Chukar!

My First Chukar!

Brittany on the Rocks Pointed

Chukar Retrieve!

Cap on Chukar #2

Break Time among the Rocks

After flailing around for two days on our own, even with good advice from friends, I decided I wasn't going to chase Chukar without someone along that knows what they are doing.  A game biologist from the area took pity on us and said, "Come on.  I'll show you Chukar."   What he kindly neglected to say was we would climb mountains, wade streams, walk snow and rocks and cold and hot and freezing and sweaty- all within 1 hour- just to get to Chukar Country.  Then the fun part started!  My pup, Cap, and his dog, Remy, were the two on the ground and they both did very well.  Once we got in the area, Cap headed up the mountain and made a 350 yard cast and pointed!  I figured he was relieving himself and didn't mention it.  After several minutes of this, I mentioned that he was on point (about 200 yards away, now) and we started moving there in earnest.  Finally, we saw him moving again high on the rocks and I called him down.  I no sooner got the whistle out of my mouth, when a flash  of feathers and noise came from my left off the face off a small rock face.  Never having seen a Chukar flush, I hesitated for a nanosecond running through the cataloge of species, etc., and came to the conclusion this was the bird.  Gun up- bird down!  My first Chukar.  I soon learned that Aaron shot, too..so I shared that one with him. Later on, Cap found a covey of 15 in the rocks and held them tight.  I knocked one down over the edge on to a shelf above the creek (the same one waded through earlier).  Aaron was up much higher overlooking the shelf.  He called out that Cap descended the rocks, was on the shelf and now was on point (pic above) on my wounded bird.  I eased down there, took some pictures, then kicked the bird up and watched the show.  He came out of the bush trying to fly and took off running!  Cap broke and I yelled, "Fetch 'em up, Cap!  Go get 'em!"  Those little suckers can run, too.  Cap was on his tail as he zig-zagged down the shelf!  Once, Cap almost caught him, and with a burst of speed, the bird went over a drop off. Cap never hesitated and went right after him!  Silence followed as we both waited.  About 30 seconds later, out from the creek bottom, my little pup came trotting up with a bird in his mouth. (pic)  He put it in my hand and looked at me as if to say, "What are we waiting for?  There's birds up there, Boss!"  Oh my aching legs.....

Aaron's dog, Remy, a Vizla, did really well.  A young dog, she will be a star for him next year.  Thanks, Aaron, for taking us up in the mountains...

Cotton and Maggie

A few of the harvest

Cotton, Ruby, Maggie and Bandit had this one pointed and  backed

Cap locked down

We are getting a lot of good work on our dogs out here.  Today was probably the best day I've had hunting quail in years.  And, it all started out fairly normal.  I'd found a small covey the day prior about 30 minutes before quitting for the day. Since we were passing by on the way to another area, I suggested we stop in and see if we couldn't find the larger group...just for a few minutes.  Well, 6 hours later, we were still in that area, all the dogs had finds and backs and retrieves and I was out of shells!  Wow!  Every once in a while you DO get the bear.

Shoot and Release Hunting

Cap Pointing a Brush Pile

Ruby Pointing a Quail in a Tree

Robert's Cotton

 Today saw some stuff not normally seen in bird hunting. The
first was Ruby pointing a valley quail in a tree.  The second involved the new eco-friendly shoot and
release program!
I made a nice shot on one quail in a brushy draw high above the north
bank of the Snake River. When Cap went in for the retrieve, he found
the bird just fine, but it was stuck in the top of a bush! So, I
wandered over to the bird and picked it out of the bush. Then, to get
some training in, I dispatched the bird and tossed it to a clear area
to get a retrieve from Cap and Bandit. Immediately as the bird hit the
ground, it got up, dusted off his feathers and ran on out of there.
Much to my chagrin, none of the dogs on the ground could find the
bird. Ah, bird hunting!

Motel Recommendations

The place to stay in Mountain Home,Idaho for bird hunters. Dog friendly and very accomodating......and reasonable. 

This little guy let me take his picture!

Ruby and Me


We are having fun at camp.  Send money!

These Valley Quail, at least right here, are challenging to hunt.  They like the thick brush, and the fly like the wind.  The good news is they travel in large crowds and the world erupts when they take to flight.  The dogs are occasionally having a hard time with scenting, especially the fast movers.  Today, we are moving a little south on the Snake to some new areas and we are hopeful for more birds.  

Chukar Tracks

Ruby and Ace on the banks of the Snake River pointed on a covey of Valley Quail

Ruby retrieving and quail to me after she pointed

Male Valley Quail

A great second day.  As luck would have it, we sat next to a local real estate agent and bird hunter at breakfast.  He allowed as to how it was good hunting in an area he knows, so he drew a map.  It was great! Thank you, Jim!

Valley Quail in Idaho 1

I was a first for me and my dogs. After 2.5 days of driving we arrived to a storm of "epic" proportions! Up to that point, it was a dry year- so dry it made the record books. I half-jokingly mentioned that I would end that with my arrival! Sure enough...I did.

Although it was snowing elsewhere, the land we hunted was still dry with occasional rain. The Valley Quail were there and in pretty good numbers. The top photo is me and my pup, Cap. Next is Cap locked down on the slope of an irrigation ditch followed be another point and a back by Bean, as setter owned by me friend. Actually, Bean was the star of the day, with three finds on singles harvested.

It amazes me the cover these Valley Quail inhabit. It is more suitable to pheasant. Cattails, thick grass and weeds, creek bottoms.....just amazing!

8800 Feet in Utah

Randy Schultz
770.584.5085
www.abirdhuntersthoughts.com
www.follr.US/randy
randy@uplanders.com

While Waiting for the Next Hunt

Cap locked down on quail.

I had a little time before the next hunt (Idaho in January) so I entered my pups in a few trials around the area.  I've been running NSTRA trials since 1992 when I entered my first Brittany, Rocket, in a trial up in the hills of north Georgia.  I've had some success over the years, and a few dogs that were less than successful.  However, I did learn the game and I do enjoy spending the day with like-minded people, talking dogs and hunting and trialing. I decided to enter my two Brittany pups, Cap (B/M) and Ruby (B/F) and just see what they could do.  The first trial was in Alabama and they both did OK, for first time dogs.  At least, they weren't "placed upon" and they did find their fair share of birds.  There was a lot of learning and laughs on the field, for me at least, as I watched them dart around and try their very best to do what the big boys were doing.  (They run "amateur" dogs at these trials, too, but I figure my pups should be able to hold their own and take their lumps.  So, I entered them in the Open class.)  The next trial was down in Pavo, GA and, once again, they did OK.  They did draw some notice from the gallery for their hunt and they way they worked with and for me.  No placements, but for young, new dogs, they did very well. 

 Last weekend, I entered them in a trial up in north GA, Ball Ground, GA.  On Saturday, they both took the fields like pros!  I was very pleased with their handing and finds and backs.  Their ground coverage was excellent and I sensed it was just a matter of time before the breakthrough came.  Saturday afternoon, Cap (shown above) had a pretty decent run and took a third place- qualifying for the Region Championships in March.  It was quite a coup for him- he's not even two yet and was running like a much more mature dog.  Sunday was another story altogether.  Cap was awesome!  He ended up with a very strong first place and looked polished and strong doing it.  Ruby, on another field, racked up another first place, also.  Oddly, her score was matched exactly by another dog. So we chose to have a coin toss to determine the winner- I lost.  It doesn't take anything away from Ruby, at all.  She did her part and tied for first place. 

Overall, we took a First, Second, and Third for the weekend- 3 out of the possible 12 placements went to my little pups!  I guess they'll make bird dogs. 

Off to Idaho on Sunday.  More updates later.  

Barbed Wire

Here's a pic of my dog Cap.  He's sleeping off the effects of sedation from the vet.  It seems that yesterday, while exercising along side my Kawasaki Mule, he decided to take a short cut through a barbed wire fence.  He hit that thing full stride right in the mouth.  He cut his tongue and broke some middle teeth.  Blood everywhere! The tongue heals amazingly fast, but the two teeth were just chips and had to be removed before they became infected. Actually, he'll be fine and won't miss the teeth at all- they weren't his canines nor molars.  I hope the little knot head learned something from this!

I am approached, on occasion, by vendors asking me to try their product.  I like to try different things and usually agree.  This time I was asked to shoot the Federal Target Load 9 shot. Normally, 9 shot is too small for me to hunt with and about the only application I would use it for is a field trial.  I don't shoot skeet or trap.  In the National Shoot to Retrieve Field Trial Association (NSTRA) format, the dog points the bird and then the handler shoots the bird for the retrieve.  We almost always use pen-raised quail for the trials as they are easy to get and are relatively cheap.  In addition, they are not very tough birds and will normally drop pretty easily for light loads and small shot. Since you can pack more induvidual shot in to a shell the smaller they are, it makes sense that the smallest shot would improve your odds of hitting the target. 

I took these shells to a 2 day trial with my 3 dogs.  Added all together, I entered the field 12 times over the weekend and had plenty of opportunity to shoot pen-raised quail.  I found that 90% of the time, the hit bird would drop on the first shot and be dead when it hit the ground.  However,  about 10% of the time, I would hit the bird and feathers would fly, but the bird would continue on, either to drop later or continue on out of the area.  My conclusion is, that for my type of field trial,  the 9 shot, light load shell may not be the best.  Probably an 8 or 7 1/2 (largest allowed) would be more suitable for NSTRA to ensure a dropped bird for points.  I have nothing against the reliablility of the shell- I had no misfires.  I will not use the 9 shot again in NSTRA.  Perhaps shooting skeet would be more to the style of the shell.

GPS

Do you hunt with a GPS? An Astro, or Nuvi?

I do.  And, I'm finding more and more uses for the units. 

(However, and this is BIG, I NEVER hit the fields, bird hunting, without a standard Mark 1 Mod 0 Compass!  I always know my initial direction and always keep my "situational awareness" up and operating, in other words, I know the direction I'm hunting and I know where my truck is and any other significant feature.  I like to be able to point to the truck at any given moment and if, at any time, I don't have that awareness, I stop and get my head wrapped around where I am and how to get home!)

All that being said, I just downloaded the BLM and Public lands maps for WA/OR/ID.  We will be heading out there mid-January to hunt Chukar and Valley Quail.  Of course, part of the draw of the mountain west is the bountiful public lands available for hunting.  In the past, ordering the maps was an important part of hunting in the west.  It still is, but these GPS applications make it much easier to keep track of where you are and what land is available to hunt.

I used a website called http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/ to find and order my maps.  I downloaded them and loaded them in to my Astro and Nuvi.  In addition to ID, I have Montana, New Mexico, Minnesota, South Dakota and Kansas in my GPS units.  It's great to be working dogs along a bottom and be able to see the map right on the unit telling me I have another mile of BLM land to go!  Or to be able to drive around on the caleche roads down in New Mexico and have my Nuvi show me BLM land or School land as I drive along and look for birds.

I highly recommend updating your units with these maps as you hunt throughout the United States.  I also highly recommend you become proficient with a compass.  You know what they call a hunter that relies on his GPS?  Lost.

Working Dogs

Bo, at 14, still has it! Cap shows his intensity and Ruby is trying to tell me where they are. While I enjoy bird hunting most of all, taking the dogs out for a little brush up on manners is fun, too. All this yard work will pay off in the long run. Whether it is on the trial field, or in the coulees and wheat fields, these dogs will remember the pasture and what they were taught.

Introduction to the lifetime sport!



Rhys and me.

It was a pleasure to be able to introduce a new hunter to the sport.  Rhys, my prospective son-in-law,  a native of Wales, has been very interested in shooting sports and hunting in general.  He is an archer and competes in Archery for the University of Florida.  A natural extension of that is a progression to shotguns, pistols and rifles.  One day, he asked if I would show him how to shoot a shotgun.  Things progressed and I found him a good buy on a Browning Citori Upland Special 20 ga. He was thrilled, and started shooting trap and skeet down at college. 



Last month, I was drawn by lottery to hunt at DiLane plantation in eastern Georgia.  This is an 8000+ ac. Quail Plantation managed by the state of Georgia for quail habitat.  It seemed like a perfect time to introduce Rhys the fine art of quail hunting in Georgia. 

We arrived at the check-in station around 7 a.m. and picked up our permission form and eased out to where we decided to put out.  It took a little time to get the dogs and gear and guns ready to go, but after a few minutes we gathered to discuss the plan.  We talked about shooting safety, especially over the dogs and around other people, how to move over the ground, approaching pointing dogs, gun safety and a lot of small stuff that makes hunting a lot more fun. This wasn’t the first time we’d talked about this stuff, but it was a perfect time to refresh the information. 

Ace Pointed

It was about 40 degrees under clear skies and promised to warm up to about 70 degrees in the afternoon.  We put the dogs out a started around some perfect habitat.  The dogs worked great and before long we settled in to a routine.  We heard some shooting a few hundred yards away, across a small tree stand and marked that covey off our list as we moved in to a pecan grove.  After about an hour of working around some brushy fields, we again heard more shooting in a different area, but still about 300 yards way- another covey off the list!   We eased in to a pecan grove and worked through that in to some tall pines.  Suddenly, I heard the familiar wurr of wings and an exclamation from Rhys! Simultaneously, I looked through the pines a saw Ace on point ahead of me.  Rhys was to my right and Ace was pointed ahead of me.  I worked the area in front of Ace with no success, turned him loose, and went over to Rhys to find out what happened.  It seems Rhys stepped right in to the covey!  Birds went up all around him!  They flushed directly to and over our third man on the hunt, Glen.  Rhys wisely chose not to shoot.  He did mark the birds down and we eased on over to that area only to discover the birds had flown on to adjoining private land!  Those little buzz bombs knew exactly what they were doing- no doubt. With that little bit of excitement behind us, we moved on to a different area. 

Looking for the covey

The day warmed up and we swapped out dogs to keep them fresh as we moved around the area.  Unfortunately, ALL the area looked good with good food, cover and water- great habitat for the quail.  We heard more shooting around the area and we worked the edges of fields and through the tall pine stands, etc.  The dogs did a wonderful job!  It was a good time for them, too.  Unfortunately, we never did get a shot at the wild birds, but the benefits of this hunt were not in the killed birds.  Rhys got a chance to see how the overall hunt works, habitat, working closely with dogs and other hunters.  We had a great lunch in the field, cooked by Glen.  And, we had hours of talking about hunting in general and bird hunting in particular. 

Chow time in the field!

I always maintain I’ve never had a bad day in the field, and this one was no exception.  We had good dog work, we saw some birds and Rhys had a covey rise right under his feet(!), we ate in the field and talked hunting all day long.  It doesn’t get any better than that! 

I thanked the GA DNR for the opportunity to hunt, via the feedback form, and I’d like to thank www.uplanders.com for sponsoring Rhys on this hunt.  The future of our sport hinges on bringing new “blood” in.  Take some time and take a young person hunting!

Long Day in the field

Typical fall day on North Dakota prairie

North Dakota, this year, was beautiful! Sometimes, one gets lucky with a camera and captures a shot like the one above.  As I travel over the country, I often wonder about those that don't get a chance to see all this.  Most of them are perfectly content to stay where they are and see the beauty in their own hometown and area, and that's fine by me.  One of the reasons I like to travel and hunt is to see new country, meet new people, hunt new habitat and terrain.  I think if we stay with what we know, that's all we will ever know.  Tied in with the idea of traveling and hunting around the country, is my concern for the future of the sport.  Where are the young guys, the kids, the women, the boys and girls? Of course, I know that my hobo-hunter lifestyle is pretty exclusive- after all, having the time, inclination and where-with-all to travel and hunt is not something you see in young marrieds or middle aged men and women who have jobs and careers.  So, I'm not advocating my kind of hunting, but I am strongly pushing for introducing young people to the sport.  I am all for showing young people where meat comes from and how it gets to the table.  I am a huge proponent of explaining, through action, that we are the top of the food chain and we harvest not only grains and fruits a vegetables, but, also, meat.

My pup, Bandit, and his limit of Sharptail Grouse.

My little niche, of course, is in the harvesting of game birds and using the genetic make-up of bird dogs to facilitate that. Granted, I lean more toward the dog aspect, and, in fact, I'm not much of a meat eater, but the sport is valid and deserves to be promoted and preserved.

The Old Ball and Chain and her first bird on a covey rise!

To do that, we need to take someone hunting and make it the most pleasant  and pleasing experience we can.  We need to show them the effort that goes in to harvesting game birds- the respect shown to the birds, the land and the dogs. The traditions of hunting with bird dogs, the unwritten rules, the courtesies.  I'm convinced once they are introduced properly, many will become lifelong proponents of our great sport and, who knows, maybe they will grow up to be a hobo-hunter, too.

My pup, Gritz, and her first Woodcock.

Tomorrow, I have the opportunity to take a young man hunting quail.  He's eager  and ready to go!  He's completed the Hunter Safety Course, he shoots well and he likes to hear about not only the how's of bird hunting, but also the why's.  (Full Disclosure: He's my future son-in-law.  Perhaps that contributes to his eagerness?)  Sponsored by uplanders.com, we will hunt quail tomorrow on an 8000 ac. plantation owned by the State of Georgia and managed exclusively for Bobwhite Quail.  I am looking forward to hunting a full day with the young man (perhaps imparting a little wisdom) on land that looks like it did back when the huge quail plantations were all over Georgia. 

Stay tuned!

Chukar and Valley Quail, Anyone?

We have a "group" on Facebook (yes, even I am on Facebook) called Bird Dogs and Fly Fishing.  At this time of the year, 95% of the discussions are about bird dogs and hunting.  We see some great pictures and hear a lot of stories.  Most of the seasons are closing at the end of December.  Every year, it seems like a rushing train coming straight at me- The Seasons Are Ending!  Every year, I look around for a place to hunt one last time, a place to turn loose the dogs and walk to the horizon.  The clever way I am linking the two thoughts is through the information shared on Facebook.  I'm learning about parts of the country whose seasons extend beyond the traditional 1 January closing.  Arizona, NM, Utah, California, Oregon to name a few.  Not only that, these places (some anyway) haven't been decimated by the drought that is destroying the bird populations in the heartland.  Through friends met in the group, I'm able to get ideas about where to go in January, or even February.  This season, my February is loaded up, but January is looking pretty good.  Since I'm still in pretty good shape and the dogs are doing well and in very good shape, I'm pondering a Chukar hunt out west.  Hopefully, I'll be able to chronicle a two week odyssey fairly soon....

Now, if I can only get The Old Ball and Chain's permission slip. Sometimes, a "kitchen pass" is worth it's weight in gold! Hey, Christmas is right around the corner.....

I've been working the pups and even the main dog (Ace) on a few items that are required in field trial competition. Things like a staunch back (honoring a point) and intensity on point (no creeping) and sharp retrieves.  Normally, a bird dog and get away with a little of all of the above in field work.  In field trials, the dog is scored quite a bit on style.  At least it is style with a purpose, so I don't complain too much about it.  It won't hurt them in the field hunting, either.  This weekend is a big trial in Pavo, GA at my fiend's house.  He grew up on one of those huge private quail plantations down there and I always like listening to his stories about hunting  and training dogs, etc.  Sure was a different kind of life!

The field trial went OK.  Cap, my 18 month old, found three birds and made three solid finds and retrieves.  He handled well, listened to me, was bold and ran hard, too.  No complaints.....well, the backing thing kind of got us us a little.  I've never really pushed that to this point and will lock that in after I finish some other minor procedures unique to field trials.  All in all, I am very pleased with him!

My little girl, Ruby, did very well, too.  An argument could be made she did better, with a larger field and stiffer competition.  She, too, found 3 birds and made three fine retrieves.  She never had an opportunity to back.  Neither of these dogs have been on the a field trial field before and adjusted quickly and well. Ruby kind of slowed down after the first 2 birds, thinking, I guess, that it was time to head to the barn- lol!  But, I encouraged her to head on out and she picked it up and found another bird in the last few minutes. 

All in all, a very nice day.  This Saturday, we head back to Alabama for another few runs.  This time, my main boy, Ace, will be running, too.  It should be a good day again.

Tomorrow, my puppies are being thrown to the wolves. Since I have some "between trips" time on my hands, they (Ruby/F/Brit and Cap/M/Brit) are entered in a NSTRA trial. Poor guys, they are entered in Open division. (Never did like the "amateur" category- figure my dogs can run with the big boys from the git-go.) I'll be sure to apologize in advance to my bracemate, in the blind, "Take it easy on my little puppy, if you would! I'm not sure she'll even point, back or stay in the county. You say these are quail? Humm, we've worked some pigeons. Well, good luck!" (I do love the book, "The Art of War”.)

Review- Prairie Storm Shotgun Ammunition

Although I usually give lip service to hunting ammunition, it's difficult for me to get excited about it.  Until now. Over the years, I've learned that pheasant require a much different shell than other upland game birds. When I was a novice, I showed up with 20 ga. 2 3/4" 71/2's.  Sadly, I knocked down a lot of birds, but 80% were runners- a broken wing the main injury.  That is no way to treat a gamebird.  I moved in to larger shot- 4's and 5's- and, finally, to the 3" magnum shell.  By now, 75% are dead when they hit the ground and 1 in 4 are runners.  This last trip, I needed shells and came across the Prairie Storm, shown above.  $20 a box!  You've got to be kidding me! The guy in the gas station (yes, gas station in North Dakota) told me he sells out as fast as he can get them in.  The only reason he had these left was because it was 20 ga. ammo!  They appear to be an improvement on the standard shell, with two types of shot in each shell- hard round shot and, additionally, some bladed shot (round, with a ridge around the equator). 

I will tell you what my observations were.  Over the same dogs, shooting the same distances, same shot size, with the same guns, 95% of the birds were dead when they hit.  Since I'm not a statistician, I don't have written records, but I do have non-scientific, old man, bird hunter, I-know-what-I-see fact.  These shells knock the snot out of pheasant and are worth every penny you spend to get them.  These are a BUY.