Don't give up just yet!

[nstric]

Very Nice Looking Vizsla !!!
What can you tell us about him ?

Hey Mark -

I'm happy to address any specific questions you may have about Gunner, or the vizsla breed in general. Send a PM, or reply within this thread . . . either way.

Generally, I'll offer:

- Gunner is my second vizsla. I trained both on my own, via reading books, applying lessons learned, etc.

- I purchased Gunner in November, '08 from Crimson Sky Vizslas in Illinois. Very good people, with heavy emphasis on hunting/trialing.

- He's a family dog too, and is exceptional with my three young kids.

- Very athletic . . . runs with me, and so on.

 

[nstric]

Nate - That is an outstanding picture! Just a great all around shot of the birds and Gunner, nice work.
Oh yea, did you by chance spot those choke tubes anywhere? I was thinking about it and they may very well be near the field drive of the last field we hunted. I remember wrestling a bit with my gun case in the wind (they were in my case) at that spot and if they are not in your truck I bet they fell out there. Oh well, what are you gonna do. Have a good Turkey Day!

Thanks. I like the pic too. My wife commented on how beat up Gunner looked, and inquired as to why "I was standing up the pheasants to make them look alive?". I just returned a smile and kept my mouth shut.

Re: the chokes, sorry, I did not find them. I'll continue to look though, and will let you know should they show up. I'll try and remember to check the last field drive too when I'm next up there.

 

[nstric]

Great photo Nate! I am heading back north and west on Friday. If you read my earlier posts you noted that I saw a 50-50 ratio of roosters to hens up there. When hunting closer to home, my ratio is poor with a 5-1 ratio. Are you noticing this in your areas too? I believe this will play a part in the south's and central's slower recovery-God willing!

Enjoy your holiday and give Gunner a piece of turkey for me! He has earned it!

Good luck on Friday! I've a bunch of family in town through this weekend so I'm not sure when I'll next get afield.

As for ratios, they've varied from field to field . . . not region to region. On Opener, I saw more roosters than hens. Yesterday, I easily saw a 3:1 hen to rooster ratio. I haven't been able to put my finger on any pattern, whether field, or region, or type of cover related.

 

[cockerfan]

I went out today in eastern Iowa. Four of us hunted for about 4 hours and saw ONE bird. It was a rooster that I shot. Couldn't believe we didn't see anything else...this was the same land that I shot six birds on last year in three days of hunting. I'm hoping it's just because it was nice weather and the birds are all spread out. Not very encouraging though!

On the bright side, I'm seeing quite a few more birds down in SE Iowa. For an area that supposedly doesn't have any birds, I've been enjoying myself

 

[KBell]

Hey Cockerfan,

What you are reporting rings true with many of us this season. Was the bird you harvested an old timer? You can hunt in areas where you log many miles and see very few birds. I am tracking the rooster to hen ratios in these areas. The rebuilding of the populations may depend on it.

In other areas, bird numbers are better and the ratios are better as well. I have also been fortunate to harvest birds from this year's early and late hatch in these areas as well. Simply put--some areas had a hatch and therefore we see more birds-better harvest in these areas.

Stay true and keep the faith!

 

[cockerfan]

This was definitely a mature bird...and smart...just not quite smart enough. The first field we hunted has GREAT habitat, and last winter around Christmastime I saw about 7 hens there, so I was optimistic for today. I think they're still spread out though with this warm weather.

I'm just starting to discover places to hunt in SE Iowa, but I've been out twice down there, seen 5 roosters (maybe not all different ones...hunting areas overlapped on the two different days), and a handful of hens. I still have hundreds of acres to explore around here though. With a kennel full of dogs, I need to keep getting out there to give them the experience that planted birds can't give them.

 

[Dcup]

Hunted Snake Creek Marsh in Rippey last Saturday. Hunted for about 4-5 hours and saw a 8:1 hen to rooster ratio. Weather was cool 35 degrees and overcast. Birds were holding tight except for the one rooster. Very dry, dog was losing scent often.

Hunted Leo Shimon Marsh in Fonda yesterday. Morning was foggy and temps about 35 degrees. Saw 7:1 hen to rooster ratio. Hens were holding decent, only rooster I saw came out of standing corn at 60 yards (took a shot...missed) Talked to locals in Pocahontas and Sac counties and nobody had been seeing much better ratios. Scouted Tomahawk marsh, Voss Sunken Island and Burrow's Pond.

(For you duck hunters)
Did see a flock of Snows yesterday, but water is too low to hold birds. We're a flyover state it seems. I live 3 milles east of Saylorville and they weren't seeing many ducks either. Places mentioned above would have good duck opportunities if water depth was better. Walked a lot of dry cattails and channels.

Pretty discouraging for what I expected to be a good hunt...especially yesterday. 1st year dog and she was working pretty good. I do think that it warmed up too fast as birds were running so I know they're there.

Birds are coming out of all types of cover and I'm not seeing them in groups. Will probably wait a couple of weeks until it gets colder to make another trek north bound.

 

[captaincoot]

Great reports and :coolpics: guys:thumbsup: Me and my brother went out wed. shot one young rooster and let one go not an easy shot so let it go (Hour hunt). Seen some hens. Browndog followed birds into land next to public hunting I hate went that happens Happy hunting guys:cheers:

 

[nstric]

Heading back out into the fields today. It's been too long!

Am taking a good friend up to the Fonda area, where I've access to a handful of private fields. I've not yet hunted this region of the state, but as is the case throughout most of Iowa this year, the local farmers are sharing dismal reports. Fingers crossed we're able to get into what birds they do have up there.

I'll report once back.

 

[berettadouble]

That area is where I do alot of my bird hunting, scenting conditions have been tough, but there are a few. Definitely post your results!

 

[Dcup]

That area is where I do alot of my bird hunting, scenting conditions have been tough, but there are a few. Definitely post your results!

When I was up there last week I noticed that scenting was tough as well. First year dog though, so that could be part of it. Although...it was severely dry so i know that wreaks havoc on smelling them birds.

 

[nstric]

Well, we're home . . . back much earlier than expected.

"Deacon", my friend's dog, cut up his mouth/tongue about 5 minutes into the first field. We had to kennel him as he bled like a stuck pig when running. This picture doesn't capture how bloody he actually was.

So, nearly 2 hours from home, with plans to hunt big block blue stem, we've only two guys and one dog. Conditions, as a few of you mentioned above, were very dry. The wind was much stronger than down here too. I'd guess gusts to 20 mph.

First field, we walk edges only and see zero birds. Gunner did get birdy a few times but we didn't get anything to flush.

Second field -- a small one -- we walk edges in about 10 minutes and see zero birds.

Third (and last) field, we spend about 45 minutes walking. Gunner points a group of hens on the north edge (they were hiding from the wind) about 15 minutes in. Three get up. Then three more. Then one more. Seven together right there. No roosters.

We push back south and another hen gets up. Then Gunner goes on point, I step in, up goes another hen . . . or was it a young rooster? I couldn't tell, and therefore didn't pull the trigger.

Another point, another hen. Sitting tight in really, really thick grass. D-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t walking, and I'm used to running 50+ miles a week.

Another hen off point on the south edge.

We decide to walk at a NW angle back towards the truck, through some foxtail. Nice looking grass. Gunner gets birdy, I follow him in, and a rooster flushes on the other side of me. He must have run behind me and flushed once he saw my buddy. Both of us elected not to pull the trigger as it would have been a longer shot, with high probability of only wounding the bird.

We push on, and another old rooster, flushes wild to the right of my buddy. He said he thought he heard it running through the grass, followed, and up he went. No trigger pull.

Nearly back to the truck now and Gunner locks up on the north edge. I step in, stomp, stomp, spin around, and the last hen flushes.

12 hens, 3 roosters, 0 shots, 0 bagged. The first time I can ever recall the two of us coming home with 0 birds. This said, I was pleased with the numbers of birds seen in the last field.

Decided we better head home, take care of Deacon, and get a bit of rest before the kids get out of school. The couch feels good, really good, right now.

Deer hunting this weekend . . .

 

[rugardave]

Good thinkin Nate, I had the same thing happen to GSP that ran big and always full blast. He was cut by a wounded bird inside his mouth. Big cut and blood was pouring out. By the time he got back to us with the bird his front legs chest and lower part of his mouth were covered. It was dripping so bad I thought he was going to bleed himself out. We stopped the bleeding after we found the cut. That's what you want to do according to the vet. Dogs don't know and they will bleed themselves out if the run wild when cut, so get a hold of them asap, direct pressure, spray bandage and crate them. Hop0e he's OK.

 

[nstric]

Good thinkin Nate, I had the same thing happen to GSP that ran big and always full blast. He was cut by a wounded bird inside his mouth. Big cut and blood was pouring out. By the time he got back to us with the bird his front legs chest and lower part of his mouth were covered. It was dripping so bad I thought he was going to bleed himself out. We stopped the bleeding after we found the cut. That's what you want to do according to the vet. Dogs don't know and they will bleed themselves out if the run wild when cut, so get a hold of them asap, direct pressure, spray bandage and crate them. Hop0e he's OK.

Yup, that's essentially what we did. By the time we got home (early afternoon) he seemed no worse for the wear. We bathed him in my dog shower, did inspection, etc. and all signs pointed to a quick recovery. The following days yielded exactly that. He's fine . . . thank God.

 

[oldandnew]

Yup, that's essentially what we did. By the time we got home (early afternoon) he seemed no worse for the wear. We bathed him in my dog shower, did inspection, etc. and all signs pointed to a quick recovery. The following days yielded exactly that. He's fine . . . thank God.

Good job, might want to carry some electrolyte powder to mix with water. potasium helps regulate the heart, keeps the blood chemistry in line. A life around livestock of all kinds, I've learned that all serious bleeding looks like a murder scene, and gets me riled up! It's always the good ones who put it on the line, as my old race horse vet used to say, the bad ones can't run fast enough to hurt themselves, applies to dogs too.

 

[Dcup]

Had the same thing happen to my GSP day before thanksgiving. Got in the first field and she cuts her tongue on the dry grass. She always runs around with her 14" tongue hanging out. Got the bleeding stopped after about 10 minutes and she was good to go. It didn't bother her the rest of the day.

Only thing that bothered her was seeing 9 hens and 0 roosters.

 

[nstric]

Good job, might want to carry some electrolyte powder to mix with water. potasium helps regulate the heart, keeps the blood chemistry in line.

Thanks for the tip. I've never done this. Do you have a link to the powder you'd recommend?

 

[oldandnew]

I get the yellow and white bag at the farm supply store made right there in Iowa by Ft. Dodge. Couple a bucks a bag, make it as strong as they will drink it, sweet and looks like mild orange juice.

 

[nstric]

I get the yellow and white bag at the farm supply store made right there in Iowa by Ft. Dodge. Couple a bucks a bag, make it as strong as they will drink it, sweet and looks like mild orange juice.

Thx. I'll give this a try.

 

[nstric]

FWIW, a number of my fellow pheasant hunter friends are reporting good success -- I'm talking consistent bag limits -- finding birds in the thickest, nastiest cover one can find. Inclusive of cattails, obviously. Public ground success.

Get out there and report back!