Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

Dogs driving your trip choices?

1_pointer

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Not living in an area with much for the way of wild birds, especially those that I like to chase (pheasants, grouse), I take trips each year with Hank to hunt. My fall schedule is largely determined by what big game tags I do or do not draw. Then I had somewhat of a series of big game backup plans for western hunts. Now I'm mostly interested in just taking Hank and looking for some birds. That's a change I did not see coming...

Am I alone on this?? I suspect not, but am curious.
 
Not living in an area with much for the way of wild birds, especially those that I like to chase (pheasants, grouse), I take trips each year with Hank to hunt. My fall schedule is largely determined by what big game tags I do or do not draw. Then I had somewhat of a series of big game backup plans for western hunts. Now I'm mostly interested in just taking Hank and looking for some birds. That's a change I did not see coming...

Am I alone on this?? I suspect not, but am curious.

Right there with you. My bucket list is growing exponentially with each podcast I listen to.
 
It's not just hunting season, but every trip is bound by dogs.

This year, with the new pup, I do plan on being in the field a lot more than the last few seasons. Luckily, I've got mountain grouse all around me and great upland hunting within 50 miles.
 
My bride values the opinions of our Goldens far greater than mine...consistently slanted on tie breakers.
 
My bride values the opinions of our Goldens far greater than mine.

You and I belong to the same club of neglected husbands married to women who cannot separate the concept of a pet being something other than a child.
 
Right there with you. My bucket list is growing exponentially with each podcast I listen to.
Which ones are you listening to? I'm always open for some ideas, even though I spend way more brain power thinking/planning than I need to.

Sage grouse is at the top of my list with Hank. Might try to get that one checked off this year, but then again I may head to MT instead... Having 2 days of travel on each end eats up some time. It is funny watching the dog's antics the first time afield after 2 days in the car. He goes into Top Gun mode (turn and burn!) for a bit before settling down. :D
 
Which ones are you listening to? I'm always open for some ideas, even though I spend way more brain power thinking/planning than I need to.

Sage grouse is at the top of my list with Hank. Might try to get that one checked off this year, but then again I may head to MT instead... Having 2 days of travel on each end eats up some time. It is funny watching the dog's antics the first time afield after 2 days in the car. He goes into Top Gun mode (turn and burn!) for a bit before settling down. :D

My main 3 are Hunt Talk, Meateater, and the Hunting Dog Podcast. I just listened to Big Fin's appearance on the HDP yesterday, and it was quite entertaining.

Some of my bigger ticket items are:

Mearns Quail in AZ
All other quail in AZ
Ptarmigan in UT or CO
Sage grouse in WY and/or SW MT
Chukars in NV
Chukars in SW ID
Chukars/Huns in central WY
Chukars in SE OR
Pheasants and prairie chickens in SD
 
My main 3 are Hunt Talk, Meateater, and the Hunting Dog Podcast. I just listened to Big Fin's appearance on the HDP yesterday, and it was quite entertaining.

Some of my bigger ticket items are:

Mearns Quail in AZ
All other quail in AZ
Ptarmigan in UT or CO
Sage grouse in WY and/or SW MT
Chukars in NV
Chukars in SW ID
Chukars/Huns in central WY
Chukars in SE OR
Pheasants and prairie chickens in SD

We will have to get the Idaho and Oregon Chukar hunts done when we put together a hunttalk hunt next year. The Arizona Quail Slam is a kick. I did it a couple of times when I was in college and had a great time. Beats the crap out of your dogs though. They plow through the cactus the first few times and it takes a comb and tweezers to get them out. I would be up for another try at the Slam as well.
 
If dogs can't be there why in the hell would I want to be there? It did get bit dicey in Murdoch's the other day at the peep sale ... She wanted those khaki Campbell ducklings BAD.
 
My main 3 are Hunt Talk, Meateater, and the Hunting Dog Podcast. I just listened to Big Fin's appearance on the HDP yesterday, and it was quite entertaining.

Some of my bigger ticket items are:

Mearns Quail in AZ
All other quail in AZ
Ptarmigan in UT or CO
Sage grouse in WY and/or SW MT
Chukars in NV
Chukars in SW ID
Chukars/Huns in central WY
Chukars in SE OR
Pheasants and prairie chickens in SD
I'll look the HDP up! Thanks for the suggestion. I've done some of the hunts on that list, but just not with Hank which is why I'm thinking I'm going to repeat a few of them. Might want to include UT on the sage grouse. It's a two bird permit that has to be drawn, but at least one area I can point you to is some pretty neat country and right along the ID/WY border. Don't know if they still have a season, but Lesser Prairie Chickens in western KS was a fun time. We hunted out of Dodge City. Let me know if you ever need a pard on a trip... Some of these I may have to look into what it takes to fly with a dog as they'd be a LONG drive from here.

Sawtooth- I've wondered about dogs and the cactus in AZ. I'm betting it could be a mess for the first day or so. OUCH. I've shot Gambels there without a dog and Mearns with a guide on seperate trips. The Mearns country was very neat and the guide's dogs were SUPER. He used a GPS collar. The dogs ran BIG and it'd often be 10mins or so from when he'd notice the point on the GPS until we got to them. Very cool birds.

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr


Doing the slam in one trip would be a hoot! The guide we went with offers that in a 4 day package. Each species for a day for 3 days and you pick which to go after on day 4.
 
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The cholla cactus is the worst. I will have to see if I have some pictures of my poor dog with pieces the size of a mans boot hanging from his sides and back. The birds knew where to go for cover and would fly to the nearest cholla plant to escape. My wife and I were still pulling needles out of our pup several weeks after the trip.
 
hahaha I'm totally with you! I've just all bout decided to drop PA deer hunting in the fall to chase birds, granted I'm not talking out west but I'd rather be with my hunting pal than him sitting at home while I'm sitting in a tree.
 
We will have to get the Idaho and Oregon Chukar hunts done when we put together a hunttalk hunt next year.

Absolutely. I was looking at some pictures of the country we talked about. Fantastic looking stuff.

On a side note, can you point me to any places with a high jack rabbit density?
 
You will see a few rabbits in the areas where we were talking about, but I wouldn’t say high density. If you are looking for some varmit shooting, I have got some ground squirrel (whistle pig) colonies locations that will keep you busy.
 
hahaha I'm totally with you! I've just all bout decided to drop PA deer hunting in the fall to chase birds, granted I'm not talking out west but I'd rather be with my hunting pal than him sitting at home while I'm sitting in a tree.
Though I shot my best whitetail to date this year, for me deer hunting in IN is more about taking my boys. So much fun taking them hunting. They are getting the hang of it... ;)
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
 
I don't think you're alone at all.

My lab is 12 years old and has bone cancer and will likely not make it to September, and my brother's dog is now deaf and near blind. They were both a lot of fun to take mountain grouse hunting. The lab got it right every once in a while but my brother's cocker spaniel through smell or some other sense would let you know they were in a tree nearby and was always right. He'd get real birdy and start stomping his feet and grunting. If you stopped and looked there'd be grouse roosted up within sight. One of the great predicaments of September is that upland grouse starts the same day as big game archery here in Montana, and I find myself deferring to grouse hunting more often than not.

Big Fin's phrase, "You're gonna run out of health before you run outta money," is powerful and applicable in the context of good dogs. Hunt with your dogs as much as you can.
 
I'm not looking forward to being in your shoes. Sorry about the dog's health. I'm beginning to think the paraphase of Big Fin's quote is very applicable...
 
Right on man! Love archery hunting but I do really enjoy getting my Brittany out to chase some grouse in the fall. Early season is typically when I run him the most because I have a lack of deer hunting trips planned then. Thank god I live in the Ruffed Grouse capital of the world.
 
I have multiple in state trips planned this fall for big game, but will be making numerous out of state trips to get the dog more diverse and just in general more work.

Plans to head to MT Phez/Ducks/Geese
Plans to head to SD Phez/Ducks/Geese/Swans
Potential for trips to KS (Phez/Ducks), ND (Snows), SK (Ducks/Geese/Grouse), and ID (Chukars/Huns) in there as well.
 
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I've always been a bird lover and I have not always had a dog. In 2010 my kids grew up and left the nest and the following year my lab died of old age. Since then my wife and I began travelling by air so we decided on no more pets of any kind so we won't have to look for sitters. That combined with my worn out knees has driven me to more bird hunts and fewer big game hunts. I still hunt big game but I don't plan backpacking wilderness hunts for big game. It's a whole lot easier to backpack in and out for birds and I still get the big adventure. People think I'm nuts to travel to Alaska every year for birds.
 

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