Which is better hunting alone

My dads pointer has a great noise, but how I got my bird dog is a well known lab breeder here in Neb had chocolates and couldn't sell his last male cause no one wanted him said he was to small. He's about 22in tall and 68lbs and I wouldn't trade him for anything. He has hunted all the Midwest birds including preirre chicken and I deff send the breeder all the brag pics and it just humble him. Long story short he came from a well known waterfowl blood line but for no one wanting him but me has shown to be one of the great bird dog in all my family and friends.
 
SetterNut said:
Pictures I got ;)

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good man SETTERNUT walking up on that gets my heart going every time...
 
small munsterlander owner said:
on them late season hunts when pheasants cluster flush im worried to let my dog range to far in fear of bumping any birds...??? that being said i dont hunt vast open grasslands in the late season the birds are in the thick stuff then... in early season ill let my dog range out farther when the birds are in the seas of grass & less educated... or prairie grouse hunting...
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Would you shoot those birds if your pointing dog bumped them in range? If not, then it doesn't matter if your dog bumps them out of range. Having tried it both ways, I think you have to commit to only shooting pointed birds to make your pointing dog the best he can be. Once you make that commitment, it doesn't matter as much how far your dog ranges.
 
The sooner you get over birds flying out the other end, the more enjoyable your hunt is going to be..You cant get them all.. There isnt a dog in the world that knows what to do with 150 pheasants 300 yards from the vehicle with one person, when they start their exodus.

Ive owned/hunted over traditional Black Labs for 3/4 of my hunting lifetime. Loved em back when I hunted waterfowl and upland both. Since my daughters interests in softball, music, cheerleading etc, something had to give. I chose waterfowl.

After I quit WFing, I bought a GSP and ran both the Lab and the GSP, separate at first, and then together as the lab aged, and he couldnt cover as much ground as he used to. At that time, I let the GSP go, and the lab would follow at a loose heel until he heard the beeper collar go off. Then, He would search out the noise. I would keep him at heel, and bump the bird and he would get to retrieve.

Then, 2 years ago in Nov, I got another GSP and had 3 dogs. My Black Lab Buddy died in December of the same year as the second GSP.

I truly enjoy the dogs that I have right now, and anticipate I will have a 3rd GSP by this time next year.

I like what they do. I like the fact that they can run cover and not have to bust cover to know if theres birds in there.

There are places I dont hunt, because of the limitations of knowing where they are, and having to go in there, if they go on point. but for the most part, I dont want to tackle a full fledged cattail marsh anymore..

I dont see another Lab/flusher in my future.. At least not until Im personally not able to cover the ground anymore myself.
 
i will always be partial to big expanses of grass, even thick milo stubble....i like to turn the dogs loose to run big and search.....but i have no problem with cattails and my PP is a bulldozer in them quite naturally...
 
when I hunt im never alone , I hunt with my best buddies two English pointers , there brother and sister , they both have special traits , Doc is a machine he does it all he is the best reteriving pointer ive ever owned ,but his sister josie has her own special traits too, she is a little more agressive than her brother , I dont mind hunting with just them and me , I dont worry about them making a mistake and someone getting up set . I would rather hunt alone with them, they dont get upset if they do everything right and I miss the bird, although at times i think if they could talk they would be letting me know about how hard they worked and did there part and i blew it. but they are always ready to go find another,with out too much complaning .
 
dead pheasants forever said:
Would you shoot those birds if your pointing dog bumped them in range? If not, then it doesn't matter if your dog bumps them out of range. Having tried it both ways, I think you have to commit to only shooting pointed birds to make your pointing dog the best he can be. Once you make that commitment, it doesn't matter as much how far your dog ranges.
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That is explained well, and I agree that if you want to have a truly great pointing dog, you have to pass up shooting bumped birds,,,,, at least until they are very experienced.
 
about 95%-98% of the birds i have shot the past 2 season since i have had my SM have been shot from points & or from her pointing & me releasing her to flush or re position on the birds the bird ETC. i new there were birds there & released her & was ready to shoot & up goes a bird in range... i have passed up many shots on wild flushed birds... i have bagged a few when she was young last season to keep her in the game instead of thinking we were just on a long walk...

im not a shoot a bird only over a point type guy i will let my girl work cattails & she is pretty good at not blowing out the other end & chasing birds into the next county she will hold a point... a beeper collar is a must next season when in cattails... or for thick tree rows sometimes i like to let her get into them & then work ahead of her in hopes a a wild flushed bird going my way most the time i have to walk back & beep the collar to find my girl on point some place...

that being said i dont like to see dogs run wild/crazy in fields just flushing birds for them-selfs & not in shotgun range... i do trust my dog enough to just let her run open country & lock up on point but its just not my thing to have a dog work hundreds of yards away from me it is beautiful to see in action though i agree 100% nothing wrong with dogs & owners that hunt that way... its helpful in more open prairie country with birds more spaced out... again im worried come late season when you flush 1 bird & all the birds flush wild id rather be in shotgun range when that happens if it happens then standing a few hundred yards away saying that damn dog!!!

im new to pointing dog hunting in the grand scheme of things so maybe someday i will get over a 30-40 bird wild flush from a bumped bird ??? my dog has not done that yet thank god she stays close or wear i want her with just a beep on the E COLLAR & a hand signal i like to be in control to much i guess to just let her run wild??? even though thats there job... my job is to put her in terrain & places wear bird are most likely to be so i once i do that i just have to trust her nose 100% thats a prob for me sometimes... only time i really make her hunt wear i want her is when we are walking with the wind she likes to range out & work back to me & lock up on point that is intense in itself... never know what way the bird will flush then... but they can miss a scent cone walking with the wind...
 
There is a reason the German dogs are so popular and getting even more popular amongst hunters, because they flat get it done..
And do it with minimal exposure and training for the very day hunter.

But there are still alot of novices that could benefit from a NAVHDA type training club environment to get the most out of their dog.
 
ran my girl in a NAVHDA N/A test & yes they do & will help novice trainers who need/want the help or have no place to train there dog or who dont have access to birds... i wanted to try to train my dog all on my own the 1st go round & she has turned out to be all i ever wanted from a bird/hunting dog...

well jonah didnt last long???
 
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