H20fwler
5 year old buck +
As I've posted a lot over the last eleven months we have a young GSP that I have been training. We have been raising quail at the house then releasing them at the farm to work her with, over the past four months we have put out close to seventy quail from half grown to adults at the farm for her to hunt up. I am sure that none will survive into winter but I like just knowing that there are some on the farm for now.
She has really taken to her training and her and I have been working her on blinds/hand signals/multiples and water a few times a week with bumpers and dead birds.
I had her out Monday working her on live adult quail, I planted a dozen in singles spaced about thirty to forty yards apart for her hunt up in the pasture. She is very "leggy" when she is first released but handles very well listening to commands, I can "sit" her at 200 yards.
When I first got her out of the box I intentionally took her out across a combined bean field along the pasture that is planted to plow down to stretch her legs and run a little steam off. She had just started a big loop when she locked up on point a hundred yards from me frozen like a statue.
She held the bird steady until I got there and kicked it up, it was one from another training session ...I've got to say I was very happy with her!
She didn't go ten yards and pointed another one.
After that I swung her over to the pasture and started her hunting for the planted birds. I stayed pretty close to her talking encouragement and could tell be the speed of her tail stump beating and the sound of her huffing in scent head down when she was birdy. Out of twelve she hard pointed nine and had three flush ahead that didn't want to stay still.
I like when they seem to surprise her and she is almost twisted up locked up on them. I flushed up everyone she pointed and afterwards let her run a little around the ponds to air out keeping her away from where the birds flushed so they could calm down.
We went back out yesterday to check on the chestnut trees to see if the burs were starting to open yet (they are not) and about as soon as I got out of the truck I could hear quail in the thistle patch talking...and so could Darcy! I kept her back and watched around a dozen mixed adults and 3/4 grown scurry off into the orchard. As we were going to the chestnuts across the pasture she pointed two singles and one covey of five that all flushed and flew nice and I saw one adult hen running in a tractor track thirty yards ahead of us before it scurried into the foxtail. Some of the quail are surviving for now and it is sure fun to see and hear them. Did see one pile of feathers where a hawk had gotten one recently.
Sunday afternoon we are taking Darcy to a local hunting preserve for her first pheasant hunt ever and actually shooting birds over her...I am very optimistic about it and can't wait to see how she does.
She has really taken to her training and her and I have been working her on blinds/hand signals/multiples and water a few times a week with bumpers and dead birds.
I had her out Monday working her on live adult quail, I planted a dozen in singles spaced about thirty to forty yards apart for her hunt up in the pasture. She is very "leggy" when she is first released but handles very well listening to commands, I can "sit" her at 200 yards.
When I first got her out of the box I intentionally took her out across a combined bean field along the pasture that is planted to plow down to stretch her legs and run a little steam off. She had just started a big loop when she locked up on point a hundred yards from me frozen like a statue.
She held the bird steady until I got there and kicked it up, it was one from another training session ...I've got to say I was very happy with her!
She didn't go ten yards and pointed another one.
After that I swung her over to the pasture and started her hunting for the planted birds. I stayed pretty close to her talking encouragement and could tell be the speed of her tail stump beating and the sound of her huffing in scent head down when she was birdy. Out of twelve she hard pointed nine and had three flush ahead that didn't want to stay still.
I like when they seem to surprise her and she is almost twisted up locked up on them. I flushed up everyone she pointed and afterwards let her run a little around the ponds to air out keeping her away from where the birds flushed so they could calm down.
We went back out yesterday to check on the chestnut trees to see if the burs were starting to open yet (they are not) and about as soon as I got out of the truck I could hear quail in the thistle patch talking...and so could Darcy! I kept her back and watched around a dozen mixed adults and 3/4 grown scurry off into the orchard. As we were going to the chestnuts across the pasture she pointed two singles and one covey of five that all flushed and flew nice and I saw one adult hen running in a tractor track thirty yards ahead of us before it scurried into the foxtail. Some of the quail are surviving for now and it is sure fun to see and hear them. Did see one pile of feathers where a hawk had gotten one recently.
Sunday afternoon we are taking Darcy to a local hunting preserve for her first pheasant hunt ever and actually shooting birds over her...I am very optimistic about it and can't wait to see how she does.
