If the cattails are not to dense and there are paths through (deer, human, water/ice) ... hunting with pointers is really fun. It may take some time getting them to run close, but once everything falls into place. No greater thrill than having a rooster flush 3 steps away from you under point. They have to press pretty hard to get up and over the cattails which makes for in your face flushes. Plenty of people (including me) have missed those - so easy birds.
Your posts refer to you having pointers, the operative word being “pointers”. I need as much ammo as I can to get myself in position to buy another pointer, so they can work in tandem on those hard to pin down roosters out there, and your posts stress the advantage of having more than one. I just need to convince the wife that two dogs are better than one. This is not an easy sell, and must be done carefully. I will report back when I get the all clear sign from Iraqi headquarters to put down a deposit.
Because I like to watch them them work. Fortunately my dogs point and flush. The perfect pheasant dog.
I think that is the U.S. way. If you go England they hunt much different. I think in general that Retriever people put more control in their dogs for obvious reasons. Which makes them more versatile. The pointing breed guys tend to just turned them loose. You have to decide if you want a gentleman's gun dog or dog that hunts for itself. The old timers used to always say "don't make a pet out of em" as well. I think it is more of misconception and an excuse for some who lack control.
So making them a pet gives you less control in the field is what ur saying? Not disagreeing just haven't heard that before. As far as old timers go though, most that I hunt with, if they are hunting pheasants, they want their dog in gun range. If its quail, they want them out more. So what do u do when you have multiple species in an area?? I think a descent trainer should be able to control a dogs range to an extent. I can, but dont very often as I am a "let em go guy". And they hold point. So I'm not real worried about bumping birds. If they bump from a dog running through milo they're gonna bump twice as soon and further away when they hear me coming.
No, that is what you used to hear people say back in the day. They felt that if you made a pet out of them, then they would not range far. I have always loved the heck out of them. I just go pheasant hunting and if we run into quail it is just a bonus. Scott Miller is the best dog trainer in the U.S. and his assessment of my little quartering setter back in the 80's was that she was the best hunting dog in his kennel at the time. Had a lot of 20 covey days with her. And she was pretty solid on pheasants.
Last edited by westksbowhunter; 12-05-2018 at 10:25 PM.