Gun Dog Forum

Montana game biologists are forecasting Northern (above the Highline) and Eastern Montana ( Plentywood area) Pheasant numbers to be below average by as much as 50% this year, due to large winter snow pack, cold spring, and spring flooding. South Central Montana (Great Falls, Lewistown) numbers will ...

I have to second Gonehuntin and Sharon on this one. I'm 72 and have been hunting behind a Setter and A Chessie for the last 5 years and, verified by GPS, I've found that while hunting wild upland birds I walk about 35% less behind the pointing dog than the flusher and encounter closer flushes and sh...

Never had a problem with pigeons and dogs in the same yard, after first week they ignore one another. Tried Recall Quail ( Have 100 acre field just outside back yard). Little idiots would land in the yard instead of the coop and dogs would catch every one. I always use pigeons until I start steady d...

Chewy.com $37 for 35 pounds Pro Plan free shipping if you auto order..................

Browning BT-99 O/U 12 Gauge for Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays. Ancient LC Smith 16 Gauge Field SXS for upland birds, CZ Bob White 12 Gauge SXS for Waterfowl.
CZ 28 Gauge SXS for Quail and Trials.

Could probably do evrything with the sweet 16 but a guy's got to have a backup or two..................

I've been using these for the last 3 years work great, but will only hold 8 pigeons, 4 if you are going to keep them for a few days, but they are cheap ($34) and stackable so I have three, makes them easy to carry, and clean.......[url]http://www.3tproducts.com/shop/pc/default.asp [/url. LCS Supply ...

TT15 Vs TT Mini: Ran my neighbors TT Mini against my TT15 for range and found much to my dismay that, as Dakotazeb has said, the Mini has almost the same range as the TT15 in Open Cover. The TT15 does slightly better in the woods. Birds: Access to hard flying birds for dog training is the biggest pr...

If you intend to train the dog yourself then Training with Mo, Steve Smith Pointing Dog Series, George Hickox Pointing Dog Series, Jon Hanns Perfection Series and many more excellent training programs in books, tapes and CDs are available and all cover use and abuse of the e-Collar as a training too...

Friend and hunting partner bought a Boykin pup last Summer. He gave him to me to train until he recovers from a broken pelvis. I've had him for six months and can tell you what my experience has been related to the questions you have. Owner Training: No more difficult than any other dogs I've had ( ...

I have both collars. My postal scale says they both weigh 5.15 oz, including some dog hair and a mud smear.............. My little (35 #) Setter wore the DC 40 for many years and never seem to even notice it......... I think the TT collar has better reception under the forest canopy than the DC 40. ...

DogsofMN,

I've left several messages for Rochambeau, but no replies. If he calls I'll PM you with any news....................

My experience with all types of Bobwhites has been highly variable. The birds I've used from reputable breeders that have been flight conditioned have only been good fliers about 60% of the time. Those birds I've bought that were from much cheaper sources turned out to be weak fliers about 70% of th...

I have always used kick cages, check cords and a helper, with feral pigeons. The kick cages are about $25 - $35 at Lion Country. They also have a manual launcher that, with a long enough trip line, can be used without a helper, about $85. I get my Rock Doves (Pigeons) from a pest control company for...

Training my Setters to retrieve has always been a bit of a struggle. Quail scent on canvas bumpers always worked to jack up their enthusiasm, but go light and move to unscented bumpers as soon as they get the game. Other wise they soon won't look for anything that doesn't have scent. Some of my Sett...

The scattered covey birds in single and doubles took 30 to 40 minutes to regroup, so plenty of time for the dogs to find them. My dogs range 100 - 300 yards but will keep moving out until they locate birds. I have to hack em back in periodically. Your Lab will probably put up the covey at 100 yards,...

Hunted SE Whisky(edited for the ultra PC) last week. ( it was real cold, but no snow) Plenty of birds but REAL spooky. Dogs couldn't get within 70 yards of the covey before they flushed. Flushes were unusual too, instead of the usual downhill with the wind covey flush, these guys scattered in all di...

I have successfully used a 20 gauge, 26" barrels, IC & Mod chokes early in the season and when hunting in fresh snow. Mod and full mid to late season (no snow). Always over good pointing dogs. I have no experience hunting Greys with flushing dogs so don't know what gauge and shot would be best for t...

Over the last several years a couple of my dogs have had various allergy and inflammatory symptoms. Eliminating Corn, Soy and Wheat from their diet completely resolved their symptoms. I have consulted 6 different vets about this and all of them agreed that: • Most dogs can eat any grains with no pro...

Billy Rochambeau (sic?). Address and phone number are on my desk at home. I'm in San Diego on Business. Be back on Tuesday. Will PM it to you then.

Re: Poodles Coincidently, encountered a duck hunter on the Skagit River Delta ( Western Washington), today, with a Standard Poodle doing a great job of retrieving cripples from the fast, colds, big Skagit River. After the hunt, tagged up with him at the trucks, turns out he's from South Carolina, an...

Back in the 70s and 80s, me, my son, daughter, a Setter and a Chessie would drift the Grande Ronde, fish the river and hunt the cliffs every year for a week. Always had to do the trip in in early September before school started. No better place to enjoy the dogs, the hunt, the beauty of the wild tha...

My experience has been that all of my Setters, (I think I've had 12 over the last forty years) have got along well with cats that were in the house when the dogs arrived as puppies. Bringing a new cat in after the dog had established his territory never worked, the pup always tried to run off the ca...

Wow, you need one dog to hunt ducks and 'Coons? I've seen some individual retrievers that would hunt fur, but never seen a 'Coon dog that would retrieve ducks in the cold. I don't know of any breeds that have been bred to water retrieve and tree coons. If you are talking about retrieving in cold wea...

Saved up paper route money to buy a Sears JC Higgins Model 20 12 Gauge Pump in 1959. Used it on all hunts until 2012. Got old and tired of carrying the 8.5 pound gun around. Have a two Setters with great noses, so I started using a 5.5 pound CZ Bobwhite 28 Gauge and let the dogs do the work to get m...

All of my dogs have been steady to wing and shot, takes a couple of months to train in their first year and it's not difficult,( the downside is that is does take a lot of birds steady a pointing dog, so can be expensive) but IMO has big upside and almost no downside. I often hunt with several other...

Although I have rarely had the need to reload quickly, I have found that many vest pockets are too small for my hands, with or without gloves to access quickly. The pocket flaps are usually velcro and are hard to open, and if the flap is left tucked in I can be guaranteed to bend over and have all t...

Ford E350 4X4 Van, setup to sleep two hunters, two to four Ruff Tough Kennels stacked facing rear doors. Hitch mounted platform with dog ramp. Small Generator and mini split heat pump on platform to cool dogs when left in van in hot weather. Temperature and humidity alarm system. Very small vented c...