roosters, I would bet a large donut that you will experience a learning and satisfaction curve with the Astro.
And that would be with all facets of the tool....from dog location and beyond ...with some tweaking for your own individual manner of hunt along the way.
As opposed to an RF unit and many other tools and toys we all employ(like a scattergun), the Astro's learning curve, for the basics of distance and direction, is blessedly short.

As mentioned, a dog on point can be found pretty quickly but that will be dependent upon a lot of variables, circumstances and defintions...especially the definition of "quickly."
Speed tho, in the case of a point, is not much of a consideration unless....the pheasant is not ultimately made good....and speed is not a guarantor.
Satisfaction at all levels will arrive at the far end of the curve.

As a paper mill smells like butter and eggs to an employee, so does a point-only beeper sound like the thump of a dishragged bird to me.
 
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who in their right mind would question the Garmin- want a "beep" to say where their dog was

do you or have you ever had a BEEPER collar on a dog you hunted
 
last year was my third using the astro. the only time i don't use it with a beeper (in point only mode) is when/if i am hunting cover so sparse that i can virtually see my dog most all the time out to 100-150 yards. when hunting MT or KS i rarely used a beeper, just the astro.

a 5 second delay, looking down at the unit, walking in the general direction, and then finding my dog is more lag time than i'm comfortable with. i like being able to hone in on that beeper with my eyes out front and walk in for the flush.

i am of the belief that a beeper in point mode does not spook birds. if they're pinned, they're pinned. run mode, is another story. but this is just my opinion.

in the grouse woods i have found it all but impossible to run only the astro. it's just too hard to keep track of a dog (for me anyway) in heavy cover. older dogs get the astro with the beeper in point only. i have a young ep that gets the astro with a bell. he's just too fast to keep track of without a bell. it's also easier to tell what he's doing (making game) with a bell on.

ymmv. great tool though. i wouldn't be without it.
 
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