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“What do you have in a good, used, lightweight, nice shotgun for quail?” If I heard that question from a customer once I heard it a thousand times over the four years I worked in a gun shop during college. The follow-up was usually more of a statement than a question and it went something like, “ . . . and cheap. ” Read more at projectupland.com .

Whoa has not always been an important part of training, but a quick historical peek at how bird dogs developed helps give it perspective. As far back as the 16th century, we as hunters have been teaching dogs to whoa to signal the presence of game. Dogs were trained to circle, point, or circle and point game. For dogs required to hold point they were taught whoa. Dogs had to be well trained as hun...

Autumn has long passed in Alaska. Like many upland hunters, I live for the golden leaves and crisp air of fall and mourn its passing as the snow and cold usher in winter's edict that yet another season has passed. Depending on where you live, fall could spark a plethora of potential upland pursuits, but for me the crisp fall air means it’s grouse season above all things. Read more at projectu...

When I cross a border, knock on a farmer’s door, visit a gun shop or meet another hunter in the field, I feel no angst. Because as a white man, I’m exempt. My gender and skin colour give me an exemption from the anxieties that people of colour deal with every day. They immunize me to the effects of a virus that infects much of our world, the virus of discrimination. But my nephew’s not exempt. He’...

The heath hen was yet another member of the grouse family . But sadly, this grouse was last seen in this world back in the 1930s. Its closest living relatives today are facing similar challenges, so what can we learn from this bird’s story to prevent it from happening again? Read more at projectupland.com .

One of the most interesting - and frustrating - challenges I faced when writing my book Pointing Dogs Volume One: The Continentals was trying to come up with a reasonably accurate profile of the wirehaired pointing griffon. Despite the fact that the sporting literature from the late 19th century contains a wealth of information on the breed and that a good number of books have been written about i...

If you are new to wingshooting, then dove hunting is the perfect introduction for first-timers wanting to get into bird hunting. It lays the basic foundation for all the other upland disciplines. It's a laid-back and enjoyable experience for beginners, and it's a social hunting event. The action can go from zero to sixty in nothing flat. Read more at projectupland.com .

In North America, despite a very early start—the first wirehaired pointing griffon arrived in the United States in 1887—the breed has always played a minor role on the gun dog scene. Unlike the Brittany and the German shorthaired pointer (which coincidentally were promoted by some of the same individuals who imported some of the first wirehaired pointing griffons) the griffon never really caught t...

The missing element is the foundation laid down by black bird dog handlers who stood humbly in the shadows of many of the greatest white dog men and field trial dogs on the American field circuit. From Man Rand and Peck Kelly to Leroy Clayton, Albert Cannon Sr., and Malichi Kalip, a number of great dog men have done everything from managing plantations, to breaking horses to pointers and pointers...

The word griffon (or griffin) can be traced back to the Greek and Latin roots meaning “hook” or “claw” or even “hawk” ( i.e., a bird with claws). Long ago, it was the name of a mythical beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion—with clawed feet, of course. Read more at projectupland.com .

As dog owners, we often look at our dog’s bowel movements as a messy inconvenience that creates work for us. And while I do not enjoy picking up stools out in the yard any more than the next person, I do take advantage of the wealth of information provided twice daily in those little brown piles. Read more at projectupland.com .

Using a new shotgun is always an exciting feeling but also somewhat unsettling when putting ol’ reliable aside. For over a decade,  I have been chasing chukar with a 12-gauge Benelli M2 semi-auto with a black synthetic stock that has taken a beating over the years. Prior to that, I used a 20-gauge Benelli Nova pump that I won with a few lucky numbers being called out at a Nevada Bighorns Unlimited...

The pointer itself is not coincidental, but rather the result of strategic breeding in an effort to accomplish a particular set of goals: to defeat the English setter in the field trials of America and to create a dog that could effectively cover the wider expanses of terrain and handle all forms of the native birds of the American continent. The earliest importations of pointer blood were not ade...

What do you see when you look into the eyes of a hunting puppy? Aside from the looming weeks of house training, teething, laundry, midnight trips to the yard, chewed shoes, and coming to terms with your own temper . . . there’s also raw potential . There is hope for a decade or more of hunting trips, brag-worthy bird finds, staunch points, and epic retrieves that you’ll remember for a lifetime. Th...

More than 25 years ago, the federal government banned lead shot for waterfowl hunting . In the years and decades that followed, old-timers ranted and raved about “the good old days” when lead was still an option. Knocking down honkers at 50 yards was not a problem, they stated. Steel was the first and seemingly only option for many years. Then, materials like bismuth, iron alloy, and nickel were b...

I have watched double-nosed Spanish pointers hunt quail in the arid hills of Guadalajara, and I’ve seen Old Danish pointers seek partridge under the wind turbines of Jutland. I’ve chased ruffed grouse with Pont-Audemer spaniels in Manitoba and hunted sharp-tailed grouse with a small herd of Large Munsterlanders in Saskatchewan. I saw a Weimaraner kill a roe deer with a single bite on the island of...

Fox’s target market for his guns was the well-to-do and his first guns were based upon a graded system. The company advertised his guns as “the finest guns in the world” and Fox believed it. His company set up booths at the big shooting competitions in hopes of drawing the right customers. Probably the most famous Fox gun was a gift to Teddy Roosevelt after he left office and went on African safar...

Being a novice is tough. Barriers exist for any new hobby, but the barriers to hunting can be extensive for someone looking to try it out for the first time. These hurdles range from access to finances to psychological and philosophical changes. As a newbie myself, I can speak to these challenges very personally. I have narrowed it down to three main obstacles that determine the success of the neo...

I recently came across an article written by Chuck Adams titled Eight Ways to Die in Elk Country . It was his clever spin on the TV series “1000 Ways to Die” which details the strange ways people punch their final time card. Then I got to thinking: I spend all my  time hunting chukar and I’d be lying if I said the thought of dying out there never crossed my mind. My imagination began to whirl as I...

But before anything, cellphones are taken out. Not to take photos, but to check in. Check in? Each hunter accesses the link and enters their iSportsman IDs and password/PIN. Then each selects the “General Area” where they will hunt in a few moments. The type of “Activity” is selected, “ Upland Bird Hunting .” Finally, a notification pops up stating that hunters must check out by a certain time. Th...

If you’re lookin’ for an upland bird vest that could be best described as a “pack mule” and can handle the rigors of hunting in tough environments with the capabilities and ruggedness of carrying enough gear, water, AND birds, then you should definitely consider the L.L. Bean Technical Upland Vest Pack. As wingshooters our vest, besides our bird dogs and shotguns, is one of the most crucial pieces...

As we all do our part to limit the spread of COVID-19 many of us are wondering about the impact of social distancing and stay at home orders on our hunting dogs and the outdoor activities we enjoy sharing with them. In this article I’d like to look at what we can learn from gun dog owners in the past when they too were faced with massive disruptions to their lives. Read more at projectupland.com .

When six-time Champion Hard Driving Bev started missing birds, professional trainer Joe McCarl attributed the changes to an aging dog starting to lose her senses. “She became really unsure around birds,” McCarl recalled. “This was a dog that always just stuck her birds and now she either wasn’t finding birds or was really unsure of where they were when on point.” While McCarl wasn’t going to turn...

Let’s face it, a truck or sport utility vehicle makes for the ideal hunting rig. But let’s consider that for those who own neither, but drive a passenger car or even a van, how does that affect their capability to go bird hunting? Read more at projectupland.com .

Learn more at: https://projectupland.com/hunting-dogs/hunting-dog-health-and-first-aid/how-to-properly-trim-hunting-dog-nails-2/ Read more at projectupland.com .