Bells on flushers

I used a bell on my Brittanys from 80s to early 2010s. I (we) have killed a lot of roosters across many states. Anyone that says bells scare 'em all away does not know what they are talking about. Bells were extremely effective to know where your dog was in high grass, thick woods, cattail sloughs ... list can be longer. The issue with the bell is ... it goes quiet when the dog goes on point ... SO you need to keep track of where the bell sound is coming from ... essentially constantly.

In the winter the bell clapper would get stuck because of snow build up. Had to constantly clear it some days.

Again - Garmin GPS ... started using one around 2014 or so ...
 
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I haven't had a lot of trouble with snow, but I know what you mean. One cold morning there was a ton of frost on the grass, that frost seemed to migrate into the bell and quite it down.
The locate feature on my SportDog is usually essential in finding the dog once on point.
 
Bob, if you have lost some of your hearing chances are you will have a difficult time hearing the bell, especially on windy days. I used to use beeper collars on my dogs until my hearing got to the point I couldn't hear the beeper. Stay with the GPS to find your dog.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Bob, if you have lost some of your hearing chances are you will have a difficult time hearing the bell, especially on windy days. I used to use beeper collars on my dogs until my hearing got to the point I couldn't hear the beeper. Stay with the GPS to find your dog.
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Thanks for the info. I have no problem hearing a bell. I bought a gps collar only as insurance of losing a dog in the field. GPS on a flusher for actual hunting purposes is not practical. I'd be looking at a screen while the pheasant flies away.
 
gim said:
No bells for this guy. All it does is tip off every bird in the county that you're coming.

Silence is deadly.

FYI I hunt with a lab/flusher but I keep her within shotgun range.
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How do you keep it in shotgun range, yell at it??? :D
 
I don't run flushers, but in the grouse woods I use a bell but pheasant/prairie birds bells are a no go for me.
 
We need to realize we have folks here that haven't been in cover that was over knee high, so they aren't going to be able to quite comprehend what "heavy cover" really is. Throw them into that and they would lose their birds and their dogs.
If you can see your dog 20 yards away, then you likely do not need or want a bell.
 
remy3424 said:
You will never get a pheasant with that bell on your dog....wait for the replies or read the old threads. I only use them when I am in cover that I can't see my dog when he is more than several yards away, heck in the switch grass I can't see him several feet away. When he locks up I use the "locate" feature on the Sport Dog to find him. The cover is so tall this year, I think he was always within 15 yards and a couple times I needed to locate 3 times for find him. I keep a pair with me, one in the truck and one in a pocket of my hunting coat. Here are the type of snap swivels I use, easy to put on and take off with gloves. You might also need a key-ring. They do wear-out, you can see I "rebuilt" the larger one. One of these days I will anchor a rooster or 2 to show the crowd "it is possible"!
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No bells for me either. I have an idea to try a "red tailed hawk" collar that emitted a red tailed hawk screech every time the dog went on point. I really didn't think about when she had to pee or crap or when we were taking a rest. That sound scared the crap out of her!!!!! She was pretty much broken for the rest of the day. Long story short, no noise makers for me.
 
I used one for a bit last season, forgot I did that until this thread. It was a bit annoying but I liked it. My dog is tiny and fast and can slip away easily if she’s hot.

I honestly don’t remember if it changed the outcome of my hunts at all.

I’m gonna look for it and start rocking it again. . Do not like when I loose track of her for all the reasons
 
There’s times you can’t see yer dog 5 ft away here, vest or not. Always wear glasses if you want to keep yer eyes. Haven’t figured out how to keep it out of my nose yet. Also inhaled my share of teasel, phragmite and cat tail fluff. Used a bell years ago, still have them. However I do believe birds catch on pretty quick to them. If you have yer doubts keep slamming yer truck doors shut.
 
I am 6-2 and know the "grass in the eyes and nose" fun, the big bluestem is head high this year. A fella I used to hunt with would wear safety glasses, it was bad for him at 5-10.
 
While back I inhaled cat tail fluff and shut the hunt down for 10 minutes. Coughed hacked and gagged half to death! I love to metal detect and found several old harness/sleigh bells which work purdy good for dogs. Found big ones and little ones of brass. They’re called crotal bells and I do like the sound. But like Elmer says…I’m hunting, be very quiet.
 
I have a couple different ones. If I hunt with someone without one I offer them one, good to have different "dings" to know if it is your dog or not that you are following.
 
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