Nice hunt Saturday

A5 Sweet 16

A5 Sweet 16

Well-known member
Yes it's South Dakota, but conditions have been a little strange this season, particularly the wind.
Seems like we've had a lot of extreme wind...or zero wind...at least on the days I can hunt.
Saturday was nearly an extremely windy day, but I'd downgrade it to quite windy.
In any case, it was within the range I like, since it allows me to be pretty dang quiet, but still not so windy/noisy that I can't keep track of Ace, who tends to be out of sight quite a bit if he's in real thick/tall stuff.
Things worked out real well for us. Ace was phenomenal, as usual. I shot well. We made pretty efficient use of the time we had.
Hit 2 little WPA's quick & finished up even quicker at a WIA.
1.84 miles of actual hunting. 1.13 miles of "to & from the truck". 2.25 hours.
I've been using my GoPro quite a bit this season, but I elected not to Saturday, which is a little unfortunate because some of the footage could've been pretty neat. But I just didn't want to be worrying about starting/stopping/batteries/camera angle/etc. Plus, my hat's considerably more comfortable without the camera.
So I was left to the good old-fashioned cell phone, & I happened to remember to get it out while Ace was on his way back with roosters. I got some pictures I really like. I'm pretty proud of that little guy.

20211128_031527.jpg

20211127_161523.jpg

20211128_032257.jpg

20211127_163455.jpg

20211127_163655.jpg
 
Nice work Ace!
There is something serene when its just you, your dog and a few birds.
Hope to be back to SD in about a week if the weather holds.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Yes it's South Dakota, but conditions have been a little strange this season, particularly the wind.
Seems like we've had a lot of extreme wind...or zero wind...at least on the days I can hunt.
Saturday was nearly an extremely windy day, but I'd downgrade it to quite windy.
In any case, it was within the range I like, since it allows me to be pretty dang quiet, but still not so windy/noisy that I can't keep track of Ace, who tends to be out of sight quite a bit if he's in real thick/tall stuff.
Things worked out real well for us. Ace was phenomenal, as usual. I shot well. We made pretty efficient use of the time we had.
Hit 2 little WPA's quick & finished up even quicker at a WIA.
1.84 miles of actual hunting. 1.13 miles of "to & from the truck". 2.25 hours.
I've been using my GoPro quite a bit this season, but I elected not to Saturday, which is a little unfortunate because some of the footage could've been pretty neat. But I just didn't want to be worrying about starting/stopping/batteries/camera angle/etc. Plus, my hat's considerably more comfortable without the camera.
So I was left to the good old-fashioned cell phone, & I happened to remember to get it out while Ace was on his way back with roosters. I got some pictures I really like. I'm pretty proud of that little guy.

View attachment 2424

View attachment 2425

View attachment 2426

View attachment 2427

View attachment 2428
Click to expand...
 
Great photo's...and a successful hunt!

Question: "In the thick stuff - can't keep track of Ace"; this seems to be an ongoing issue with me, not sure how to solve it as my golden will wander/chase and be gone for 15-20 minutes. I almost dread getting into the c.tails or large weed-over-my -head conditions.

Perhaps a gps? I do use a bell, but if he's a fair distance away, my hearing doesn't pick up the bell sound.

How do you track Ace??

Jon
 
jonnyB said:
Great photo's...and a successful hunt!

Question: "In the thick stuff - can't keep track of Ace"; this seems to be an ongoing issue with me, not sure how to solve it as my golden will wander/chase and be gone for 15-20 minutes. I almost dread getting into the c.tails or large weed-over-my -head conditions.

Perhaps a gps? I do use a bell, but if he's a fair distance away, my hearing doesn't pick up the bell sound.

How do you track Ace??

Jon
Click to expand...
Call or whistle…lack of compliance requires negative consequence….I struggle with this too!
 
jonnyB said:
Great photo's...and a successful hunt!

Question: "In the thick stuff - can't keep track of Ace"; this seems to be an ongoing issue with me, not sure how to solve it as my golden will wander/chase and be gone for 15-20 minutes. I almost dread getting into the c.tails or large weed-over-my -head conditions.

Perhaps a gps? I do use a bell, but if he's a fair distance away, my hearing doesn't pick up the bell sound.

How do you track Ace??

Jon
Click to expand...
On real windy days, I try to keep him real close (within 15-20 yds) with regular little whistles. Continually watching his location by rustling weeds/cattails. If he disappears, one tiny nick on the collar typically brings him right back. He got himself good & lost a couple times & he liked it even less than I did. I believe that he learned that if he can't hear me rustling weeds or whistling, he better try to find me.
 
Last edited:
Beautiful pictures! I have a hard time keeping track of my springers at times. They hunt close, but in the thick stuff it can be hard keeping eyes on them. Bells help, but my female absolutely attacks the thick stuff. I've kicked around the idea of GPS collars, for my piece of mind, if nothing else.
 
Great to see!
My brothers English cocker is 11-12 yrd old. deaf as a door nail and often times wonders. ok wonders every 30 seconds my brother is yelling at him to come back i yell right back at him...."he cant hear you!" Ive told him since he got the dog 6 years ago that that dog needs an ecollar. he would get birdy and take off and flush birds 80 yards ahead of us. Dog control is one of my biggest pet peaves when im out hunting. a well trained dog will not ruin a hunt for everyone else. If i cant find my dog or the guys im with cant see him i simply give him the juice. he yelps then i know where he is. its not cruel its just me ensuring everyone gets equal chances at shooting a bird.
 
A GPS track/train collar removes all that uncertainty about where the dog is/went.

A bit of yard training to “come” when the collar tone sounds (backed up in training by reinforcing the command with nick or more when necessary) solved the range problem for me. Did that a long time ago before they even had GPS collars.

So an updated old saying of a passed on hunting buddy applies.

“A (now) $60,000 pick up truck, a $2000 shotgun, $300 boots, $150 hunting vest and you’re worried about the price of shotgun shells?”

You can get a SportDog GPS track/train for about $400+, Dogtra $500+, Garmin $650+.

You’ll always know where your buddy is and control his range.

The peace of mind is worth it when you are in the middle of a section of corn.

To me anyway. I’ve quit worrying.
 
Long time ago I was working at a duck club in Colusa, CA. I can save the conversation for another day but this place was amazing. Anyways, I learned a lesson back then about dog training. People yell and scream at their dogs and then get even more upset when they feel the dogs are not listening. The manager at the dog club gave me a good lesson and asked me to walk about 20 yards away from the duck blind and talk to me. I couldn't hear a word he was saying which illustrated his point he was trying to make with me. Most of the time the dogs can't hear you to begin with. We won't go down the path of selective hearing because we know they do that sometimes. However, think when the dog is in the cattails, you probably can't hear worth a dam for three reasons. First, the dog is surrounded by obstacles which blocks hearing. Second, the dog is low to the ground with all the rustling of the cattails. Third, the dog is distracted doing it's job. I spend a lot of time training my dog to whistle and this really helps but what I have found I like even better are the new collars. I'm not sure what collars you use but I use a SportsDog and on the side of my remote unite is a round button. When I press this button it makes a beep beep sound and I have spent a lot of time training my dog to come back into range with this button. To me it is amazing. I don't even have to whistle and talk to my dog in the field anymore.
 
My goals are for Ace to not get lost and, if he flushes a pheasant, to be within 25-30 yds. And if a rooster flushes within that range, I want to get a good shot at it. For the highest odds that that happens, I need to be facing his location (at least with my head, if not my whole body) & my gun ready (basically port arms)....at ALL TIMES. I can't be looking at a screen or using my hands for anything other than carrying my gun. So little whistles work well for us, mostly so he knows approximately where I am. And I have to be OK with the fact that sometimes I won't know exactly where he is & confident that we'll rejoin each other shortly. If he disappears & I sense he's out of whistling range, "come" & a little nick on the collar if necessary...and he's back. I'm not someone who typically expects immediate, 100% compliance from my dog, so I'm patient with him & don't usually get bothered if things take a little while. We have more fun & probably shoot more pheasants that way.

Update/Addition: Ace is my 3rd springer. All 3 of my dogs have learned pretty quickly to stay near me. In really thick stuff (cattails, bad CRP), they stop occasionally & listen for me. If they can hear me rustling cover, fine. But if I'm not doing that, they'll hear a little whistle, realize everything's good, & get back to hunting. I do far more reassuring than I do directing. That communication (sometimes audible; sometimes not) & teamwork & usually being pretty much totally in sync with each other is one of my favorite parts of pheasant hunting.
FWIW, Ace probably keys in on me a bit more than my previous 2 dogs, probably because I've done a somewhat better job for him. Yes, there's "training" involved (not high level by any means), but for me it's not so much about training my dog to do amazing things by being compliant. It's about each of us learning to hunt together & the amazing dog stuff takes care of itself.
 
Last edited:
Lots of ways of looking at it. If I don't know exactly where my Lab is I can't really face her. So, I have time to glance at a screen and re-orient.

Also, the Garmin's are nice in that they link to a Garmin watch; I have an Instinct. I wear the Garmin on the inside of my left wrist. When I'm holding the forearm of the shotgun at port arms the screen on the Instinct is pointed at my face. A quick glance shows direction and range to the dog. Very easy to re-orient in a flash. Works very well IMO.

Then there's the GPS factor alone. If she were to get injured and immobile somehow, fall in an old well or get stuck in a tangle or fence I can go right to her. I have the comfort of knowing she's not going to get lost. Ever.
 
randywatson said:
Great to see!
My brothers English cocker is 11-12 yrd old. deaf as a door nail and often times wonders. ok wonders every 30 seconds my brother is yelling at him to come back i yell right back at him...."he cant hear you!" Ive told him since he got the dog 6 years ago that that dog needs an ecollar. he would get birdy and take off and flush birds 80 yards ahead of us. Dog control is one of my biggest pet peaves when im out hunting. a well trained dog will not ruin a hunt for everyone else. If i cant find my dog or the guys im with cant see him i simply give him the juice. he yelps then i know where he is. its not cruel its just me ensuring everyone gets equal chances at shooting a bird.
Click to expand...
I don't believe in those e collars.Shocking a dog is bad karma.Just my opinion.
 
Great pics! Went out in October with a group and had several dogs. We did well hunting public ground but would like to get back with just me and the dog. Hopefully I can make that happen after Christmas.
 
Well now, A5, or Brent, you are presenting some beautifully framed pictures of a dog I love. Good work, ACE !

Er, you too, Brent.

With Mick, I just whistled him in a bit, or changed my direction and he would see me and change his. Worked fine and even when we were first getting to know each other in the field, I had no problem working with him. The hardest part for me in the early days was the transition from a pointing dog to a great liver-and-white flusher.

He trained me quite a bit.

Nice report, great images, wonderful dog.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top