Visual pollution

Folks, this is ugly. An Iowa windfarm.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Arrggghhhh!

Good gosh, this a long drive. So far, I've gone 805 miles with 970 to go. It's time to pull off and watch the Falcons whup the Bears.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

I must be getting old!

Late departure- yikes. Look out birds, the boys are back in town!!!

We knew this was coming!!

I just got an email that said it bluntly.  The USDA is considering reducing the land in CRP by about 1/3!  Comments can be sent via email or snailmail.  Below is a my letter as an example.  I'm sure now that I have released this information to the public, my loyal readers will swamp the USDA, overwhelming the email servers and stop this bad piece of legislation.  For more informaion, email this organization:  dnomsen@pheasantsforever.org  .

crpcomments@tecinc.com

Dear Sir:

I am requesting that you DO NOT reduce the acreage for CRP. In addition to the items below, CRP is a vital resource for the economic health of many rural regions around the country. Hunters spend many millions of dollars to hunt the game and bird species that rely directly on the CRP program. The loss of those dollars would directly impact the jobs in those areas and the areas surrounding those communities. The unintended consequences of a decision to reduce the acreage of CRP would be negative, serious and far-reaching.

CRP produces an estimated 13.5 million pheasants annually.

CRP in the Prairie Pothole Region produces 2 million ducks per year.

CRP boosts populations of bobwhite quail, prairie grouse and non-game grassland birds.

CRP reduces the amount of sediment released into the environment by 200 million tons.

CRP reduces sheet, rill and wind erosion.

CRP sequesters carbon, helping stop more than 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the environment.

Randy Schultz

Ready to Go

The Jones trailer is ready to go this trip.  I only am taking 3 dogs, but the weather may be downright cold when we get there.  We are starting in Regent,ND and then perhaps SD or WI or both. I figure I'll take the trailer and that will be the insulated overnight condo for the boys after a long, hard day.  I'll put them in the dog box on the back of the truck for the day trips.

It's tough buying shells, though.  At least I'm down to 2 guages- 20 and 16. SD requires steel on public land as does ND, on one of the areas we hunt.  Lead is still good in most places, though.  I'm gradually switching over to all steel, now, but I have a few antiques guns I hunt with that can't take the steel and I still use lead shot in those. 

What's Coming Up

This is my dog Peaches and the reward of a good afternoon hunt near Regent, ND.  Peaches was a good, solid, deliberate bird dog and is missed in the kennels.  We'll be hitting this very same spot in a few weeks.  The weather is great up there, finally- cool and cold at night....perfect. 

The Grouse Woods have a hold on me.

This is a trail a little north and east of Phillips. It's typical cover for the grouse woods.  This was shot on opening day this year (2009) and you can see the dog is hot. I've often said if I were limited to only one type of bird hunting, it would be for the King of Gamebirds- the Ruffed Grouse. Hopefully, I'll be back up there the end of October to hit the trails again.  Now that's some fun hunting with the leaves down and the temp cool all day- perhaps a litlle snow, too.

Garmin and Tritronics and Possible Frequency Interference

I had an interesting occurrence my last hunt using the Tritronics collar with beeper and the Garmin GPS tracker on the same dog. (That's a lot of "bling" on the dog!) I noticed the Tritronics beeper collar turning itself on and off as we hunted! Being the inquisitive type, I assumed it was a run down battery on the beeper and changed that in the field, but the problem recurred. Then, since it was a hot day in WI and the birds weren't cooperating and I had plenty of time to walk along on ponder the situation, I started thinking about interference between the Tritronics collar and the Garmin.

As best I know, the Garmin receives the signal from the GPS and then the collar sends the info from the transmitter on the bottom of the collar to the handheld. Depending on the settings you choose, it could be every 5 seconds (the setting I chose). So we know the Garmin is transmitting at least every 5 seconds. The Tritronics, on the other had, controls the remote beeper through the collar. When you send the signal to turn the beeper on or off, the handheld unit sends a signal to the collar and it sends a signal to the beeper. (Very short range signal from the collar to the beeper.)

What I noticed was my beeper was turning itself on and off every 5 seconds, when I was running a dog with both units on and functioning. I checked the location of the collars on the dog and noticed the Garmin unit was riding up the dogs neck and was within 90 degrees of the Tritronics beeper, which was close to the top of the dogs neck. Which unit was moving on my dog is irrelevant, it's the relative location and distance between the units that is important. I adjusted the Garmin to stay underneath the neck and the problem went away.

My conclusion, based on my totally scientific experiment near Clam Lake in the Wisconsin woods (Laughing!), was there there may be some frequency interference between the two units from different manufacturers.

How to address this problem is beyond me. I will send this to each company and let them chew on it- and it may not be fixable or even a real problem (see "scientific experiment" in previous line). If it happens to you, you'll see how I fixed the problem.

Roading

These two tired bird dogs are just getting back from a short "roading" jaunt. What a great way to get some dogs into shape. It amazes me that they love it! They pull as hard as they can as long as they can. It's a simple set up using roading harnesses. Eventually, I'll get up to 4 dogs per run. Right now, I'm waiting for the pasture to get cut- I don't want to get all four dogs on the road at once. Once the hay is cut, we'll be able to make loops of the fields as much as we want.

Garmin Astro

I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Garmin Astro will revolutionize bird hunting. I used it every day for two weeks in Montana and in Wisconsin this month. In Montana, I primarily needed it to keep up with my hard running Brit when he crested the coulees and was out of sight for a few minutes- just to ease my mind. Once, he did that and I crested the coulee myself and found him gone. I pulled the Astro out and saw he was 180 yds away and on point! After selecting "Dog" and checking the direction, I walked over and found him locked up on Sage Grouse (they taste great when cooked by someone who knows what they are doing, by the way). Could I have done that without the Garmin- yes. Did it make my hunting experience more enjoyable- yes! That's the key- it makes the hunting experience much more enjoyable.

In Wisconsin, easing down a trail with a new pup, I listened to his beeper getting farther and farther away- probably he flushed a bird and chased it. Instead of laying on the whistle, or tapping him with the Tritronics, I pulled up the Astro and watched him get out 400 yds and run in circles for a bit. Then I hit the whistle and watched as he turned and headed back to me. I didn't have to keep blasting- just a toot when I saw that he was stopped (on point) and listening. When he got to 50 yards, I laid off it entirely and let him run around a little and get scared. After a bit, I gave him a tweet and we had a little "Homecoming". That little bit of training in the thick Grouse woods was invaluable- he constantly checked for me after that and made my Grouse hunting much more pleasurable.

That's only 2 examples of how the Astro worked into my hunting. I never had a dog fall off the radar screen, so I really don't know the max range in heavy cover. I do know that 500 yds is a long ways in those woods, and I was tracking a dog that far for a while. Can you hunt without it- sure can. Will I hunt without it- not unless I absolutely have to! However, it is no substitute for a training a dog properly- no doubt about that- and I hope guys don't start using it as a crutch for proper training.

I think we've only scratched the surface on how to use this thing. It seems to be as tough as it needs to be, too. I had no trouble at all. I did put it on the charge every night, though.

Hey, Tritronics, are you listening? Can we get a collar that integrates it all? Hey, we put a man on the moon using slide rules. Now, we have micro-miniturization and batteries that are incredible. Can't we get one collar that does it all? Heck, my dog carries almost $1000 worth of bling around his neck as it is. I'd be willing to pay for a combination collar........

Ace Waiting

Are we there yet? How much longer? When will we be there?
Nothing pays attention to you better than your best dog!

Corey Perdue wins the Ironman 2009!!

Here are the winners for this year's prestigious Ironman 2009 competition! Corey Perdue, Butch Stansell, and Zack Kirby. These stern-faced young men are the youngest winners in the history of the event. It was a great time in Sparta, GA.

2009 Ironman Trial Sparta GA

We run dogs for points, then shoot the pistol, shoot skeet, fish for an hour then throw 2 horseshoes. The winner takes home the Welker Original handmade trophy! This the 10th anniversary in the Georgia Region NSTRA and a great time for all!!

A great trip comes to an end...

Well, I'm packing for he homeward drive right now. 16 hours and I'll be in sunny Georgia! Next trip should be in October, Lord willing. This one will be to Regent, ND and then back to Phillips, WI. Of course, Regent is all about the ditch chickens (Pheasant). I'm really excited about Bandit, the pup. He is working with me and had a great attitude. I think he will really shine on pheasant. Well, back to work, my good friends......

End of a Trip

It was a good day with 6 flushes. Bo and I are just finishing a 3 hour cast. This may be his last look at the grouse woods- his 13th trip. Long drive tomorrow. But it will be good to sleep in my own bed with the old ball and chain again.

Best Breakfast In Wisconsin Grouse Woods

Not only great food to get you through a morning chasing birds, but good conversation and even a few good tips on where to hunt- really! Phillips, Wisconsin. Crystal Cafe- Mark and Becky

Bandit makes the big leagues!!

For a bird dog, Ruffed Grouse is the Bigs. The true King of Gamebirds in difficulty to hunt and bag. Today, the porcupine loving, shaggy-eared, short-tailed, son of Julia's Flyboy Ace became a dog. No more slack, Bird Dog. Hey Sam, you have a good (maybe great) dog.

Heading to the Honeyhole

We found the best looking habitat I've seen in all the 14 years I've hunted here. With two limping brits and an 11 year old setter, we will attempt an assault- clear and 57 deg.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Old Bo

11+ years old and still pointing the partridge!

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Bandit hits a Porcupine!

Only about 100 quills. He was a real trooper and let me take them off the roof of his mouth. He recovered well and was hunting the next day.