Just in time for Pheasant Fest! About a dozen new items you just gotta have … or do you?
Make your own suggestions in the comment section below and I’ll get them into the next version.
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Scott:
Capt Bogardus book called “Field, Cover and Trap Shooting” is available as Kindle download from Amazon for less than $4. It is a great book with many insights on upland hunting and a snapshot into the way it was.
Lee Searle from Pheasant Fest
Thanks Lee. Just wrote a TV script and alluded to others from his era.
Oh i see. I admit pheasants are hard to hunt cause they are pretty fast birds. What is the limit of birds where you live? I’ve hunted a lot around Ohio and Kansas, and boy oh boy pheasants are everywhere in Kansas. I’ve bagged a few quails here and there, but that was only luck. Also i have a 5 year old golden retriever named Mya. Is there a way to make her not gun shy anymore. She doesn’t get scared with an airgun or .22 but a shotgun freaks her out.
Joey
We can shoot two pheasants a day, if we can find them, up to ten quail if we’re lucky. You should ask a pro trainer about your Golden’s gunshyness – usually it takes a lot of work and you want to be careful. Good luck!
Oh ok I see. I mean i take her out when i air gun hunt grows and i have a break barrel and she is not afraid of that because when ever i grab out my air gun, she gets excited. Hope to meet you one day.
Joey
Thanks for the tips and Mya isnt gun shy anymore, so i really appreciate all your tips. Hope to see you one day
Great news and have a good season.
joey i asked scott the same question and he told me what he told you so i contacted chris at cove mt kennels he explained gettin a dog through being gun shy is alot of work and you have too really take your time but it’s the exact same as starting a new puppy you have to get birds and put them or just one out let your dog find and flush and let her chase it and continue that for a while until her bird drive is good and strong then keep doing the bird thing let her find and flush while she’s chasing slap your hands as hard as you can work with that even if it dosen’t bother her work on that for a while then move up to your .22 and work with that for some time again even if it dosen’t bother her it will get her used to birds and guns, guns and and birds after that get some .22 blanks that are louder than your .22 bullets work with that for some time then move up to louder ones if you can if not a 20 ga. shot gun with the lowest powder you can get spend time with that until it dosent bother her and keep slowly working up to more powdered shells the more powder the bigger the bang ive been working my gun shy english setter for almost two weeks just chasing birds and today started slapping my hands and it didn’t seam to bother her much so ill keep doing that until it dosen’t bother her at all i ordered a blank gun with two different blanks quite ones which is what ill move too after she is okay with me slapping my hands then ill move to the louder ones i ordered them from gundogsupply not a bad price either once she is okay with both sets of blanks ill move to a 20 ga. with blanks then move to 8 shot or maybe higher if i can find and ill slowly work my way down in number the more you go down the more powder in the shell so the sound gets louder then repeat the process with the 12ga. start with a high number and work down. hope that helps check out gundogsupply there is a post on there about gun shy dogs it’ll pry explain better than me or atleast make more sense.!
Thanks Trevor,
That helps a lot. Thanks for all the tips, and she can already flush. She is great at that.
Hi Scott.
I have a few questions about bird hunting. When your hunting pheasants or grouse, or many other upland birds, do you always have to lead them with your shotgun? When i do i never hit one. I ive in the state who is the Pheasant Capital of the World. You probably know it, but it’s south dakota, and i love pheasant hunting. I always bag a few birds every year, and here is another question; What do you think about the population of pheasants in Gregory? Have you ever hunted in Gregory? How many upland species have you hunted in SD?
Your fan,
Joszef M. Burnette
(rookie bird hunter)
Some answers, Joey …
“Lead” is a mysterious term that means different things to different people. A good instructor will help – that’s how I learned lead. It’s got to become an organic, natural part of your shotgun swing to be of use. And for many shots, you don’t need to think about lead: straight going away shots, for example, or many close-in shots. Practice – the right kind – helps you dial in a natural feel for lead.
Don’t know the Gregory area, so can’t help you there. If you haven’t visited the South Dakota game & fish dept. website, you should. They have pretty good information.
I’ve hunted South Dakota sharptails, prairie chickens and pheasants and can’t wait to get back this fall!
I’ve hunted prarie chickens too and what area do you usually hunt at in SD. Thanks for the tips, but who knows all it takes is practice to do very good at shooting. Im only 15 and still have a lot of years to go. Also do you Turkey Hunt at all, cause if you haven’t you should, because it is tons of fun i shot a tom two nights ago and it weighed 29.9 pounds, a 10 inch beard and 3/4 in. spurs. i visit the Game and fish dep. all the time. Also which bird do you think is a little easier to hunt Quail, Sharpies, pheasants or praire chickens. And who knows maybe one day i can be a great shot like you
Joey
Joey, congratulations. I hunt a lot around Pierre. Great turkey hunt! I don’t hunt them because we don’t have many, and I simply can’t sit still – or get up that early!
All birds are tough to hunt some times, and some are easier some times. You’re nice to call me a great shot, but I am just the opposite – I do get lucky once in a while, though.
Also i meant to leed them with ur gun my mistake sorry for the inconvienance
Hi Scott. I am just getting into bird hunting and have watched your show for the past month. You do a very good job showing the hunt while giving out tips and suggestions along the way. Some friends of mine who hunt say they never use hearing protection while hunting because it hampers communication and cuts down on their ability to hear the birds. They say they do not shoot that often during the hunt to matter. But I have noticed some of the guys suffer from partial hearing loss and since they all use hearing protection at the range, I assume the hearing loss could be due to hunting without protection. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks and keep up the good work. Dale
Thanks Dale. yes, hearing loss is cumulative and you can’t reverse it. So it is smart to protect it, even in the field. I use electronic plugs that let most sounds pass, but restrict gunshots. They can be spendy, but worth it. Even the cheap foam plugs are better than nothing, and while they do obscure a lot of ambient sound, you get used to it.
Hi Scott. Have been watching your show and picking up some tips! Went to Oregon to the Highland Hills Ranch last week and had a wonderful time. A group of seven women, members of the G.R.I.T.S ( girls really in to shooting). I was able to put some of your tips to good use. Was able to make the grad slam (Pheasant, Hungarian Partridge, Chukar and Valley Quail) Will continue to watch the show and read your posts…thanks for your help! Debbie
Glad to be of assistance!
Tell me how you liked that place, Debbie. I think I’ll be getting some photos from your visit if I get lucky. What a great group name.
Thanks for your reply Scott! Thoroughly enjoyed the ranch. The guides and their dogs were excellent! Denise and Mindi ,the owners were gracious host. The food and lodging was top notch. We (the grits) are planning another trip there for next year this time.
The G.R.I.T.S shot once a month at different places. Have introduced a lot of women to wing shooting. We love watching the dogs, being outside, friendship and of course shooting! We are on Facebook, if you have time look us up. Several pictures from our Oregon trip are there.
Thank you for everything you do for the sport! I keep you Tivo’d so I don’t miss a show. Thanks again….Debbie!
Glad you had so much fun … keep up the good work.
Scott,
Just returned from a road trip to Iowa and South Dakota. Iowa is as forecast, low on birds. We had a great time (my pal Mike and I) and the dogs did a great job. We managed a few Roosters and my Short-hair Annie managed to point and hold a big Eastern Turkey.
South Dakota, WOW! No problem getting a limit and it was great watching my young setter mature.
Last I wrote I promised a comment on combining an E-collar and Garmin GPS collar. The two together make a bulky looking set-up but neither of my dogs had any trouble with it. The Garmin came in handy in Iowa but wasn’t necessary in South Dakota. I would say it was a good combo and will continue to let the dogs run with it.
Also as a by-product of my Iowa trip I discovered a couple items for your Upland Checklist. 1) Instructions for your electronic gadgets. It took me longer than it should have to make a couple changes on the Garmin. 2) Your favorite formula for de-skunking your dogs. Annie not only found my turkey, she found a skunk close up.
Thanks, shoot straight.
Glad you had a good trip. Same I’veheard on Iowa. Wish there was a video of the turkey point. I’m told you can put the Garmin unit on an e-collar … did you?
And yes, instructions will go on the checklist – just found mine today for the truck GPS … not where I thought they were! De-skunk should be on there somewhere already; probably should put it on twice.
Scott,
Of course right after I posted my comment I looked over the check list and sure enough de-skunk is on the list. If I had followed the list closer I would not have ended up putting that stinky dog in the truck.
I too wish I had video of of Annie pointing that turkey, it was awesome.
I did put the e-collar on with the Garmin, works fine. The next step would be to combine the e-collar transmitter and the GPS unit into one hand held.
Thanks, good hunting.
Steve
Live and learn. I’m lobbying for a single transmitter from someone, too.
Wo did he make the turkey flush?
Good Morning! Found an article about you in the Tillamook PUD Ruralite magazine. I hunt pheasant in Eastern Oregon with my English Setter, Little Anne. I would like to know where to find the TV show “Wingshooting USA” (what channel?). I have cable TV and live in Newberg, OR. Thanks for your reply! Lisa
p.s. Thanks for the Upland checklist. Annie had puppies last year and now has seisures when we are hunting even though I give her Nutracal and force the water. Any suggestions?
Thanks Lisa. Right now, you can watch the show on VERSUS Fridays at 6:30 a.m. on Fridays or here on the website any time. Have you asked your vet to do a blood workup on Annie? While seizures may be due to hypoglycemia, there are a ton of other causes and it’s better to get it right than to guess. Good luck.