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Hunting  scaled quail  is different than hunting other quail of the semi-arid landscape. Scaled quail even though they may be in the same vicinity as  Gambel’s  and  Mearns , and yes even Bobwhite himself, are unpredictable in where they will be. Many bird hunters who go after cotton tops or blue quail, as they are commonly referred to in other parts, have a much more expansive range. The movement...

I grew up  squirrel hunting . I killed my first  Eastern gray squirrel  when I was in the fourth grade, which made me what, 7 or 8 years old? I can see still that grey squirrel crawl out on a limb of a dead snag. I can hear my Dad say “Shoot at his  head ,” and I cocked that little Winchester Model 37 .410 and did just that. This was over 50 years ago. I may like squirrel hunting more now than I d...

I knew that having a well-trained , versatile dog would improve our game recovery rate, which was one of the many reasons we’d decided to get a bird dog in the first place. I understood this from firsthand experience: I clearly remember shooting a duck in my first season and, after an hour of searching the reeds, I finally had to resign myself to empty-handed defeat. It stung to know that I’d take...

When I was researching the market and trying to find that safe kennel for my bird dogs, I came across Dakota283 at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nev., in what I believe was their first year of production. I met the company’s founder, Greg Cronkhite, whose pride and passion for his product was evident — motivated traits that have carried Dakota283 to make great strides to the current day. Read more a...

The bottom line on the CZ-USA Supreme Field is that it’s a beautiful and solidly-built gun. And for a high-grade production alternative to bespoke guns, with the requisite price tag, I’d have a hard time recommending a better option. Read more at projectupland.com .

Dove hunting  is perhaps the easiest of the wing shooting disciplines. It is fundamentally the most basic of all hunting, a social hunt or shoot more than anything else. Dove hunting doesn’t require an abundance of gear or preparation. The most that must be done is a bit of legwork in the form of a little preseason scouting to find concentrations of doves. Once out in the field and after choosing...

Look, I understand. You’ve seen countless social media posts about how productive this corner of the state is. Your news feed is stacked with photos and stories of covey after covey that hold tight for dogs with any suggestion of point drive. In reality, the vast majority of these photos were taken by local dedicated bird hunters with dogs that have a Ph. D. in the habits and terrain of their loca...

Whether you live in ruffed grouse country or are inspired to take a trip to covers around the United States or Canada, it’s important to have a basic understanding of how to hunt ruffed grouse. A simple look at the basics can start the wheels turning into more advanced techniques and ideas for successful ruffed grouse hunting. Read more at projectupland.com .

On October 19, 2018, sunny skies combined with blustery winds and warmer temperatures, 25 mph and 63 degrees to be exact, led to an oddly successful day in the grouse woods. Too warm and too windy to be considered ideal grouse hunting conditions, I hiked 9.24 miles and burned 2,624 calories over the course of 5 hours, 29 minutes and 36 seconds of hunt time. And best of all, after all the miles, mi...

If you want to start a fight just call someone’s Deutsch-Drahthaar a wirehair . . . I know, I’ve done it before by accident, which led to my want to understand it better. For those of us outside that world, we often scratch our head and wonder what  is  the difference between these two bird dog breeds? They started from the same bloodline, including such breeds as the  Pudelpointer ,  Griffon , an...

We know what you’re thinking, and you’re right. A squirrel is most definitely not an  upland bird . But it is one of America’s most common small game/upland mammal species. And only a couple decades ago, virtually every hunter was also a squirrel hunter. While the squirrels are still common, the squirrel hunter has declined substantially since then. That’s a real shame because the Eastern gray squ...

The Beretta SL3 is a marriage of the cutting-edge technology Beretta is known for and the old world craftsmanship of handmade guns. I think it is always necessary to point out the success and reliability of the Beretta 686 as a staple in a world of over-and-under  shotguns . This shotgun is even worlds past that, which leads to the  why  and  how . Read more at projectupland.com .

Lately, there has been an increasing amount of “heat” around the shotgun choices of upland hunters of every stage and stripe. Now, the rant that could follow that statement could be contained in volumes. Instead of adding to the rants, we have decided to take the approach of addressing each myth one-by-one over the course of time so as not to cause a larger and more hostile panic from any one camp...

Roughly halfway between the coastal town of New Haven, Conn., and the capital of Hartford lies the city of Meridian, the one-time home to the illustrious, fabled and renowned  Parker Brothers Manufacturing Company . The state of Connecticut has a storied history of firearms manufacturing and to this day is still home to some of the biggest names in the gun business. Small and large purveyors of th...

It was a late stop in a hotel room for a quick sleep before continuing the road trip the next morning. Arms loaded with bags and dog gear, the executive decision was made to leave the kennel in the car. “She’ll be fine, it’s late, and we’re all tired anyway.”  Famous last words. And so began the longest night ever spent in a hotel room. The poor  German longhaired pointer  pup, used to the comfort...

There is this famous dog. He has signed hundreds of autographs, and I have them all.   He has hunted  border to border , three states wide. He must have over ten thousand retrieves.   He’ll get you out of any jam. When a “Lassie” look-a-like walks by, he just lifts his leg and then looks up at me—he knows. I like to think he sees me as his biggest fan.   He even did my taxes one year. He’s seen it...

The off-season. That dreaded long span of months between the end of last season and the new season to come. What is a poor upland hunter to do on the off-season? Sure. There is spring  turkey hunting  and even summer bass fishing, but how does a self-respecting and dedicated upland hunter, like you, get his or her wing shooting fix? Enter the Eurasian Collared-Dove ( Streptopelia decaocto ). Euras...

Let it be known before we get into the finer details of training a pointing dog on the barrel: I’ve found no concrete source identifying the first person who tipped over an old oil barrel and figured it would help set a foundation for their young bird dog. However, I  can  speak of the foundation that I’ve observed, learned, and implemented from friend and  Hall of Fame legend , Bud Moore. Bud has...