Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

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Stoneface
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Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by Stoneface » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:07 pm

Ran Moxy in the first trial of the season today. We got about a third of the way through the course when we saw them both stop, Moxy in back, waaaaay up front. Bracemate called point then, almost immediately, Moxy broke and started moving and the dog on point started moving. I say he was on point, but we didn't see any birds flush so we don't know, though both the other handler and I both think they had birds. Well, down the ways a bit the other dog went on point and he had ran good and had a strong chance of winning. We were a ways off, but Moxy didn't show any inclination to point so I just picked her up to keep her from pressuring the other dog to brake. Well, that plus the fact that I didn't want to let give Moxy the chance to not back. I figure it's time to concentrate on it. We're fixin' to learn Moxy some backin'!

Anyhow, got home today and spent about 45 minutes in the shop building the ugliest backing silhouette you've ever seen. Haha. All-in-all I spent less than $20 on it.

Image

Does anyone else here make any of there equipment? I make my own collars, leads, check cords, dog boxes, I use stirofoam (spelling?) cups to plant birds, make my own bird cages, stake-outs, etc. Anyone else in this boat? Anyone got any photos?
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ezzy333
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by ezzy333 » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:21 pm

I have a question and wondered if you stopped to think about it, are you sure Moxi could see the other dog when she didn't back? We forget that they are so much lower they often can't see the other dog when we can. I also wonder about the first back, because I notice with my dogs, the backing dog will break as soon as the pointing dog moves a foot or turns it's head. Any movement at all will break their back.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by DonF » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:30 pm

I'm with ezzy on that. You said they were a long way off.

As fo do it yourselfer's, I make most of the stuff I can. I make box's the transport and turn loose birds, kick traps, planting bucket for birds, recall pen's , backing silouette ect. I've never operated on a big budget so I had to learn to make do. Also do my own check cords and leash's. From the ready made cc's I've seen, you could never sell me one. My leash's are made from the same stuff as cc's and I prefer them to leather leads. Made my own tie out stakes and chain gangs.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by ST8 UPPOINTERS » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:34 pm

Easy stepping stoneface, 1 wrong post and ezzy will reword it, be condecending and pompous, then lock the thread before you have a chance to defend urself.. he thinks he's god around here

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Stoneface
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by Stoneface » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:44 pm

ST8 UPPOINTERS wrote:Easy stepping stoneface, 1 wrong post and ezzy will reword it, be condecending and pompous, then lock the thread before you have a chance to defend urself.. he thinks he's god around here
First off... holy crap! Haha.

Second off, I got into this brace with good fortune since it was so close to home, plus it was a Amateur Shooting Dog stake that I was using more like a practice run with Moxy to see where she stood than it was an actual effort to win. I guess you could say I was really running Moxy against herself to gauge her. Just didn't mean enough to me to chance it. We were a ways off, but from them the first time, but the other dog looked like a rock - I think Moxy broke first. Then, when we were away from them, we were on a very slight downhill grade that had about 3" grass, Moxy was barreling down on the pointing dog like Smilin' Jack on a dismayed tailback and even if we were way off, I just really didn't want to chance it. I'll take her back and put her in a controlled environment to take the risk out of the situation. Shame, too, if she showed today I was going to run her in her first broke dog stake next weekend. Better to take things slow with dogs, though. If you rush with birddogs, it's not a matter of IF you'll jack things up, it's just a matter of time before you do. We've got all season. No biggie.
Last edited by Stoneface on Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by gittrdonebritts » Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:59 pm

Backing Dog and Nesting Boxes
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by jimbo&rooster » Sun Sep 30, 2012 7:43 pm

ST8 UPPOINTERS wrote:Easy stepping stoneface, 1 wrong post and ezzy will reword it, be condecending and pompous, then lock the thread before you have a chance to defend urself.. he thinks he's god around here

Some of ya'll remind me of the middle schoolers I teach..... You dont have a dog in the fight and no one has said anything to get riled about. Why the heck would you say something dumb?

Stoneface, I try to make, anything I can, pigeon coop, stake outs, chaingang, Check cords, just to name a few of the top of my head. I have made my own dog boxes in the past, but I have foun the last few I have made didn't last as long as the ones I had bought and sold.

A backing dog, a couple johnny houses, and nest boxes are on my short list of things to come.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by Cajun Casey » Sun Sep 30, 2012 7:53 pm

Sometimes, I make my own dogs.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by gittrdonebritts » Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:01 pm

Stoneface wrote:Anyhow, got home today and spent about 45 minutes in the shop building the ugliest backing silhouette you've ever seen. Haha. All-in-all I spent less than $20 on it.

Mine wins on the Ugliest backing silhouette lol
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by Sharon » Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:58 pm

ST8 UPPOINTERS wrote:To be fair sir u have no idea of what u speak as far as I go... Not ur fault, as all my post get twisted or reworded by the "moderator"..

Then take it up with the moderator, instead of trying to rally the troops. Verbal abuse is not acceptable here no matter who it is directed to.

Stoneface; Glad to hear you've been bitten by the trial bug. I've learned that just when you think you have all your ducks lined up, something new will happen. LOL Any dog called a Champion in trials has proven himself worthy through many convoluted trial scenarios. :)

Best way to teach backing is to work with a partner. He has his dog on point just over the crest of a hill. You bring your dog up the hill with a cc.

Also practise having the birds flush ( launcher ) long before you get to your dog on point. He has to hold his point until released even though he know the birds are over behind him some where and you aren't there yet.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by Stoneface » Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:23 pm

gittrdonebritts wrote:
Stoneface wrote:Anyhow, got home today and spent about 45 minutes in the shop building the ugliest backing silhouette you've ever seen. Haha. All-in-all I spent less than $20 on it.

Mine wins on the Ugliest backing silhouette lol
G, your's isn't all that ug... yeah, haha, yeah it is. You win, I concede! :)

Does anyone know where a guy could get a remote controlled hydraulic or piston? I've looked everywhere, but have no idea. I'd like to make a remote-controlled silhouette.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by gittrdonebritts » Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:26 pm

Stoneface wrote:
gittrdonebritts wrote:
Stoneface wrote:Anyhow, got home today and spent about 45 minutes in the shop building the ugliest backing silhouette you've ever seen. Haha. All-in-all I spent less than $20 on it.

Mine wins on the Ugliest backing silhouette lol
G, your's isn't all that ug... yeah, haha, yeah it is. You win, I concede! :)

Does anyone know where a guy could get a remote controlled hydraulic or piston? I've looked everywhere, but have no idea. I'd like to make a remote-controlled silhouette.
been looking for the same thing if you find one let me know.

Thanks,
Joe

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by wems2371 » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:19 am

Hitch hauler for my Jeep, made out of scraps from other projects...except for the hardware.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by ACooper » Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:00 am

wems2371 wrote:Hitch hauler for my Jeep, made out of scraps from other projects...except for the hardware.
That's a nice rig.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by DonF » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:29 am

I like that wems!

As for backing dummy's, My early dogs were all taught to back on another dog and all the other dog's at that time were mostly white. then one day out hunting, we came up on a good size rock painted white! Yep, everyone of them backed it! I went in to get them off by simply relocating them and they'd go a few steps and back again till they got right up to the rock. RThen they sniffed it and left.
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by birddogger » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:40 am


Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

New postby jimbo&rooster » Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:43 pm

ST8 UPPOINTERS wrote:Easy stepping stoneface, 1 wrong post and ezzy will reword it, be condecending and pompous, then lock the thread before you have a chance to defend urself.. he thinks he's god around here




Some of ya'll remind me of the middle schoolers I teach..... You dont have a dog in the fight and no one has said anything to get riled about. Why the heck would you say something dumb?
+1!!! :roll: :roll:

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by birddogger » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:43 am

wems2371 wrote:Hitch hauler for my Jeep, made out of scraps from other projects...except for the hardware.
Very nice!!

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by seacowboy » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:00 pm

Maybe look into automatic door openers? No clue what they would cost but probably a little pricey. Or maybe a similar set up to a bird launcher using a the servo to pull a securing pin out and the silhouette pops up via a couple large torsion springs.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by ezzy333 » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:11 pm

seacowboy wrote:Maybe look into automatic door openers? No clue what they would cost but probably a little pricey. Or maybe a similar set up to a bird launcher using a the servo to pull a securing pin out and the silhouette pops up via a couple large torsion springs.
Why couldn't you make it springloaded and have a remote latch just like the launchers use? Thats the way I would do it and I am sure it would work.

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It's not how many breaths you have taken but how many times it has been taken away!

Has anyone noticed common sense isn't very common anymore.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by seacowboy » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:18 pm

A torsion spring would make it spring loaded......

Thanks for rewording what I wrote. The first part about the auto door opener was just another idea or suggestion since he did mention possibly using a piston or hydraulic mechanism which is how an automatic door opener operates.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by ezzy333 » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:34 pm

seacowboy wrote:Maybe look into automatic door openers? No clue what they would cost but probably a little pricey. Or maybe a similar set up to a bird launcher using a the servo to pull a securing pin out and the silhouette pops up via a couple large torsion springs.
I didn't see this when I wrote my post but this makes sense to me. Easier to find and a heck of a lot cheaper I would think.

Ezzy
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=144
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=207

It's not how many breaths you have taken but how many times it has been taken away!

Has anyone noticed common sense isn't very common anymore.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by slistoe » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:50 pm

I made mine 2 sided - white with patching on one side and solid brown on the other. 2 part tail for the long and the short of it. It is relatively easy to set up the "pointer" in a location where the dog can be brought in and suddenly catch sight of the "pointer". A remote pup up I found was not really necessary, but I did want the "pointer" to disappear so I hinged his feet and propped him up with a stick with a rope to where we would be coming around and making contact. I could work with the backing dog and then have the pointing dog go away without having to relinquish a position of control on a young dog just learning.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by Sharon » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:21 pm

gittrdonebritts wrote:
Stoneface wrote:Anyhow, got home today and spent about 45 minutes in the shop building the ugliest backing silhouette you've ever seen. Haha. All-in-all I spent less than $20 on it.

Mine wins on the Ugliest backing silhouette lol
That's a pretty sad tail. :) Mine has streamers on the tail that blow in the wind. A two part tail is a great idea Slistoe
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by skyehunter » Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:19 pm

I made a few launchers, then borrowed the kids RC stuff to make them wireless. Later I made a nice control box by taking the guts out of the transmitters and put them into a project box and ...bout $40 into these two total :) they work great... :mrgreen:
launcher resize 001.jpg
launcher resize 002.jpg
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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by aulrich » Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:58 pm

I have the bug as well, at this point all I have are parts on the way. There was an addendum to the make your own remote launcher where you used cheap remotes and receivers I found these (http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Channel-Wirel ... 4abc8b53c9) I only have two launchers but I though since I have 4 channels I could slave the same arrangement for a backer board, I was figuring on those same door lock actuators pulling a pin and have a weight pivot it up. I was going to us cloroplast for the dog cutout.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by slistoe » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:22 pm

aulrich - check out Princess Auto for the door lock actuators - they sometimes have them for a few dollars in the surplus bins.

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by aulrich » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:53 pm

Thanks I forgot about them, I need a couple more for sure

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by aulrich » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:59 pm

They got them should have guessed though depending on brokerage i'll I should break even.

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product ... -Door-Lock

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Re: Any Birddog DIY-ers Out There?

Post by skyehunter » Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:42 am

Those door actuators are what I ended up using on both my launchers. On my larger launcher I made a pivot arm that releases the system, on the smaller one I simply pull a cord over the throw arms and use the actuator to pull the trigger on a bow release I had laying around. The second ended up being a very simple and reliable setup so far. I built the second launcher and installed the electronics in one day of goofing off in the shop. :D

I must say I do like the look of the above wireless link.. good luck with your build.

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