Bird Hunting

[Sparkey]

I am going to give pheasant hunting a try this year. This will be my first time out and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in going with me ? I am a avid trap shooter and have taken my hunters ed class a few years back. I am looking for someone to give me some pointers and some instruction on field dressing and so on. I live in warren ma there are a few wma's right in this area that they stock. I have been scouting out one in belechertown. So if anyone has any intrest or any input for me I would greatly appreciate it Thanks.

 

[Catoperat]

Hunt on a weekday, especially on the larger, (3x / week) stocked WMA's. There are droves of people out on the weekends. Try an open town cover or a smaller WMA, which are each stocked 1x / week. Look here for a list:http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/hunting/pheasant/pheasant_stocking_areas.htm

You said you live in Warren...Instead of Herm Covey WMA (which I assume you mean in Belchertown) try Quaboag WMA or even better Richardson WMA. I can only speak for the Central District though, which is Worcester County.

Give me a chime when the seasons gets closer, I can give you better details.

~Mike

P.S. I am the guy that stocks the birds for the State in several of the areas I mentioned above

 

[Sparkey]

Thanks for the good info the Richardson wma is actually closer to home going to try to get over there this weekend to do some hiking around
Thanks

 

[Jay6]

Do you have a dog to hunt over? Not sure how else you would do it with any sucess other wise.

As far as field dressing, we only use the breast meat so it is very easy. Better done when the bird is still warm, peel open the skin starting at the breast bone(kind of like a ridge going down the center of the birds breast) with your fingers. Peel it all the way back until the whole breast is exposed. The breast bone with seperate the meat into two equal portions. Just take a knife and cut around each side of the breast bone until you have removed each large section of meat. Bam, your done. Toss the rest in the trash and start the oven!

Good luck, it is a lot of fun!

Oh and one other tip, if you are using a 12 ga. try and use #8's to keep from blowing them apart. Up here 20 ga. is more than enough as they tend to fly up before they fly out and you will normally be close hunting over a dog.

 

[Sparkey]

I do have a dog but she is not trained but I have been thinking of training her maybe not for this year but next. She is a lab mix and is only a year so I think she would still be trainable. I am hoping I can kick up a few just by getting out there and walk the fields. I know the sucuess rate is a lot better with a dog but a day in the field still beats a day at work. Thanks for the advice .

 

[dixidawg]

If the dog is obedient enough that you can keep her with you and in range with the distractions of other dogs and hunters, by all means take her. Much of what dogs need to know to upland hunt is already in their genes and comes out with exposure to birds. No birds, no bird dog. I'd suggest you get to a preserve and get her exposed to a bunch of birds before the season starts. It will be money well spent. She can see more birds in a day than most dogs will see in a whole season. It really will give her a jump start. You will be amazed at how fast she picks it up. But, obedience has to be solid first.

As Woody Thurman said, going hunting without a dog is like going on a honeymoon without a bride.

Or as my uncle says, going bird hunting without a dog is almost always nothing more than an armed hike.

 

[pupchow]

I do have a dog but she is not trained but I have been thinking of training her maybe not for this year but next. She is a lab mix and is only a year so I think she would still be trainable. I am hoping I can kick up a few just by getting out there and walk the fields. I know the sucuess rate is a lot better with a dog but a day in the field still beats a day at work. Thanks for the advice .

If you haven't yet, just getting the dog out into the woods/field will likely enable the dog's instinctive hunting behavior to rapidly evolve. What I enjoy most about going afield is watching the dog in action. And the more time out in the field, the more you'll both learn what to expect from each other.

Last season was my first time out shooting over a dog. I'd read up on the subject, and while we weren't out there gunning for an NAVHDA award, we did manage to get the job done with the use of a few basic commands. The dog's range and tendency to quarter were mostly instinctive, so she just needed a bit of guidance. Oh, she's not steady to shot yet, and she won't break any records for blind retrieves, but that's not what I was after. I wanted a friendly hunting companion, and that I have.

Getting started, the one area I thought might be a real challenge was getting the dog acclimated to gunfire. That was actually the easiest aspect of training. It did take two people to work on that though. The pooch & I took many walks through the woods, so she could get a feel for ranging not so far from me that she'd loose sight. And if a trail diverged, I'd let her run up ahead a bit before I took the opposite direction and then signaled her to change her route. Now she'll quarter in the opposite direction after I give one short toot of the dog whistle, she'll "whoa" if I give one long toot of the whistle if I see her ranging too far out, and she'll "come" after hearing two short toots.

With those basic commands, and after us both learning her instinctive hunting traits, we were able to put those tools to use. I can tell by watching her when she's about to flush a bird (she's a cocker, so she prefers to charge right in). As soon as she hears the shotgun's report, she's on that bird in a way that nothing else can get her going. Not even the smell of bacon.

Being a cocker, she wasn't especially fond of water. There was one stream that I'd actually have to carry her through. Granted, it was up to her back. But after a few times out, she managed to charge right through that water while seeking a rooster. A total transformation. She had gone from a little lappy foo-foo dog, to a determined hunter. Now, if she spots me breaking out a long gun, she gets beyond anxious.

From me getting the itch to give it a shot, to a proud pup standing beside her quarry, the entire process was about 8 weeks. Dogs can be a lot of work, but the rewards are very fulfilling.

 

[Sparkey]

Thanks that is some good advice. I am going to get out into the woods with her this weekend. I know the gunfire does not seem to bother her she comes to the range with me but she loves to chase the rabbits in the yard at full bore so I thinking she might try to do the same with the birds which might not work out to well. So I think I will take the advice you guys posted and just get out into the woods with her and see what happens and go from there with training her.

 

[MA_Shooter]

Or as my uncle says, going bird hunting without a dog is almost always nothing more than an armed hike.

Assuming the dog is well trained. We hunt grouse in upper MI and the GD dogs are always running ahead and flushing the birds beyond our view and range. We have put up quite a few birds while walking through the woods, sometimes they flush right next to you (or a buddy) and then the adrenilin really kicks in.

-MS

 

[cricco]

I would suggest that you not take an untrained half breed dog to a WMA during pheasant season. Many of the guys that hunt birds have invested a ton of time and money into their dogs, and nothing pisses them off more than someone elses dog wanting to play "chase the other dogs" while they are "working". If the dog will come, sit, stay, and generally behave, then by all means have a great time. Just be mindful of the serious hunters out there. I would suggest buying a book or two on retriever training, or even consulting with a trainer. Otherwise, it's futile to try to teach a dog to hunt one day a year. Good luck.

 

[pupchow]

Thanks that is some good advice. I am going to get out into the woods with her this weekend. I know the gunfire does not seem to bother her she comes to the range with me but she loves to chase the rabbits in the yard at full bore so I thinking she might try to do the same with the birds which might not work out to well. So I think I will take the advice you guys posted and just get out into the woods with her and see what happens and go from there with training her.

Here're a couple books that I referred to:

http://www.amazon.com/Hup-Training-Flushing-Spaniels-American/dp/0876056206
http://www.amazon.com/Urban-Gun-Dog...1594110506/ref=pd_sim_b_3/184-8792211-5031967

I took that info and compiled my own method from what I'd gathered from the books and learned from the dog's behavior. There're a LOT of opinions out there of what works, that's for certain.

As was mentioned, you really want the dog to be acclimated to working amongst other dogs out in the field. The more time you spend with your dog, the more it will look to YOU while you're out there. As far as "half breeds" go, all dogs are descendents of wolves. The dog is one of the most varied among animals on the planet which share such a significant amount of DNA. Chances are good, the dog will hunt.