North Dakota Hunt

northwoodshunter · Post by **northwoodshunter** » Sat Oct 15, 2016 10:28 pm

I recently went to North Dakota to hunt for pheasant with 6 other people and 4 other dogs. I took my English Setter I have posted about a few times. And I am proud to say he performed very well! Even though only I have been the only one to train him(I'm 16). He pointed quite a few birds and typically held. He would point in the cat tails till I said get it then he'd flush. And he pointed a bunch of groups of birds. He also handled running roosters in corn, sunflowers, and tree rows pretty good. 70% of the time in the sunflowers and corn he would end up flushing it after he would point then run and point again a bunch of times. But sometimes he could hold it long enough in the corn for me to do it. He did everything good but he wouldn't retrieve. He would sometimes run to the dead bird if he saw it drop but he wouldn't bring it. Not a big deal but I now know what I need to work on more!

fishvik · Post by **fishvik** » Sun Oct 16, 2016 5:21 am

Good job, sounds like you're off to a great start with your dog.

gbanker · Post by **gbanker** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:06 pm

What fun. Looks like you have some years ahead.

Builderman21 · Post by **Builderman21** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:10 pm

Sounds like you had a good trip. At least if he didn't retrieve he went to the bird so you knew where to go, But in the future you should know that hunting standing wheat, corn, oats, sunflowers, canola or just about any standing crop is not legal.

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Builderman21 · Post by **Builderman21** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:17 pm

Nevermind, I had to reread. That is only on PLOTS or without land owner permission on private land.

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gonehuntin' · Post by **gonehuntin'** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 7:25 am

You've done a good job. A lot of the rest the dog can only learn by himself. Nice job!!

Leeza · Post by **Leeza** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 11:28 pm

Great job with your dog.

Don't forget if you're back in ND next year with him, those setters and other pointing types are easy to lose in corn and sunflowers. Heard many a sad story about that situation of a running rooster and a dog that will follow through a whole section of flowers and is never seen again. And take heed of the Builderman's post about hunting in unharvested crops. That's a bad habit to get into anywhere, especially there. If you're there in the mid to latter part of pheasant season, and it's still standing you're pretty safe that it's silage, and "ok" to walk into. Sunflowers are always the last crop to be harvested there so that always a tough one to judge and the plants are literally dead before they're harvested. If you go early for Sharpies/Huns in Sept. stay out of all crops until they're harvested. If it's past the growing season and you're not sure if it's silage or not, ask around until you understand what that is and if that is the intent of the farmer for that corn crop etc. Time of year will tell you a lot but it's always worth asking.

northwoodshunter · Post by **northwoodshunter** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 4:09 pm

Okay, and Thanks! It was tough at times to find him the corn and sunflowers, especially the first time we hit the corn. But the next times I was able to keep an eye on him because there was only a small section that they left uncut for us so i was walking on the outside of the corn watching him. And if anyone has any recommendations for training him to retrieve any of it would be helpful or any program you use effectively would work also. Thanks!

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 4:59 pm

Leeza wrote:Great job with your dog. Don't forget if you're back in ND next year with him, those setters and other pointing types are easy to lose in corn and sunflowers. Heard many a sad story about that situation of a running rooster and a dog that will follow through a whole section of flowers and is never seen again. And take heed of the Builderman's post about hunting in unharvested crops. That's a bad habit to get into anywhere, especially there. If you're there in the mid to latter part of pheasant season, and it's still standing you're pretty safe that it's silage, and "ok" to walk into. Sunflowers are always the last crop to be harvested there so that always a tough one to judge and the plants are literally dead before they're harvested. If you go early for Sharpies/Huns in Sept. stay out of all crops until they're harvested. If it's past the growing season and you're not sure if it's silage or not, ask around until you understand what that is and if that is the intent of the farmer for that corn crop etc. Time of year will tell you a lot but it's always worth asking.

Any corn that is going to be cut for silage is done before it is mature enough to be harvested. I wouldn't hunt a pointer in standing cops that are waist high or higher as you can't see them point and it is hard to get a rooster to sit unless the crop is real weedy. Though it is something to think about I have never lost a dog in any kind of cover. There are tines I don't know where the dog is but it always seems to know where I am. Really really hard to hunt a dog that ranges if you can't trust them to keep track of you.

But your advice is well taken as no one should ever damage a persons income and that standing grain is the farmers income.

Leeza · Post by **Leeza** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 11:43 pm

Yep that's true about silage where there is enough precip every year. ND is right on that raggedy edge in the western half of the state. Sometimes if there's not enough rainfall to produce a good corn crop in a summer, that field will be consigned to silage after it dries up, either cut and fed or cows are just turned out in it to get what they can. Might be a unique farming practice but it does happen there all the time.
Growing up there before the days of GPS collars, the tall crops were really bad news for the dogs. They can't hear recall very often and if they do they can't pinpoint the direction you're in well, scenting conditions are really tough too so they can't backtrack. They literally get lost. Driving section roads looking for dogs that went into flowers or corn was a tough lesson for sure. I still call my dogs back at the edge of those fields.

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