Back out in the morning

So...guy asks a question about GPS. Setternut and I contribute to conversation...2 guys take uninformed pot shots at gadgets and I am the guy not making a positive contribution? My aanalysisis getting better by the post. Sorry ... I forgot the emoticons they just don't have the one I am looking to post.
 
Well, what I was commenting on has now disappeared so my previous comment doesnt make much sense.

My dogs stay close and I kill a lot of birds. I like them close but you were commenting how that doesnt require handling or something to that extent.

Whatever one prefers I guess.... if you like your dogs ranging 1000 yds, more power to you...
 
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I think what he was saying is that if your killing birds in front of you,, you're walking in all the right places. Appreciated and learned a lot more from Setternut's post.
 
I have the astro and it stays in my pocket unless I lose track of one of my dogs. Then it only takes a second to check and see what's up. It saves a lot of anxiety when you are hunting multiple dogs in taller cover.

So much of the time when you are in heavy cover, you are using your ears to listen for your dog and your eyes to see the grass moving to locate your dog. When a pointer points, now you're playing hide-n-seek. :laugh: With the Astro or Alpha, you have a better idea of where to look.

When hunting with only one dog I could pretty much leave the handheld unit in the truck, just have it along in case of some freak incident. But running 2 dogs, it's pretty easy to lose track of one from time to time.
 
Crossing shot said:
Friday, Astro told me Champ was on point sixty yards away. Shot two roosters. Not sure I would have found the dog in time without it.

No subscription. Why wait til Christmas?
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Your right....Christmas is too long to wait. Picked up the Alpha TT15 yesterday at the Cabelas after hours party for $659 which I thought was a pretty good deal. Havent got out to use it yet other than messing around in the back yard but so far its looking like a good investment. Only downside for me is you have to pay for sat imaging for $30 a year and it did NOT come with a lanyard. My $250 g3 came with a lanyard. Just sayin....
 
Last year I was running two dogs in SE KS, Garmin indicated dog 1 on point 150 yards ahead on a hedge row, he's an honest dog so I took time to bring pup in and work on a back, when I got to the "pointed" dog he was down on the ground and almost unconcious from snare he was caught in. Luckily I was able to quickly loosen the cable and he slowly recovered over the next 10 minutes. Without the garmin I would have been burying him that day.

I appreciate the minimalist approach to bird hunting, and the fact that you can oftentimes kill more birds with close working dogs, that being said...I like runnin' dogs that go hunting. These types of dogs can and do get themselves in touble. My Garmin has saved me more than one dog.
 
In close, or out far, it's a great tool to have with you.

When I got my Alpha, I was always checking it -- because it was a new toy. Now it stays in my pocket until I need to know where the dogs are. Peace of mind is the biggest plus to me, but it's a fantastic tool for hunting too.

That said, I think the interface is clunky, and there's too much extraneous junk on it. And, the bare-bones base map isn't going to replace your other GPS for driving.

Anybody know how to lock the screen so it's not changing as it bumps around in your pocket? Seems I've always got to back up 1, 2, 3 screens to get back to where I want to be.
 
ness said:
In close, or out far, it's a great tool to have with you.

When I got my Alpha, I was always checking it -- because it was a new toy. Now it stays in my pocket until I need to know where the dogs are. Peace of mind is the biggest plus to me, but it's a fantastic tool for hunting too.

That said, I think the interface is clunky, and there's too much extraneous junk on it. And, the bare-bones base map isn't going to replace your other GPS for driving.

Anybody know how to lock the screen so it's not changing as it bumps around in your pocket? Seems I've always got to back up 1, 2, 3 screens to get back to where I want to be.
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Press the power key on the side of the receiver and you will see the brightness setting screen. On the lower right side you will see a picture of a small lock. If you press this it will lock the screen. To unlock, you will have to press the power key again and then press the lock icon again to pull it out of locked mode.

There is also a way to lock out your dog so others cannot track him if they have an Alpha or Astro. Not exactly sure how to activate this function yet.
 
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you have to pay for sat imaging for $30 a year
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What is sat imaging?

I hunt silent, so the dog must track me. Usually when the point indicator goes on, the dog stopped to listen for me. I will give a couple hawk screams so she can find me. If she doesn't come, it is likely she is on point.
 
I have read several post that say they like their dog to go hunt and only big running dogs do this? I have only had 3 hunting dogs in my life time and by no means an expert. But I like dogs to qtr and cover all ground to my right and left and stay close enough to watch them work as this is the joy of having them. I contend that a big running dog may be great but if he is way out 100-1000 yards how many birds did you just walk over. I think we hunt way to fast and walk over way too many birds in a field. I know this first hand as I was walking in a group in a patch of CRP and dogs were pushing way too far a head of us and many went on point 300-500 yards away. The hunters pushed hard to get to the points so they could shoot the birds. After we finished I quite hunting with the group and declined the ride back to the truck. I walked right back through the field we just hunted and my buddy and I shot more birds the second time and finished off our limits hunting with only one dog and they were all pointed birds.

Gary
 
Crossing shot said:
What is sat imaging?

I hunt silent, so the dog must track me. Usually when the point indicator goes on, the dog stopped to listen for me. I will give a couple hawk screams so she can find me. If she doesn't come, it is likely she is on point.
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Sat or satellite imaging is an option that allows you to view a real life photo of the land as close as 10 yards above the surface. Like the view you would see from an airplane. It comes in handy when scouting new ground. Many times I drove up to new ground and wondered "whats on the other side of those trees. Is it worth cutting through? Is there a nice field on the other side that I should be hunting?" With sat imaging, you can view whats on the other side like having a big ol periscope to "see" over the trees. The maps that come with the device are very cartoonish looking topographical maps and dont give very much detail. ONly downside is you have to pay for this level of detailed mapping.
 
MollyandMe said:
Press the power key on the side of the receiver and you will see the brightness setting screen. On the lower right side you will see a picture of a small lock. If you press this it will lock the screen. To unlock, you will have to press the power key again and then press the lock icon again to pull it out of locked mode.

There is also a way to lock out your dog so others cannot track him if they have an Alpha or Astro. Not exactly sure how to activate this function yet.
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Thanks M&M!
 
I agree with everyone. One of my britts is a runner and one is a bootlicker. My previous team of britts was the same way. Team before that too. 25 years doing this. I get to watch a dog work and my runner covers everything. When runner zigs, me and close dog zag. Works well.
 
Zeepo said:
I have read several post that say they like their dog to go hunt and only big running dogs do this? I have only had 3 hunting dogs in my life time and by no means an expert. But I like dogs to qtr and cover all ground to my right and left and stay close enough to watch them work as this is the joy of having them. I contend that a big running dog may be great but if he is way out 100-1000 yards how many birds did you just walk over. I think we hunt way to fast and walk over way too many birds in a field. I know this first hand as I was walking in a group in a patch of CRP and dogs were pushing way too far a head of us and many went on point 300-500 yards away. The hunters pushed hard to get to the points so they could shoot the birds. After we finished I quite hunting with the group and declined the ride back to the truck. I walked right back through the field we just hunted and my buddy and I shot more birds the second time and finished off our limits hunting with only one dog and they were all pointed birds.

Gary
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Gary,

In this scenario, I am not sure that you would have walked over more birds than you would have any way -- depending on the size of the group. I usually only hunt by myself or with one other person, so we don't really walk up a lot of birds when hunting. In CRP or prairie grass, my dogs are expected to quarter into the wind as well and they do. They just do it in big casts. You'd be amazed at how far you can see a dog working even in decently heavy CRP (provided you don't want to see them every second). I trust that my dogs are going to hold their birds until I get there, so I try not to rush to a point (sometimes excitement gets me walking faster) The birds don't always hold until I get there, but they usually do and to me, it is more fun to see that dog out there just rolling and slam on point. Also, they are not always out dead ahead at several hundred yards, they are usually off to one side or another like your dogs -- just a ways further out. Maybe its the experiences that people have had on this board that lead them to their generalizations regarding big running dogs -- that they are just out their running with their hair on fire which isn't the truth in the great majority of my experience. I took a buddy's dog out with us a couple of weekends ago -- we were going to walk this edge where there was a lot of woody cover. Dog runs down the edge -- about 300 yards, circles around, goes off into some grass. Goes about 200 more yards and slams on point. He'd found a covey of quail -- in the middle of the grass 300-400 yards away from us -- we would have NEVER hunted that area and a dog that would have ranged 100 yards away from us would have never found those birds. Guess what -- with 60 yards of that covey -- there was another covey. Because that dogs extended range -- we found two nice coveys of quail that we would have never come across in our chosen "walk" had we had a dog that did not range. Same dog pointed another covey of quail at almost 500 yards across two drainages and a slightly sloppy bean field that were in some really thick cover. Took me several minutes just to get through the crap to where I could see the dog and when I did, the covey flushed. (Not sure that's one of those positive big running dog scenarios)
 
Crossing shot said:
I agree with everyone. One of my britts is a runner and one is a bootlicker. My previous team of britts was the same way. Team before that too. 25 years doing this. I get to watch a dog work and my runner covers everything. When runner zigs, me and close dog zag. Works well.
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When we have more our four dog string, we usually try to pair the "closer" running dog in a brace with the "bigger" running dog. But none of them could be classified as a boot licker. It's more of big and not quite as big.
 
If canines could find them all pheasants would be extinct and coyotes would be fat

All dogs miss some of them even ones they go right by and close.


I like to let the dog determine where we go, but I usually hunt by myself. Big going dogs do well in this scenario IMO.

I do also know its not always possible if the property is small or roads are nearby and that's when you want those close workers you can steer where you want them to go.

I got out of labs in the 80s and went to just pointing dogs but I've been thinking about getting another lab. I think it would open up some opportunities I now ignore because my dogs are suited to them.
 
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Bobman I have one boot licker pointer that I can guide like a car and it's nice to have one like that for the small areas.
 
I think I want a flusher to hit those little 5 -10 acre cattail spots I drive by, and I just like labs

I have three EPs and 2 GSPs at the moment so I have the point side covered LOL.
 
I like to have one the is out there and one that is closer 100-150 yards or so.
But the closer working dog has to back every time. Actually both dogs have to back, but the closer working dog is going to be backing more often.

I think there is a misconception that big running dogs are missing birds more than other dog. That is not the case in an experience dog. They hunt the good cover and keep pushing out to the next good patch of cover until they find birds.
 
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