i have a GSP and have only taken him hunting 4 times now (it is his first year hunting) and haven't found any birds yet. i have had him on placed birds at the trainers but only in cages. he only has a limited amount of birds and dosn't want to release them. if you were wundering why they were caged. he has pheasants and quail.
last night i took him out and it was a another disappointing night only got one shot at a woodcock and that was flushed by me wile the dog was working a another area with my bro! i am planing on going to a local game farm and having them put out some birds. there isn't any local bird population only ruffed grouse and woodcock in my area, but they do stock pheasants on most of the public property. my question is should i put pheasant out only or should i put a verity of birds out?(quail,chucker,and pheasant)or dosen't it realy matter as long as it's a game bird?
i was also told that if i do that, i should only get hen's so he doesn't get spired. is this a good idea or doesn't it really mater.
thank,
tradhuntr
no wild birds yet!
Whoa there.... you only have Grouse and Woodcock??? If you'd like to pass on the location of those birds I'd be more than happy to come hunt them for you!!!! 
In all seriousness, if you have Grouse, there is no better bird to educate a bird dog on how to handle WILD birds. You would be surprised at just how well a Grouse can train a dog of good stock; and as for Woodcock, they are in my mind, the Gentlepersons bird. They will "usually" set well for a dog and allow you to staunch up your GSP on his points very nicely.
I'd say save your money on the pen raised birds and try to get your pup into some of those Grouse and Doodles. Now if your numbers of these birds are very limited, then you may be back to the pen raised birds, but none the less...
Give them Grouse a try!!!
In all seriousness, if you have Grouse, there is no better bird to educate a bird dog on how to handle WILD birds. You would be surprised at just how well a Grouse can train a dog of good stock; and as for Woodcock, they are in my mind, the Gentlepersons bird. They will "usually" set well for a dog and allow you to staunch up your GSP on his points very nicely.
I'd say save your money on the pen raised birds and try to get your pup into some of those Grouse and Doodles. Now if your numbers of these birds are very limited, then you may be back to the pen raised birds, but none the less...
Give them Grouse a try!!!
Bruce Shaffer
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten"
Mark Twain
Bruce, Raine, Storm and GSP's
Almost Heaven GSP's
"In Search of the Perfect GSP";)
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten"
Mark Twain
Bruce, Raine, Storm and GSP's
Almost Heaven GSP's
"In Search of the Perfect GSP";)
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rschuster54303`
- Rank: Senior Hunter
- Posts: 171
- Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 1:23 pm
- Location: Green Bay, WI
IMHO there is no harder bird to hunt then Grouse....
Is it safe to say you are in WI, MN or MI? Grouse get even tuffer in lean years. The nice part is if you can find a mix the grouse will flush easy, the doodle will sit ( somtimes) making you dogs point soon and stop pushing, no this of course is all best case.
Just hunt enjoy it, every bird you find in the north woods is like finding gold.
And like AHGSP said if you don't want em pass em on I am in WI and it is lean times.
Rob
Is it safe to say you are in WI, MN or MI? Grouse get even tuffer in lean years. The nice part is if you can find a mix the grouse will flush easy, the doodle will sit ( somtimes) making you dogs point soon and stop pushing, no this of course is all best case.
Just hunt enjoy it, every bird you find in the north woods is like finding gold.
And like AHGSP said if you don't want em pass em on I am in WI and it is lean times.
Rob
If it isn't fun, it isn't worth doing.
Schuster's All Max'd Out
Schuster's Mama's Girl
Schuster's OJ Cuttem Up
Schuster's All Max'd Out
Schuster's Mama's Girl
Schuster's OJ Cuttem Up
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tradhuntr
thanks for the help
i am from PA and our grouse numbers are not huge but they are up this year from the past same with woodcock.
last night we were hunting some brush field and marshes for woodcock and some stocked pheasant and well no luck again. but what really worried me is while we were heading back to the truck i saw 2 hen pheasants along the railroad bed, they saw us and flushed. so we watched where they landed and then let the dog work the area where we last say them land. well still no luck. we figured sense they were stocked birds they would hold better but no luck. he got really birdie but no point or flush.
we are going to set some pigeon traps this weekend and get him working on them.
thanks
tradhuntr
last night we were hunting some brush field and marshes for woodcock and some stocked pheasant and well no luck again. but what really worried me is while we were heading back to the truck i saw 2 hen pheasants along the railroad bed, they saw us and flushed. so we watched where they landed and then let the dog work the area where we last say them land. well still no luck. we figured sense they were stocked birds they would hold better but no luck. he got really birdie but no point or flush.
we are going to set some pigeon traps this weekend and get him working on them.
thanks
tradhuntr
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Wagonmaster
- GDF Junkie
- Posts: 3372
- Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:22 am
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
would not worry about that too much. pheasants are notorious for running. those hens could have been a half mile away by the time you got to where they had landed, or they could have been 50 yards away, buried in cover, in a direction you and the dog did not look.
wonder why the trainer won't fly the quail. if he/she had a callback pen, most of them would return on their own accord. a good trainer has to treat birds as a disposal item. they go through alot of them.
wonder why the trainer won't fly the quail. if he/she had a callback pen, most of them would return on their own accord. a good trainer has to treat birds as a disposal item. they go through alot of them.
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tradhuntr
well i talked to him about leting them lose, he said that he could but i had to pay extra, for him to do that. he said that he had sevral birds die on him and had only a few left.
oh today my bro. took scout (my gsp) hunting and foud 4 phesants and one woodcock he told me he flushed them all didnt point any. at least he found them. he was ranging a little and had 3 flushes that were far out 50+ yards.
oh today my bro. took scout (my gsp) hunting and foud 4 phesants and one woodcock he told me he flushed them all didnt point any. at least he found them. he was ranging a little and had 3 flushes that were far out 50+ yards.
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Wagonmaster
- GDF Junkie
- Posts: 3372
- Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:22 am
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
I am guessing this is a young dog, it has not had much if any training. It is going to take some exposure to birds before it will start pointing, and it will take some training after that, to keep it from just busting birds out after a brief period on point.
the fact that the dog found some this last time out, is a step in the right direction, even if it is not pointing them yet.
the fact that the dog found some this last time out, is a step in the right direction, even if it is not pointing them yet.
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tradhuntr
saterday hunt
yes he is prity young 15 months.
well i took him hunting saterday and well another great day.
i went grouse hunting and well to many deer and turky hunters 
. so went after the pheaseants again. well with in 5 min of hunting he had a bird in the air 
. no point but a flush. 10 min. later he locked up on a nother bird but broke point and flushed it. by the end of the day he had flushed 5 birds and i shot the one that he pointed for my dinner.
i am going to put him on piegons soon, we will be traping some next week. i am going to work on his point later in the year,and just get him use to hunting and finding birds.
well i took him hunting saterday and well another great day.
i went grouse hunting and well to many deer and turky hunters . so went after the pheaseants again. well with in 5 min of hunting he had a bird in the air . no point but a flush. 10 min. later he locked up on a nother bird but broke point and flushed it. by the end of the day he had flushed 5 birds and i shot the one that he pointed for my dinner. i am going to put him on piegons soon, we will be traping some next week. i am going to work on his point later in the year,and just get him use to hunting and finding birds.