Upland bliss

duckn66 said:
A good pointer will run circles around every bird dog out there and find more birds as well. But only because of the amount of real estate being covered.
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Not sure about that statement.

There are some flushers (springers, for example) that cover A LOT of real estate. They just do it closer to the hunter. Here's another way to look at this statement.

Pointer (long ranging situation): Run around a ton, range away from the hunter, find a bird, stand there waiting for the hunter to show up to flush it (or command the dog to flush it). Finds more birds far from the hunter. Hunter relies on dog to find the spot.

Flusher: Run around a ton, closer to the hunter, find a bird, flush it, and get on to the next bird immediately. Finds more birds close to the hunter. Dog relies on hunter to put him in likely spots.

Pointer (close ranging situation): Best of both worlds?? Or jack of all trades; master of none??

Pointing Lab???

In general it's probably a toss-up which finds the most birds, but for my style of hunting (where wild roosters live in Oct-Dec in generally crappy weather & difficult habitat), flushers/retrievers win the day.
 
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In all the years I've pheasant hunted, especially late season, allowing a dog to range 440 yards usually produces birds flying way ahead. They have been shot at and moved around; this is especially true in a picked field - can't get close to them.

A pointer that works close is a real gem. However, if trained to range far ahead, this type of dog, (or any dog), can be a detriment to the hunt.

Best nose? You see Labs, Shepherds and Golden's doing police work - sniffing drugs et al. Not sure you see any pointers...

This should get some hot responses!!
 
jonnyB said:
Best nose? You see Labs, Shepherds and Golden's doing police work - sniffing drugs et al. Not sure you see any pointers...
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And also....possibly the most willing to work with a human. That said, if police really needed to find a Kit-Kat or chocolate chip cookie in your suit case or hidden in your car.....pretty sure springers would be the dog of choice.
 
I spent 14 days in September/early October hunting sharptails in MT/ND; killed 42. I hunt with 2 labs, and I spent some time with pointer guys in the campground in Plentywood, MT discussing their dogs, and how much more effective the pointers are vs. labs out there. I kept pretty good tabs on how they were doing, and I know that there are many variables, but I did every bit as well--even better--than they did. In ND, I hang with more pointer guys, and I did every bit as well--even better--than they did. Now, I have gotten pretty good at picking the land I hunt, and where I traipse around...I do just fine with my labs. Since then, I have spent about 18 hunting days in SD hunting pheasants...I really don't know how many I have killed, but it is probably in the 60-75 range (probably more)...just killed about 8 or 9 this past Saturday alone....yes, I am part of groups, and we party hunt...some of the guys have pointers. Bottom line, if I could kill more birds more quickly, I would have a problem, so I will stick with my labs. whatever works, you know???? I am intrigued with pointers, could even see myself owning one someday...just like guns, I have autos, O/U's, and lots of S X S's...variety is the spice of life! One of my buddies last trip hunted his spaniels, and I watched him spend hours on that hunt removing burrs, etc, from their coats...same with the guy this last trip with his Pudelpointer...I have spent exactly no time removing crap from their fur...I am lazy, I guess...I just like results with little work!
 
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