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Is that a Doodle? …No, it is an Irish Water Spaniel. I thought water dogs were from Portugal? …It is a spaniel. Oh, a Portuguese Water Spaniel! …No, an Irish Water Spaniel. Are you sure it is not a Doodle? It looks like one. …I’m sure. This common conversation is one way that you can tell that your 65-pound, curly brown gundog is a rare breed. But the Irish Water Spaniel was once the third most po...

The earliest recorded reference of gunpowder was in the Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue during the Tang Dynasty in China; it was discovered during an alchemist's search to find an elixir of life. (Cambridge University Press 2008) It would still be hundreds of years until gunpowder would begin to be harnessed in way that resembles a more modern firearm. Craig Koshyk, Editor-in-Chief of Hunting D...

Congratulations! You just brought home a new bird dog puppy and among the many preparations you made in anticipation of this new family member was building a pigeon loft, stocking it with birds, and training the birds to rehome to their loft. Wait, you didn’t get around to that yet and you are just now searching the internet for training pigeons ? You've come to the right place: here is a cra...

The close relationship between dog and hunter is ancient. Even in what is now the United States, squirrel dogs have been helping us fill the game bag for hundreds of years. Having a good dog will assist in locating game when it’s difficult to pinpoint a food source, eliminate large patches of forest as not having game available for harvest, alert you of danger or an oncoming hunter, which improves...

Boreal forests of Europe are not very fertile places and, until recently, people who settled there found it hard to support themselves with either hunting-gathering or agriculture alone. They learned to combine the two, plowing in the summer and hunting in the winter. Hunting yielded not only meat but furs as well, which became more and more important as civilization progressed. Sable pelts fueled...

It’s never too early to start planning for the next hunting season. You’ve heard the old adage that people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan . So here are a few of the tricks I use to prepare for the next bird season in a strategic and organized manner. Read more at projectupland.com .

Whether you’re chasing birds through the woods, across the prairies and grasslands, up and down mountains, or sitting behind a blind, it’s important to have a gun that fits so that you can use it feeling comfortable and confident. Read more at projectupland.com .

Adhering to the etiquette of the turkey woods will give you an experience that is safer, more enriching, and still rewarding by behaving as a good neighbor. Considering the fact that turkey hunting carries more risk of hunter-to-hunter conflict, setting a good example and following good practices will help everyone to share the woods appropriately. You will most likely experience some people not f...

Squirrel hunting—real squirrel hunting where you pursue wary game in the wild—will make you a better hunter. Every year as squirrel seasons open across the country, you will see a flurry of articles about that fact, but they rarely delve deeper, usually because they’re not written by squirrel hunters. It's a myth that squirrel hunting is only good for practice for other kinds of hunting. Squi...

Sometimes the biologist and naturalist sides of my brain collide with the bird hunter side. That alphabet soup of brain waves used to annoy me until I decided to use it to my advantage. I’ve found that being able to think like a game bird enables me to enjoy a more fulfilling hunting experience. Perhaps some definitions are in order, from Merriam-Webster’s dictionary: Biologist : A person who stud...

It’s the middle of winter. Hunting seasons have come and gone, the holidays and election cycles are behind us, and we’re left looking forward to warmer days, longer light, and  turkeys . With ample time to organize vests,  decoys ,  calls , and your collection of the coolest retro camo that money can buy, there is one more chore that needs attention: patterning that new  shotgun  or  choke  that S...

Springtime sooty grouse hunting in southeast Alaska is nothing like traditional grouse hunting. It takes place in the spring months, there may be no deciduous trees for miles, and “fields” only occur below the tideline or above the timberline. Shotguns are usually left at home and the only thing at the ready is either bear spray or a .44 magnum. Both hands are needed for climbing or to gingerly ho...

One of the most important roles we take on as gun dog owners is that of field veterinarian. Sooner or later, your dog will get hurt and rely on you to stabilize them long enough to reach the vet clinic, which could be hours away. Ready-made canine first aid kits have come a long way in recent years. They are a great foundation for your own personal kit, but since they are a one-size-fits-all produ...

If you’ve never hunted chukar before, it’s hard to describe its habitat. Well, kind of. They like dry, tortuous, and rocky slopes, but there’s obviously more to it than that. Although they’re not a native game bird in North America, there is a certain loyalty and enthusiasm that many upland hunters show for it, perhaps because of how hard you need to work for them. Learning to identify chukar habi...

Grass awns are sharp, barbed seeds that are dropped by annual grasses like cheatgrass, Canada wild rye, and foxtail that work their way into animals’ skin and continue to move inward. They can also be inhaled. If not caught soon enough, a seed can dig through the skin into the subcutaneous layers and will eventually work its way into the chest cavity or other parts of an animal’s body and do serio...

We had walked about three hundred yards from the trucks when I heard, “Lexi’s on point!” My breath formed a small cloud as I exhaled. The temperature that morning was a brisk twenty-eight degrees. I could not believe that I was in  Arizona  hunting desert quail. Funny thing is that it didn’t look like we were in the desert,  per se . The elevation was much higher than I’d expected and the scenery...

Running and gunning means actively moving around a property and calling at intervals to find a wandering turkey. Hunters rely on natural cover and last-minute set ups, rather than calculated  ground blinds . You simply walk some distance—maybe 20 yards, maybe 100 yards—and call. If a response comes, the hunter then quickly plans where to set up a safe shot at the turkey. Like the story above, it c...

Besides having a shotgun go down due to damage, malfunction, debris, or other reasons that render the shotgun unsafe to use, there are other reasons why toting along a backup shotgun on your next upland bird hunt might be worthwhile. Read more at projectupland.com .

My hunting journey began right there in that rain-soaked moment a little over two years ago. As a woman and a first-generation hunter, my journey thus far has included a handful of barriers I’ve had to overcome, not the least of which was battling cancer in my first hunting season. It was my determination, confidence, creativity, and a yearning to learn about this waterfowl and upland hunting pass...

The upland community has seen a surge in vest innovations in recent years. The primary innovation seems to be the ability for the end user to configure and customize the vest's layout through a variety of pouches and accessories. That concept certainly has its merits, but for those looking for that capability, the Orvis Pro LT hunting vest isn’t for you. However, those looking for a vest that...

Full disclosure, this is not intended to be the end-all/be-all road trip list for every hunter. My hope in sharing my list and the rationale behind it is to help others avoid that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach when they realize they have forgotten a key piece of gear that will make a difference to their experience in the field. Read more at projectupland.com .

While there are no formal rules to regulate our behavior in and out of the field, it’s worth considering how our actions and mindset may be perceived while we’re out enjoying the uplands. Positive interactions and responsible conduct will improve our persona and position as hunters both individually and as a community. Read more at projectupland.com .

If you’ve ever fired a side-by-side or over-under, there’s a 99.9% chance your hands have touched one of Westley Richards’s patents. Westley Richards & Co. opened for business in 1812, and in the 19th century, they invented the top-lever, the rib extension, the dolls head, and, as noted, the boxlock shotgun. Called the “Anson & Deeley Hammerless Gun” when it was introduced, the gun was a r...

We have all been there before. Duck season is at the halfway point. Opening day excitement has worn off. That sweet spot we call “mid-season” is upon us and, with it, comes... stale ducks! If this were a movie, we would now hear menacing music. So, what are stale ducks? Honestly, I hadn’t heard the term until I was in my thirties. I now know the telltale symptoms of stale ducks in the first few mi...

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt created the first National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Pelican Island, off the coast of Florida. Seventy-three years later, the J.N. 'Ding' Darling NWR was established in Lee County, named after the father of the federal duck stamp. Now, there's a battle among Florida waterfowl hunters and developers, with the Florida Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Comm...