projectupland.com On The Go

Do you think of yourself as fashionable? Probably not, and most of the bird hunters I know would agree with you. For us, fashion is a four-letter word and as appealing as watching  Keeping Up with the Kardashians . But that doesn’t mean we’re immune to fashion-like whims. Like any group, we have things that are in ( Gunner Kennels ), things that are out (beeper collars), and things that were out b...

Small Munsterlanders, fortunately for me, are one of the  pointing dog breeds  I’ve gotten to know in person. Feisty, handsome, and highly energetic, this breed is the tenth  most popular bird dog breed  in the  Project Upland community , according to our annual survey. It’s also the  third  most popular  versatile hunting dog breed  in Europe. This is likely due to their broad skillset that inclu...

There are a few things that serve as reminders that fall has officially arrived – and dove season is one of them. Taking the time to plan a successful dove hunt can be easy if hunters do a few simple things when they locate the ideal dove field. Here are three dove hunting hacks that can be utilized in the early season when doves are naïve and easier to shoot, as well as for hunters who venture ou...

It wasn’t quite noon on the prairie and the light northwest breeze made the early season hunt seem almost cool. Usually on these early  September prairie grouse  hunts I would call it quits by noon, but after a rough summer at work and this being my first outing of the season, I decided Emma and I could make one more loop. Read more at projectupland.com .

While many people associate the mourning dove with quiet suburban neighborhoods, perhaps perched on a utility line or visiting a backyard birdbath, dove hunting is a very popular pursuit for many across the country. But if you haven’t gone before, how would you know where to go? Surely, you can’t hunt in someone’s suburban backyard, right? If you fit into that bucket of understanding, here are som...

“We need a name for this place. Every special hunting spot is given a name, and this one is no exception.” Leaning back on our elbows, the four of us pondered the assignment. It was a cold, gusty November afternoon on the  South Dakota  prairie, but we had found a perfect resting spot on a leeward slope dotted with junipers. The sun warmed our spirits as we gazed across the expanse and reflected o...

I will say it upfront: I am far from being an expert on bird dogs. But if there is one thing I have become certain of over the years, it is that there is not enough information out there for new people to understand the proper etiquette of hunting over someone else’s bird dog. Now more than ever, the influx of mentoring in the upland community coupled with a real thirst for knowledge from novices...

As any owner of a rare hunting dog knows, the reputation of that breed often rides on your shoulders when you show up for a hunt test or a day afield with friends. Your dog may be the only representative of the breed that your fellow hunters ever encounter, so it’s likely to leave a lasting impression—good or bad. For Domenick Muoio and his Standard Poodle, this pressure isn’t overwhelming; on the...

As a new hunting season approaches, we all begin the process of digging through our upland gear. We check over the vests and chaps for tears and holes from last season’s briars, and if you’re like me, find shotgun shells in various pockets or crevices of my hunting gear containers laying wherever it was that they last fell at the end of the previous season. Looking these items over it brings to mi...

What is the difference between a ruffed grouse and a partridge? The answer lies in physics; one is flying, and one is not.  Jokes aside, ruffed grouse stand as one of the most challenging birds to hit on the wing. I credit this more to do with their habitat than anything else. Ruffed grouse reside in dense foliage, shrubs, young trees, and conifers near water in many forms, whether a river, stream...

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but as best as I could tell, my  quail  seemed as happy as could be. I’d just moved the young quail that were approaching four weeks of age into their new pen outside – a modest 4’ by 8’ encloser that gave them birds enough space to be happy, plenty of shade to stay cool in the heat of the afternoon, and enough exposure to sunlight to keep them warm and conten...

The Norwegian Hound, also known as the Dunker, is one of the seven Norwegian native dog breed varieties—a  scent hound  with outstanding hunting qualities. The mottled color and glassy eyes make it quite distinguished and different from other hare hounds. Read more at projectupland.com .

“The Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation is very concerned with how some of the BSCA language is being implemented by the Department of Education,” said Taylor Schmitz, the Federal Relations Director for the Foundation. “We are hoping we can get the Administration to reverse course, and that a legislative fix by Congress will not be necessary, but it might come to that.” The Administration is bei...

Most waterfowlers have a favorite image, one that captures the essence of the hunt along one of North America’s migratory flyways. It might be sculling boats and rafts of bluebills on the Great Lakes,  canvasbacks  and sink boxes on Chesapeake Bay’s Susquehanna Flats, or flights of  mallards  navigating impossibly tight Arkansas timber. In  Texas , one of the most endearing images might just be a...

Weatherby’s addition of a  new side-by-side shotgun  can be viewed as a welcome newcomer or a resurrection story. The original Weatherby Orion side-by-side shotgun was first produced in Spain from 2002-2003. Next came the Athena D’Italia side-by-side shotgun, which was Italian-built. The newcomer is a very exciting play on the entry-level side-by-side Turkish market called the Weatherby Orion SxS....

The upland scene has recently seen many first-time Mearns’ quail hunters. My hunting buddy,  Kyle Hedges , and I are no exception.  Mearns’ quail  are the ultimate bucket list  quail species  in the United States. They are rivaled, perhaps, only by the  mountain quail . In the age of social media, many hunters have discovered this dynamic little bird with males so beautifully colored they almost d...

My first bird dog, Cooper, and I had just begun our journey into the uplands when I learned about  falconry . Initially, I found falconry through social media. Online, I saw folks using various species of birds to hunt multiple species of game, including  goshawks on quail , red-tail hawks on squirrels, and falcons on prairie grouse. What set falconry apart from any other sport I enjoyed from afar...

f you find yourself reading this, it is because you are interested in becoming a bird hunter. In the cultural sense, upland bird hunting is the pursuit of upland game birds with  gun dogs  to shoot a bird on the wing. This definition and methodology have evolved with time based on strong conservation ethics, something we will discuss in greater detail shortly. Contrary to popular belief, the term...

For most  dog breeds , there is no black-and-white answer regarding the best time to neuter or spay your dog. Although several studies now support later sterilization, some breeds still don’t have a lot of data on them. Another component, and perhaps the most important piece that needs to be considered, are the dog’s owners themselves. A dog owner’s ability to keep and maintain intact animals and...

One of history’s most famous 16-gauge shotguns was known as “The Little Gun.” It was built by  Parker Bros  in 1889 and “was billed to Mr. D. W. Parker, then treasurer of the Parker Company.” In 1893, it went to Everel Harnden, the grandfather of the famous “godfather” of  ruffed grouse hunting , William Hardnen Foster. Foster would shoot his first grouse on the wing with it at 12 years old in 189...

A wonderful collection of charming stories about days spent afield with  gundogs  was published in 1938. The title was  The Dog in Sport , and in it, author J. Wentworth Day wrote, “There were Ponto and Tanto, the two great, solemn-eyed, double-nosed Spanish pointers who lurked in a dignified way about the house, a gentle gloom upon their countenances. They were the grandchildren of the Spanish po...

Is steel a more than effective option for upland bird hunting? Before anyone spins this story into something it is not: lead is more effective than steel. I will not claim otherwise. But, the efficacy gaps we have come to believe are infinitely smaller than we think and, in my opinion, insignificant in the discussion of lethality for upland game. Scientists have looked into everything from killing...

“Time’s up! Please turn in your exam,” announced my Biology 101 professor. Are you kidding me?   There are time limits on tests? Did I even use the right study guide? Feelings of bewilderment and dejection swelled in me as I sheepishly handed over my first big test failure during my freshman year of college. It was a wake-up call to the fact that I wasn’t in high school anymore. Eventually, I figu...

n Mongolia, among the Kazakh people of the Altai mountains, there is an ancient poem that lists the things every true nomad should have. Chief among these are a “brave eagle” and a “swift dog.” Of course, a fast horse and a loyal wife are important too, but there is a reason that eagles and dogs win the top spots. For thousands of years, trained golden eagles and sighthounds—sleek sinewy dogs buil...

Snipe shooting over decoys is a relatively obtuse technique and not widely practiced. There’s probably wisdom in that! A good shooter can kill as many, maybe more, by simply walking them. But, as a dedicated practitioner of decoy  snipe  hunting, and after a bit of soul searching, I’ve convinced myself of a couple of good reasons why – sometimes – it’s a worthy endeavor.  First, I’ve found that I...