Having just returned from hunting the Ft. Benton area of Montana with Pheasants Forever, I have to tell you it's in stark contrast to South Dakota. Especially a South Dakota ranch managed for pheasants and holding a preserve license. But this is true wild-bird hunting in thick, heavy cover for a variety of skittish avian prey and when you put one in the vest, you, and especially the dog, have earned it.
To tell you the truth, I enjoyed both hunting experiences. South Dakota was a blast, literally and figuratively, while Montana was tough hunting but with more than enough opportunities to keep me pushing through the thick cover. Both venues served their purposes.
South Dakota was about putting Browning and Winchester over-and-under shotguns through their paces while using Winchester ammo. Lots of shooting was required to get the feel of various guns and loads.
Montana on the other hand was purely about the wild birds and game available on the state's public lands, the diversity of those lands and access, as well as the major contributions Pheasants Forever has made to those ends.
Don't get me wrong, Montana was far from a slow hunt (I just moved here from New Jersey, if you want talk dismal pheasant opps that's where to start!). It was a fun two days of hunting and the thick cover made it more so. You never knew where a pheasant, sharptail or hun might explode from the cover. Typically, they didn't hold tight and were busting from the thickets, grass, woodlands and other cover ahead of the dogs or on the edges. Unexpected flushes kept all the hunters on edge and contributed to mental fatigue as much as some of the waist-high cover or tangled thickets did to physical fatigue.
A missed shot on this hunt caused me to cuss myself and vow to get into clay target shooting in one form or another. I did have my opportunities, however, especially on Day One.
On the first day we floated the Missouri River in canoes, hitting various island and shorelines (see the pic above for a bird's-eye view of some of the spots). I should have had a limit, but my shooting sucked and I watched as several ringnecks quickly disappeared into distant woodlots or across the river into thick cover and private property.
Along with some great pheasant habitat, the islands provided jump-shooting opps for ducks and geese. Kona and I did just that on the last couple hundred yards of the last island. Six mallards, four drakes and two hens, that were hidden along the shoreline jumped up. I knocked a greenhead down and Kona retrieved it to hand. Day One ended with one pheasant and one mallard in my bag.
On Day Two, we saw lots and lots of hens, but only had a shot at a single rooster. I missed. Twice. My hunting partner Mike Harrelson with Montana Tourism, missed, too. A poor performance by both of us!
It wasn't for lack of habitat or opportunities my game bag went unfilled. In fact, Montana has millions of acres open to public hunting. Although it might be a bit confusing at first (I'm still getting a handle on it and plan to sit down with the manager of the program to do just that!), the Block Management program does a great job of opening private lands to the public. The task is accomplished by catering to landowners and helping them manage public consumption, access times, how permission is granted and so on. This is a state that takes its relationship with landowners seriously, but they also take the hunting tradition just as serious and aim to do everything they can from becoming privatized and monopolized by outfitters and corporations. And they do all this while trying to keep a small government in balance.
The local Pheasants Forever chapters contribute to this worthwhile, and needed, endeavor by purchasing land and restoring habitats. Some of the big projects in Big Sky country include:
Coffee Creek: An 800-acre parcel purchased by the Central Montana Chapter of PF. It helped create a 2,000-acre block of property that has an upland game bird focus. In addition to purchasing and turning the property over to the state for public hunting, they improved it by adding nesting habitat, winter cover, food plots and travel lanes in the shrubs.
Tongue River Ranch: Along with the Montana Department of Natural Resources, Pheasants Forever purchased the 18,554-acre ranch in southeastern Montana. It includes six miles of Tongue River frontage, pasture and cropland. Wildlife opps on it include pheasant, grouse, turkey, partridge, duck, geese, antelope and whitetail and mule deer.
Wolf Creek: A smaller project than the other two, Wolf Creek is nonetheless critical. This 1,000-acre parcel was purchased by the Central Montana and Gallatin County Chapter of PF and consists of 100 acres of creek bottom and 900 acres of upland habitat. What makes this purchase so key is that it joins surrounding government lands to form 14,743 contiguous acres of public-access hunting!
No matter where you live, groups like Pheasants Forever need and deserve your support. PF's best attribute is that 100% of the money raised by local chapters from donations, banquets, etc, stays in the community. The individual chapters get to decide where every penny of that money goes and what it gets used for; and that's the way it should be.
When a town puts a mutt on equal footing with Lewis and Clark, you know as a dog person you're in the right place. When I reached Ft. Benton, Mont., to hunt with Pheasants Forever, sitting next to the parking lot of the Grand Union Hotel was a statue of a dog. The history behind that statue is a story of enduring loyalty that any dog owner can understand.
Anchoring one end of "the bloodiest block in the West" is a statue of Lewis and Clark and at the other is Shep, a collie mix that lived in the bustling western town during the 1930s. Once surrounded by the Calvary so that arrest warrants could be served to five of its most lawless citizens, Ft. Benton had become a much more quiet town when The Great Depression and Shep came along. And that's where this story begins. Below you'll find the recapped version that accompanies the statue and if you click here, you can see actual footage of Shep in the town's Video Series.
Shep's Vigil
In August 1936 a casket containing a sheepherder's body was loaded on a baggage car headed East for burial. A dog, of collie strain, watched with anxious eyes. He was to be there to meet every train, year after year.
Conductor Ed Shields by 1939 pieced the dog's story together, linking Shep with the body shipped that August day. With the real story known, Shep became famous. Many, many well-intentioned offers to adopt him were gently declined; friends knew Shep's sole aim was to keep his vigil. Shep died January 12, 1942, slipping on the tracks before an incoming train. His passing was mourned by all who knew his story. He was laid to rest atop the bluff above the depot; his funeral was attended by hundreds. Reverend Ralph Underwood took as his theme, Senator George Graham Vest's "Eulogy on the Dog," a tribute to a dog's faithfulness to his master which Shep so fully exemplified.
When it comes to a puppies and genetic disorders, good breeders do everything they can to avoid producing problem animals. That said, odds are that somewhere, at sometime, a genetic disorder will crop up. It could be hip dysplasia, eye, elbow or other problems.
Good breeders will also usually stand by their pups and will guarantee them against hereditary defect to a certain point. A guarantee, however, can be a confusing and touchy subject for some folks, but getting one (in writing) can save the breeder and yourself a lot of hassle and heartbreak should something go wrong with your new puppy.
In this quick video, Justin McGill of Hunters Point Kennel in Marshalltown, Iowa, talks about the three things you should make sure a guarantee includes.
It's well worth the viewing time at less than two minutes!
After putting the hurt on South Dakota pheasants with some over-and-under shotguns from Browning and Winchester, I take off tomorrow for north-central Montana to chase pheasant, sharptails and huns with Pheasants Forever. There's just a little dog work to undertake to remind my pooch that while fun, he still has rules to follow.
Three days of chasing hundreds of birds, as well as having hundreds shot over him, has caused Kona to loosen up a bit when it comes to range and slipping whistles.
I noticed this toward the end of the second day and first thing on the third. He was ranging and chasing and ignored a sit whistle. After a level-5 nick (the old DT Systems collar I have has 16 levels of stim), he was responsive to the whistle. I let him get away with not being completely steady to wing, shot and fall because the other dogs, which weren't, were getting his retrieves. I figured it was easier to reward him with the retrieve and fix the problem later rather than mess with all the dogs.
So before we head out tomorrow, it's been tune-up time around here. While the shooting at R&R Pheasant Hunting was phenomenal, the Montana hunt is going to be an all-wild-bird affair and a slip up in range, marking or chasing could ruin the hunt for everyone.
I had a pretty good idea of what to do, but gave a call to Mike Stewart at Wildrose Kennels to see how would go about tightening a dog back up.
"The first thing I would do is go back to basic obedience. Heel, sit, stay," he said, adding that he would then do some walking baseball, but in higher cover, not the mowed grass that the drill is usually done in.
"After that, I would put out some bumpers in a quartering pattern, so that the dog continually finds them on the outside corners, and work him into them. They'll find the bumpers but won't be quite as excited as with birds," he continued. "Keep him in range and just remind him that sit means sit."
So, after a great hunt, one in which Kona made me proud, it's back to the training yard to tighten him up.
I hope to have internet access on this next hunt and will update you on how the pooch performs on wild birds after having so many shot over him in South Dakota. I'll also keep you up to date on the hunting in Montana and what Pheasants Forever has happening on the ground.
It was another phenomenal day of shooting Browning Cynergy and Citori as well as Winchester 101 model over and unders loaded with Winchester Super-X Super Pheasant loads in 2-3/4 inch 4s and 6s here at R&R Pheasant Hunting in South Dakota. If you need proof, just look at the death tally: the second day in a row of 100 birds in the basket. Our three-day tally was in the neighborhood of 260 birds for 11 or 12 shooters per day.
Alas, all good things must come to an end and we head home tomorrow (Thursday). The hunting here just got better and better each day and it's tough to leave, especially after seeing how my Lab, Kona, reacted (and handled) all the bird scent and contact. I just want to keep hunting and watching him work birds. I was impressed at his performance and he seemingly impressed my hunting partners, guides and even the owner of the operation. He made me proud, which is the most we dog guys can hope for. I don't think he impressed enough to score me a guiding job on the property, so I guess I'll have to keep scratching out a living as a writer.
Today, the wind eased up and it got so warm that I was hunting in a t-shirt during the afternoon...something that's unheard of in the Dakotas in November! The heat and light wind seemed to hamper scenting conditions, so we had to keep forcing ourselves to slow down and really let the dogs dig out the roosters in the milo fields.
Even though we tried to take it slow, I made sure to give Kona water when he'd bring a rooster to hand and to rest him after each hunt. I even took up post as a blocker twice to give him cool-down time.
Here's a little tip: If you're ever in the Dakota's hunting, volunteer to take your turn as a blocker when working corn. The pheasants tend to run the rows and give the blockers some good shooting.
Also, if you're in the market for a new shotgun, check out the Browning website. They have a "Cynergy Club," which gives you $500 in free gear if you buy a new Cynergy over and under (which was responsible for many, many pheasants dying this week). As part of the club you get a custom hard case, soft zipper case, limited edition range bag, an exclusive Browning shooting cap, as well as a $100 check.
It's up bright and early to drive to Montana tomorrow. After a couple of days rest for Kona and myself, as well as some family time (and grudgingly work), we'll be hunting the Ft. Benton area of Montana with Pheasants Forever. I hope Kona continues performing like he did this week and doesn't have a brain fart. I'll let you know how it goes!
Day Two here at R&R Pheasant Hunting in Seneca, South Dakota, was a blast. Or blasts. Lots and lots of blasts.
After a Day One, which was a great day, scenting conditions improved dramatically, the wind was perfect and we got into some serious birds. Hundreds of birds. When the finally tally came about, more than 60 roosters were sent to the big roasting pot in sky by one group of six shooters and in excess of 40 for another group.
I tried posting a pic of four birds blasting from a milo field while two shooters picked their shots. The shutter clicked right after the impact of lead to feathers, but, alas, I'm having technical difficulties. I'll try to get some shots up from the trip later.
Like yesterday, we hunted standing corn and milo, but today we hit some CRP fields. They were by far the most fun (that said with the understanding that it's all fun!) for me because you got to watch the dogs work. It was THICK CRP that made walking difficult and really taxed the dogs. Kona was beat after the hunt.
The CRP kept birds holding tight and gave the dogs a chance to work them. It's always fun to watch a dog bounding through a field in search of a bird, but then when they hit scent and do a button hook with their nose to the ground and tail going 1,000 mph, you know something is coming. You can watch the dogs push the birds and pin them down until the birds only opportunity to escape is to take to wing.
After working the CRP, I left Kona on the truck for the next hunt and picked up my camera. It may or may not have been a good idea. The next strip of cover was waist-to-chest-high milo...and it was LOADED with birds! There were plenty of shots throughout the field, but when we got to the end of the row and the birds were trapped between the line, dogs, a small rise in the field and the blockers, all hell broke loose! Multiple birds broke from the cover multiple times as just as many, if not more, shouts of "hen" and "rooster" rang out...which was then quickly followed by an artillery of gunfire from the Winchester and Browning over and unders. It was a sweet scene to witness even when shooting a camera and not one of the sweet-shooting shotguns.
Speaking of sweet shooting, there's nothing like a ringer in the group to make me shake my head and resolve (for the gazillionth time) to get to the range. While we were all shooting 12-gauge Browning Cynergy and Citori over and unders, Scott Grange, a 35-year veteran of the company, was shooting, and I might add out-shooting everyone, with 28-gauge!!!! Ouch...
Both Browning and Winchester have some cool promotions going, one of which is worth $500 when you buy one of their guns. I'll post more on that later.
One more thing is for sure when it comes to pheasant hunting and working with a dual-purpose Lab. I'm going to need to take a couple of days after this trip, and before leaving for north-central Montana with Pheasants Forever, to revisit the sit whistle. All this ranging and quartering, with double-whistle toots for a direction change, has loosened Kona up and made his response a bit sloppy. That's to be expected. It's always a balancing act!
The Fall Classic is on and I'm not talking about The Evil Empire playing a city known for sandwiches and booing Santa Claus. I'm in South Dakota for the first time trying knock the hell out of as many rooster pheasants as possible.
Not only is it my first trip to Pheasant Heaven, it's also my dog's first time. I was a bit worried about how Kona would perform but after Day One, all is looking good (hope I just didn't jinx us for the next two days...).
It's been a wet summer and fall here and because of that there is still a lot of standing agriculture fields. Today we hunted standing corn and milo as well as some grass and shelter belts. There are birds to spare here at the 18,000-acre R&R Pheasant Hunting and as a gunner it keeps you attentive at all times.
It turns out my worries about Kona's range and steadiness in the face of the flush were unfounded. I was prepared not shoot the first hour or two of the hunt just to work the dog and hold him accountable for his training. As it was, that approach wasn't needed. We had birds in the air within 30 yards of entering the first field (waist-high milo) and Kona held staunch to wing, shot and fall. I watched him for a couple more birds, ones he flushed and others flushed by the pointing Labs from Hunters Point Kennel, and he was performing well above my expectations.
After that it was lights out dog work and shooting. Big fat roosters with long tails would flush directly under foot or wild just in front of the working canines, causing the blood to pump and heart to race. We were working 4 or 5 shooters in a line through the field with a blocker or two at the end of the 1/2-mile field strips. It was awesome shooting and I can't wait until morning to do it again.
After a great pheasant breast dinner, including two types: breast in wild rice and breast in gravy, we had a product seminar with the folks from Lacrosse Footwear and subsidiary Danner. As part of the hunt we get to try out a couple of pairs of boots. The talk around camp is that the Pronghorn boots are the most comfortable boots you'll ever wear straight out of a box.
A couple of cool tips we got from the Lacrosse/Danner folks include:
Don't use a waterproofing sealant on boots with Gore-Tex. The sealant will close off the breathability of the Gore-Tex membrane. Instead use a water or oil-based "conditioner" to keep the leather supple.
Also, and I found this interesting, the best time to condition your boots is when they're wet; like when you just come in from a walk in the grass and the morning dew puts a nice dampness on the leather. The leather's pores are wide open and will accept and hold the conditioner better.
We have a couple more product seminars, including those from Browning, Winchester Repeating Arms and Winchester Ammo. I'll pass along any tips or updates and am planning on getting some video from these folks, and of course, from the owners/trainers at Hunters Point Kennel on training pointing Labs.
If you have any questions on any of the product (guns, ammo, boots) or dog work, post 'em up and I'll ask.
As a quick aside, and something I learned very quickly today. If you're hunting in high cover, a locating beeper collar is well worth the investment. While Kona didn't get out of range much, there were times that I lost him in the vegetation and had to recall. Too much of that can cause yo-yo'ing and/or undermine a dog's confidence; better to know where he's at and whistle-sit if he's ranging too far and then walk up and release him.
While I'm trying to figure out the video player system here at OL.com, I'm running into some serious technical difficulties. I don't want to keep you Gun Doggers waiting any longer for answers to your dog-training questions, so I'm posting links to each answer below.
After I get all lined up on how to upload vids here, I'll repost each question as its own blog. Until that time, enjoy your professionally answered questions and work at making your dog the best it can be!
From Smittie125 (winner of the DT Systems Super Pro Launcher)
I have a female German Shorthaired Pointer. She is 3 years old. I'm having a hard time getting her to stay on point. She will point quickly but then she will chase and flush right after; she will not stay on the point. I have used the "whoa" command on her and it works when we are not hunting. However, I cannot stop her when we hunt. It's like she gets in another zone when she sees the bird. I have tried everything. I have a shock collar that I can use on her. What can I do to keep her on point the entire time when she finds a bird?
I have two female chocolate labs. One is eight years old and the other is one. I am wondering how I can get my one year old to retrieve pheasants. She will retrieve any dummy or ball you throw to her and has watched my eight year old lab retrieve pheasants but she will not pick a one up herself. She we go to where it landed and keep it there but won't pick it up. What can i do to make her retrieve?
I have a 5 year old black lab and he love's to run and of course hunt. He has one big problem though while pheasant hunting he doe's real well until he spook's a deer. so how can i get him to stop chasing them ? Is there such a cure. thank's in advanced hunter 6.
I am training a 5 month old wirehair, she is sometimes reluctant to come back in when called. Too distracted or interested in the smells around her, and driven to hunt. Is this too young to introduce an ecollar with paging, not stimulation?
My eight month old lab fetches three or four times very well, but then she stops picking it up. Am I asking too much from her? How can I get her to fetch more?
My Boykin Spaniel knows to sit on the whistle or verbal SIT, but when there is some distance between the two of us, he tends to take his sweet time before putting his butt on the ground. How can I encourage him to SIT immediately without wandering around or staring at me before doing it?
We had nine questions submitted for the DT Systems dog-training seminar in Kansas this past weekend. Many of them were very good questions and covered several of the most common problems for dog owners/trainers.
All of the questions were answered by either George Hickox or Dan Ihrke in a video format, which I'll be posting.
However, the winner of the DT Systems Super Pro hand-held dummy launcher is...
OL user Smittie125. While there were many good questions, Smittie's question was a multi-layered, multi-dimensional problem that will require a solid foundation to be laid out for the dog.
Hand-held dummy launchers are very commonly used for retrievers, but they can be used for the pointing breeds, too. They can be handy for working on steady to "wing", shot and fall, and many other aspects.
In Kansas, we got to play with the company's products, from e-collars to the launcher to bird launchers. The DT Systems Super Pro Launcher is nice launcher that can shoot dummies to 100 yards or more. The best thing about it, however, is that there is very little recoil. I've shot some handhelds that have left my wrist aching and causing me to flinch with each shot. That's not usually a problem with the Super Pro!
Smittie125, contact me at brianlynn76@yahoo.com with your name, mailing address and other personal info and I'll get DT Systems to ship out your new Super Pro Launcher!
Hey Gun Doggers, today is a travel day for me. I'm headed out and catch a plane bright and early tomorrow for Wichita, KS, and then head to Sand Wells Outdoors where the DT Systems seminar with George Hickox and Dan Ihrke will take place.
We've got a few good questions for George and Dan, but need more for the contest! The winner will receive a Super Pro Launcher from DT Systems. All you have to do is post a question for the pros and you're entered to win!
I'm stopping on the way out of town and grabbing a Flip Video recorder and hope to be able to get some great video footage. Is there anything you'd like to see demonstrated by the pros? I'm taking requests so let me know!
I'll be making a video list on the plane, but have a few ideas kicking around in my head. Can you add to them? (hint: phrase it as a question and you're entered to win the Super Pro Launcher!)
