NSTRA Trial

Dakotazeb

Dakotazeb

Well-known member
I ran Elle in a NSTRA trial in Arizona on Feb. 20-21 and came away with a 3rd and a 4th place. I was very pleased with how she performed. I also going to a trial in Colorado in April before I return to South Dakota.
 
Congratulations, Zeb.

Never been to a field trial. Should have stopped in when the ESS group was in the neighborhood, but thought I'd feel self-conscious.

Nice work; you going to continue to trial her?
 
Where was the trial, Robins Butte?


When we lived out there, I remember seeing a few events. The last one we went to was mostly Labs. But the one at Robins Butte was primarily upland (GSP's, Brits, Setters)
 
I say we have our own

Anyone ever proposed the idea of an Ultimate Pheasant Hunting Forum Trial? Take a vote on location every year. People get to meet. All dogs pointing and flushing welcome. Get some bragging rights and maybe a little smack talkin on the board! Wonder how many hoops we'd have to jump through being from different states. Only been involved in 2 trials in my whole life so I am green on it. But sounds like others know the game.
 
Great job George,that's one helluva weekend for the two of you!
It's fun going to other region's trials,new people,dogs and grounds.
Good luck in Colorado!
 
Field trail differences

Hello all I was just wondering how the nastra field trials differ from others like the AKC field trails?
 
KSN said:
Hello all I was just wondering how the nastra field trials differ from others like the AKC field trails?
Click to expand...

I'm only familiar with NSTRA but from what I know, NSTRA is more like hunting than any of the other trials. Dog finds and points the bird, you flush the bird and shoot it and the dog retrieves it. You are scored on each find and retrieve as well as ground coverage, obedience and backing. High scores on each field each day receive points toward the dog's championship. 3 pts. for 1st, 2 pts. for 2nd and 1 pt. for 3rd. Lots of into on the NSTRA national web site at NSTRA.org.

It's a fun game for you and the dog.
 
KSN said:
Hello all I was just wondering how the nastra field trials differ from others like the AKC field trails?
Click to expand...

One of the biggest differences is that judges have less influence with NSTRA than AKC. At NSTRA typically the dog that finds the most birds wins. With AKC trials the judges have a lot more influence on who they decide to receive first.
 
PheasantWhisperer said:
Anyone ever proposed the idea of an Ultimate Pheasant Hunting Forum Trial? Take a vote on location every year. People get to meet. All dogs pointing and flushing welcome. Get some bragging rights and maybe a little smack talkin on the board! Wonder how many hoops we'd have to jump through being from different states. Only been involved in 2 trials in my whole life so I am green on it. But sounds like others know the game.
Click to expand...

Can we do it on wild birds during season on public land?
 
wisturkeyhunter said:
Can we do it on wild birds during season on public land?
Click to expand...

I would think that if you want a competition format that doing it at a preserve with planted birds would be the way to go. That way you can control the number of birds in the field. When this was discussed a few years ago I put together a scoring system similar to what you see in some of the Bird Dog Challenges. Points for each bird harvested, points for a full retrieve, points for shells not used and time remaining on the clock. Anyway, something like that. Think I still have it on a Word doc.
 
wisturkeyhunter said:
Can we do it on wild birds during season on public land?
Click to expand...

It's been about 10 years but I used to have my NSTRA judge's certification.
NSTRA is really a put and take trial. Each brace of dogs runs a 40 acre field that has marked boundaries with a 30 minute time limit. 6 birds planted on the 1st brace, 5 birds planted on each additional brace, scores are 0-100 per find/retrieve, one scored back, one score for obedience, one score for field coverage/dog work. Non-planted birds are not scored, for example one year we had a hunter shoot a woodcock during the trial, legally because it was in season, but not scorable.
It's a lot of fun for both the dogs and the handlers, and for those that can't shoot they'll even allow you to have a designated shooter. It's a good trial for galleries too, with a small field the whole trial can usually be watched from a single vantage point. We used to have 2 trials running simultaneously in adjacent fields with brace starts staggered at 15 minute intervals so there was constant action all day long and trialers could get double the trials in on the same day. Traveling is probably the worst thing about trialing in my opinion.
If you go to the NSTRA website there should be info about the region in your area and when they hold trials.
 
OKRev said:
It's been about 10 years but I used to have my NSTRA judge's certification.
NSTRA is really a put and take trial. Each brace of dogs runs a 40 acre field that has marked boundaries with a 30 minute time limit. 6 birds planted on the 1st brace, 5 birds planted on each additional brace, scores are 0-100 per find/retrieve, one scored back, one score for obedience, one score for field coverage/dog work. Non-planted birds are not scored, for example one year we had a hunter shoot a woodcock during the trial, legally because it was in season, but not scorable.
It's a lot of fun for both the dogs and the handlers, and for those that can't shoot they'll even allow you to have a designated shooter. It's a good trial for galleries too, with a small field the whole trial can usually be watched from a single vantage point. We used to have 2 trials running simultaneously in adjacent fields with brace starts staggered at 15 minute intervals so there was constant action all day long and trialers could get double the trials in on the same day. Traveling is probably the worst thing about trialing in my opinion.
If you go to the NSTRA website there should be info about the region in your area and when they hold trials.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how the two worked that I participated in. What I dont like is the out-of-bounds line. The idea of having to pull your dog off point. I kicked it up and shot it and took the disqualification on one event. I didnt care. My dog was doing what he was supposed to. Could take turns hosting. All you need is 40-50 open acres. The preserve license in Missouri is $125. Not bad at all. The bad part is having to put up all of your signs.
 
Nice Zeb. Congrats.

Is your dog intact or spayed ?

Do some competitions and/or titles bar spayed dogs ?
 
BRITTMAN said:
Nice Zeb. Congrats.

Is your dog intact or spayed ?

Do some competitions and/or titles bar spayed dogs ?
Click to expand...

Elle is spayed. In NSTRA it doesn't matter if a dog is neutered or spayed. I don't know know about other trials but I can't imagine it would.
 
I you want to have a board trial, I will nominate the Conservation Bird Dog Club in Amo, IN.

I am a member and it happens to be the home of NSTRA.
 
AtTheMurph said:
I you want to have a board trial, I will nominate the Conservation Bird Dog Club in Amo, IN.

I am a member and it happens to be the home of NSTRA.
Click to expand...

Nice place. I was there with my dog in 2013 at the NSTRA Dog of the Year Trial. Little too far for me to run for a UPH fun trial.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top