Gun Dog Forum

I cannot decide on which E collar. When in a heavy wooded area is it an advantage to have a collar with longer range? Would you want to use it if you cain't see your dog? Is a 1/2 mile range as good as a 1 mile range in this situation? This is the type area that I hunt. Any one brand over the others?
Thanks for any comments
Billy

Good rule of thumb for e-collars is to absolutely not use it unless you can see your dog. The e-collar is a reinforcement tool and if you can't see your dog then you don't know if it is complying with a given command or not.

Worse yet, what if your dog was on point but you zapped him because you couldn't see him?

As for range, generally 1/2 mile is sufficient unless the cover dictates otherwise. In thick woods the "effective" range decreases because of the interference. Going with a 1 mile range collar wouldn't hurt any. Brands: SportDog, Dogtra, or TriTronics. I can vouch for the SportDog and Dogtra brands from personal use, and I've never heard a bad thing about TriTronics. Other brands... caveat emptor.

i opt for as much range as i can get. the extra half mile is cheap compared to the first half mile. woods, hills, weak batteries all cut down on your range. the only time i would push the button when i could not see the dog would be if i knew he was runniing a deer.

i am the same as birdshot. the rated range of the collar you buy, turns out to be shorter in the real world, with obstacles, hills, trees, cover. also, some dogs learn they can get over a hill, then are "free" and can run away. i get as much as i can.

I agree buy as much as you can afford when it comes to range. However you also have to look at where you hunt. Here in the panhandle of Texas we hunt a lot of flat county with out a lot of tree or elevation changes.

So not much to get in the way, I went with the TT 65bprs that has a 1/2 mile range. So even if my collar will only get 70% of the adverstised range (caused by terrain, battery condition or TT just overstating the range) I still have coverage over 600 yards. Which should be plenty for me.

While I do not beleive in using the shock feature on an animal you can't see. I think the tone & page feature are great for that, if the dog is in range.

portsider44 wrote:I agree buy as much as you can afford when it comes to range. However you also have to look at where you hunt. Here in the panhandle of Texas we hunt a lot of flat county with out a lot of tree or elevation changes.

So not much to get in the way, I went with the TT 65bprs that has a 1/2 mile range. So even if my collar will only get 70% of the adverstised range (caused by terrain, battery condition or TT just overstating the range) I still have coverage over 600 yards. Which should be plenty for me.

I hunt in Illinois, very flat country, so, ditto from me on this. That's why I prefaced my comment that "generally 1/2 mile is sufficient unless the cover dictates otherwise." It's easy to say "buy as much range as possible" because it's never a bad idea to go with as much range as possible being that there's no harm in it. But if you're asking about what the minimum range you should get is then I stand by what I said. 1/2 mile is sufficient unless the cover dictates otherwise.

Thanks for the replies. I guess i'm kinda slow but what i don't understand is if you have interference such as trees is the longer range gonna penetrate farther? From what i have read here for the money the Sport Dog is the way to go. I am looking at two units. The SD1800 3/4 mile range and for $10 more the SD2400 1 1/2 mile range which seems alot better but boy it sure looks alot bigger and heavier. What do you think? I do plan on hunting in Arizona this fall.
Thanks Billy

Given that choice go for the extra range. I doubt that the bigger equipment will make that much difference and $10 is pretty cheap.

Ezzy

yes, the longer range will penetrate interference further.

I agree with Ezzy, for $10 get the better unit. I've seen some e-collar transmitters get so small that they're hard to find with one hand, so I really don't mind a larger size or a few more ounces. And yes, like John said, interference decreases range - a collar with a longer displayed range (number it says on the box) will have a longer effective range (actual distance you can use it at) in heavy cover.

For 10$ more you double the range, almost double the levels, plus
get sep Med/Low button, plus the the transmitter is rechargeable.

However it's only a 1 dog unit & it has a larger transmitter.

Which can be good and bad. For me I really liked the smaller size of the TT sport models transmitters. After using it for almost a month. I wish I would have gone with the classis/pro model with the cylinder shape transmitters.

In my right hand it feels comfortable & I am able to use the thumb dial with ease. However being lefthanded & carrying my gun cradled in my right arm while in the filed. I need to use my left hand for operating my transmitter & it is not as easy or comfortable to do.

I will throw my 2 cents worth in. I currently run the Sportdog 1800. I run two dogs with it and love it. I had a TT pro 200 but did not like the large transmitter (personal preference only). On the Sportdog 1800 I have all the range I need and I hunt in hills and valleys, etc. I think you need to decide how far you want your dog to range. Since I don't like my dogs to run big I find the range suits my needs very well. By not running big I mean I don't let them get out over 200yrds. I have seen alot of folks buy collars for flushers that have a one mile range. Does not make sense to me. Anyway, I guess alot depends on how you intend to "hunt" your dog. Just my opinion.

Location: mena, arkansas

I been there, is Miss Vickies still open down the road? Sure am hungerin for one of them pies. I been down there for changing of the colors at Iron Mountain a couple times and a national thing or two.

Take the a off the end and put it in front, there you have it. No better place to ride thru.

If I get that way again maybe we could meet up and have a piece of pie?

After all the input I have to go with the SD 1800.

Portsider 44 - I had missed the fact the SD 2400 is just a 1 dog unit.

Wes - I also don't like the size ot the larger transmitter and my dogs will not be ranging over 200 yds.

Mark - Miss Vickies is still open down in Hatfield. Next time you come down let me know and with the price of gas I will buy the pie.

Thanks everyone