koja48
New member
Good Morning! Just found this site & it sure looks like an excellent one to follow & in which to participate. Me? 62-years young, born & raised in SW Montana. Hunted everything, but now primarily pursue Upland birds, some waterfowl, and enjoy coyote hunting as well as a lot of fly fishing. One heart attack at 50 and 62-year-old knees suggested I retire from the pursuit of big game, particularly since I can no longer run ridges with the reckless abandon of my youth.
I’ve partnered with Labs my entire life, but am without a furry child at present having had to say a tearful goodbye to my last wonderful companion on Memorial Day of ’09; it’s taken this long for me to start considering another everyday buddy, but I have been considering a pointer as an option . . . currently, my focus has been on Braques Francais, Labs/Pointing Labs, Viszlas (though I believe keeping one in a large yard only surrounded by a 6-foot fence may be a challenge given the breed’s tremendous athletic abilities . . . I did hunt over one & was duly impressed!), and now Wessls after perusing this site. I won’t bring one on-board until next Spring, so I have additional time to refine my decision. Any advice, personal experience, or guidance would be sincerely appreciated. My dogs have ALWAYS been family/house dogs, and I DO like the temperament & natural instincts of Labrador Retrievers . . . I can honestly say that I’ve never had one that was a disappointment (the converse likely isn’t true, but while they’ve given me “The Look” over the years, I’ve never been bitten for frequent misses . . . ).
I have a passion for O/U shotguns and love using a 20-gauge (that was all I used back in the day before the advent of lead shot restrictions), though when steel shot is required I default to a Montefeltro . . . light in the hand and to me, points like an O/U. A 12-gauge comes out of the vault when tougher birds are the quarry. For quail & doves, I default to a sweet-in-the-hand 28-gauge Red Label.
All this being said, while Pheasant hunting isn’t what it was 20-40 years ago (around here, anyway), it’s still a passion & has been so ever since a skinny little kid flipped the safety off on a borrowed .410 bolt-action, made Dad proud while I swung ahead of the bird . . . then watched it fly-away without pulling the trigger. Dad’s Springer Duke gave me my first exposure to “The Look,” and I’ve been hooked ever since . . . I look forward to belonging to the forum.
Jim
I’ve partnered with Labs my entire life, but am without a furry child at present having had to say a tearful goodbye to my last wonderful companion on Memorial Day of ’09; it’s taken this long for me to start considering another everyday buddy, but I have been considering a pointer as an option . . . currently, my focus has been on Braques Francais, Labs/Pointing Labs, Viszlas (though I believe keeping one in a large yard only surrounded by a 6-foot fence may be a challenge given the breed’s tremendous athletic abilities . . . I did hunt over one & was duly impressed!), and now Wessls after perusing this site. I won’t bring one on-board until next Spring, so I have additional time to refine my decision. Any advice, personal experience, or guidance would be sincerely appreciated. My dogs have ALWAYS been family/house dogs, and I DO like the temperament & natural instincts of Labrador Retrievers . . . I can honestly say that I’ve never had one that was a disappointment (the converse likely isn’t true, but while they’ve given me “The Look” over the years, I’ve never been bitten for frequent misses . . . ).
I have a passion for O/U shotguns and love using a 20-gauge (that was all I used back in the day before the advent of lead shot restrictions), though when steel shot is required I default to a Montefeltro . . . light in the hand and to me, points like an O/U. A 12-gauge comes out of the vault when tougher birds are the quarry. For quail & doves, I default to a sweet-in-the-hand 28-gauge Red Label.
All this being said, while Pheasant hunting isn’t what it was 20-40 years ago (around here, anyway), it’s still a passion & has been so ever since a skinny little kid flipped the safety off on a borrowed .410 bolt-action, made Dad proud while I swung ahead of the bird . . . then watched it fly-away without pulling the trigger. Dad’s Springer Duke gave me my first exposure to “The Look,” and I’ve been hooked ever since . . . I look forward to belonging to the forum.
Jim
Enjoy the site, and as Bob & I will both tell you - get a Brittany! Great hunters as well as house dogs.