Posted in DOUBLES on Feb 14th, 2012
As the 19th century ended, the shooting world was winding up 100 years of change. In 1800, muzzle loading flintlocks had ruled the field. Then in 1839, percussion guns took over, followed by breech loaders and then centerfire hammerguns. By 1885, these hammerguns were out and self-cocking, hammerless doubles were in. While the new hammerless [...]
Posted in ENJOYING BOTH on Feb 5th, 2012
I came across this video the other day on Youtube. The clip is from a quail preserve in Tennessee. From what I can see, the place puts hunters into lots of birds. It also has some dogs that really know how to find those birds and retrieve them. But here’s what bothers me: The dogs are [...]
Posted in ENJOYING BOTH on Jan 28th, 2012
I saw this on a great blog called Uplandbirdhunter.com. Check it out. I’m sure you could use the same technique to a grouse. OF course, you need to do something with those quail once they’re cleaned. You could even bring the ingredients along with you and do this in the field: Enjoy. www.dogsanddoubles.com
Posted in DOGS on Jan 13th, 2012
The English Pointer lays claim to ancestors throughout Europe. Dogs from Spain are said to be the beginning of the breed, and an earlier version of the modern Portugese Pointer probably added a few bricks to the EP’s foundation. Portugese Pointers can be traced back to the 18th century and today, these hard hunting, short haired [...]
Posted in ENJOYING BOTH on Jan 12th, 2012
I’ve always been told that grouse switch to Aspen buds as cold winter moves in and the ground freezes up. This string over at Upland Journal proves that that’s not the whole story. Some bird’s diets are a bit more diverse. The bird was shot in late December. Check out the content of it’s crop [...]
Posted in DOGS on Jan 9th, 2012
Bruce Minard’s HiFive Kennels has been around since 1996. In that time, it has gained a reputation for quality bird dogs. I’ve seen Bruce’s dogs on the trial circuit and they’re always impressive. This video shows an 11-month old English Pointer named HiFive Unlisted. Watch how nice and easy this dog handles. Also, check out [...]
Posted in ENJOYING BOTH on Jan 3rd, 2012
Happy 2012. Well, another upland season has come to an end for me and Puck – our seventh season together. December was a good to us. We saw quite a few grouse each time we went out. Our last time out hunting was the day after Christmas. The weather was in the mid-30s and there was [...]
Posted in ENJOYING BOTH on Dec 21st, 2011
Here’s an anthill I came across a couple of weeks ago that looks like it’s pretty popular with grouse. I don’t know if they roost on it, dust themselves on it, or do both.
Posted in ENJOYING BOTH on Dec 21st, 2011
I don’t know if I would like European-style driven shooting. Standing in place while someone pushes birds towards me doesn’t sound like too much fun. Rough shooting sounds like it would be much more enjoyable. Check out this quick video taken in Scotland to see what I mean. BTW: check out how they’re using ferrets [...]
Posted in DOGS on Dec 18th, 2011
My dog’s tail says a lot. A couple of weeks ago Puck and I were hunting in Maine and we got into a bunch of grouse. Over almost 2 hours Puck had 6-7 solid points (not including follow ups). I snapped a few pics of her and later as I was thinking back on things I [...]
