I was taught as a young hunter to hunt slow and steady with a lot of stops and starts to make the birds nervous and let the dogs do their things without pressure from behind. I've held to that methodology for most of my 60 years. But several of the folks I hunt with seem to feel it's a race with their dogs to the other side of the cover.
I have 3 big running setters, but I've taught them to stay in touch with me, go at my pace and check in from time to time. I now have the Garmin Astro DC-30 on all of them so I pretty much know where they are all the time anyway. I have full confidence that between the 3 of them they are going to cover the ground thoroughly and find whatever's there, at least most of what's there.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
So I feel no urgency in moving through the cover. I take my time, stop to enjoy the scenery, enjoy watching the dogs work and move to them when needed. I simply don't relate to being in such a hurry to get through the cover and move on to the next field.
But several of the guys I hunt with feel very differently. They are of the opinion that miles = birds and they walk through a field at a pace I could never keep up with even in my younger days.
I find myself going off on my own and just plan on getting back to the truck about the same time they do. I've never done a formal count but it sure seems like we all end up with about the same number of birds on the tailgate at the end of the day.
So how do you prefer to hunt, fast or slow, and why? I would like to know if I'm in the minority or majority here.