Sorry Copilot

You just can't get good help anymore. Passing through north central South Dakota. I'm thinking about stopping at the Habitat for a Haskell Burger.

Co-Pilot Grabbing Some Shut-eye

I'll give him a few hours then he's up! Almost to Kansas City, then we turn North (yes!).

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On the Way

After a 4 hour delay for a truck repair, we got on the road late and $1000 lighter in the pocket. I polled the dogs and we decided to push on. I guess after 265,000 miles and 10 years some things break. I still like my diesel Ford, however. Figure I should get 400,000 miles, at least.

Gun Control- the other side of the equation!

The Latest Gun Control Video.  It's a beauty, too.  We really need to remember both sides of the equation and those poor men and women trying to make a living for their families! The last thing we need to do in this great country of ours is to disenfranchise a large segment of our society.  So, click on the link above and watch the video.  This will move you to tears, so be forewarned!

Bird Forecast

I am getting quail, pheasant and Ruffed, Sharptail grouse forecasts sent to me everyday now.  For Grouse, WI, MI and MN all look good as last year- info by state survey.  Pheasant: ND, SD are up to their tailgates in birds (info from farmers depending on area- check DNR sites), KS looks good for pheasant and quail (check areas). NM quail looks good in SE and SW.  I don't have anything on TX quail yet. I must admit I like to hunt public land when I can and I've not found a lot of land in TX that didn't cost me a bunch- there is public land in TX, however, in WMA's (Matador, etc.).  Haven't found an ID Chukar forecast yet, but I'll have one from personal observation by the end of the month.

CRP- my farmer friends in ND have already told me that a lot of the CRP will be in production next year.  As you well know, CRP is critical to pheasant production.  While this year will be another bumper year for pheasant, next year remains problematic.

OK Already!

I am not making this up- it really does feel a little "Fallish" out there today!  C'mon Fall!!!!!!

Ruby and Cap

Ready to go! Put me in, Coach!

Snake Vaccine

The second of two shots administered today.  Only one dog reacts to it, Ace.  He has a reaction no matter what I do for him- a large bump comes up and finally drains and all is well.   Even putting him on antibiotics a week before and after does not affect the reaction.  I guess it's one of those things you just have to live with. Cap won't get his first shot until Friday because a dog needs to be at least 4 months old.  Since we are hunting out west, I think this is mandatory protection for me. It's made by Red Rock Biologics- Google them.

The new Garmin Astro with DC-40

My friend, Glen, just got his new Garmin Astro with the DC-40 collars!  Just in time for me to "borrow" them for a field test next month chasing Chukar.  I'm interested in seeing what difference there is between the DC- 30 and 40.  I'll be running the -30 and have been using it for  a year now with fantastic results.  I hope the -40 will achieve the same range and faster lock on times.  I heard they upgraded the charger, too, which was a weak point in the system.  Will keep you posted! 

3 Brits in a Barrel

I guess that answers the age-old question!

The Chain Gang

Years ago, it may have been Delmar Smith, some guy wrote about this method of staking out dogs.  I'm using it now since I have more dogs.  It is SO good for young puppies and old guys, to boot.  You can see Bo, a veteran of many years of chain gang life, and under him is Cap, on the chain for the first time.  I wanted to get a video of him doing flips and whining, etc., but he calmed down very quickly.  I really don't know why it works so well to keep the dogs focused- maybe it's because now they are attached to other dogs instead of just thinking about themselves, the individual. It's a very useful tool for the bird dog man.  I normally make my own, but this one I bought for $46 at Lion Country.

More Roading Video- How to Hunt (Pre-conditioning)

Click HERE to see more Roading Video

Roading my Dogs- Recommended for pre-hunt conditioning!

Click HERE to see Roading Video

Take the Poll

Reader Poll

Protecting your dogs from rattlesnake bites is a real concern among dog owners. Which of the following do you use to help snake-proof your bird dogs? [Click Here] take the poll.

Click here to see the entire Quail Newsletter- very interesting!

Get this and your bird hunting will be SO much more enjoyable!

I use this system.  With the extra long range antenna (just in case), it is perfect for us.  It does everything they say it does. Is it perfect?  No. Eventually, they will use more miniaturization, better batteries, better software, etc.  BUT, it's not worth waiting for all that- this is a great product!

Going Hi-Tech!

This may be just the thing for recording on the hunt- we'll see.  I've watched the videos on You Tube and they look pretty impressive.  Of course, more impressive is that they NEVER seem to miss the bird!  Wow, I must be the only guy in  America that actually misses a bird once in a while.  Anyway, I'll give it a shot.  By the way, this is the cheapest I've found them on the internet.  Click here to order......

Snakes, Heat, and Puppies. The Vaccine......

It's that time of year when it's time to start thinking about getting the dogs and my legs in shape for the hunting and trialing year.  Actually, I've been pretty good this year about working out every day since we are shooting for some Chukar hunting in ID the last week of September and I sure don't want to be the last guy up the hill.  Ace, my main dog, has been getting roaded everyday for 3 months now and is hard as a brick!  Actually, since this is the first year I've done the roading thing for him, I'm interested to see how the trialing year starts off for him.  Being in good shape should really help him early in the year. 

Another aspect of getting ready is snake vaccine.  I started the dogs on that 3 years ago and will keep it up this year too.  Red Rock Biologic snake Vaccine is most effective on the Western Diamondback. In all the years I've hunted, I've never seen one.  I'm sure I'm the only bird hunter that hasn't, but it's true- not one! I decided a few years ago to get all my dogs started on the vaccine, just in case.  For piece of mind, nothing works better. I found out that it should not be used on puppies less than 4 months- so Cap is out.  But Ruby is ready for her first shot and Ace and Bo ready for their annual booster. For Ruby, she'll get 2 shots a month apart and then she'll be protected a month after that. 

Give this some thought.  Google Red Rock Biologic and read about the product.

A Great Book for Hunters

 Over the years I've noticed several things about the areas I hunt.  Mostly, they are in the Great Plains (with the exception of Wisconsin).  My travels seem intertwined with the Missouri River, Pecos River, Red River and Canadian River.  Whenever I drive, I try to stop at every roadside historical marker, much to the dismay of my traveling partners, and  read about the history of the place. I've learned some very interesting stuff about this country.  This book looks at the history of the buffalo in this country, the forming of the conservation movement, game laws, National Parks (Yellowstone in 1872- the first).  It is extremely interesting following the mental evolution of the populace from the attitude of "there will always be plenty" to today's laws and conservationist practices.  Once, when my dog Bo took off for an adventure (for 5 days), the last place I saw him was near a buffalo wallow in NM. "Buffalo wallow", I repeated? Sure, it was told to me, this it where the millions of animals would pass through and get on their backs and rub to get off their winter fur.  In NM? Buffalo?  Yep, they were in every state but Vermont, Maine, and NH!  Read this one- it's relevant to us and what we do.   

Hunting Gear

It's getting closer to the season.  Orvis, Cabelas, Bass Pro are all going to start their sales on hunting clothing, etc.  What is your favorite store?  Any new gear you are looking at for this year?  How about the regular stuff- like pants, jackets, shirts, dog stuff?

One Step Closer

It won't be long now and these bronze muscadines will be plump and ready to fill your hand! I have black ones intertwined with these in an arbor out my side door.  When they get ripe and really sweet, the opossums and other critters drive our dogs crazy trying to get to them.  This means we are one step farther along on the RSBH Scale of Yearly time passage.  C'mon Fall!