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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...

The Remington Model 10 shotgun represents a time when shotgun advancement for repeating firearms was happening at lighting speed. First developed in 1908, it was used by the United States in World War 1 as a “trench gun” with shortened barrels. It became the first pump shotgun to use a bottom-ejecting style action. A model 17 in 20-gauge was introduced soon after. The shotgun’s legacy would go on...

The last of the St. John’s Water Dogs were living in Newfoundland in the late 1970s. They were smooth-coated and mostly black, and it was easy to see how such dogs could have been selected into the modern Labrador Retriever in Britain. All retrievers derive from this working fisherman’s dog. Much of the speculation in discussions of  retriever origin  is really about how this working dog developed...

Understanding your  dog’s body language  is crucial. Appraising the direction and quality of the wind and assessing the moisture in the air and on the ground are clues to triangulate where bird smells might be coming from. Identifying surrounding cover and how that particular bird species retreats away from pressure aids in pinpointing a potential flushing location. When you can understand these p...

Each September, bobwhite hunters across the country wait impatiently for state wildlife agencies to publish their outlooks for the upcoming  bobwhite quail  season. A portion of these outlooks is determined by how many adult birds survived the previous winter. However, summertime bobwhite nest success and chick survival carry much more weight when deciding whether or not things look good for bobwh...

“Chukar dog” is a title held by many breeds whose owners love the thrill of chasing one of the hardiest upland game birds in the world. These dogs brave the dangers and extremes of  chukar country  while traveling on average three times as far as their owners walk in a day.  Here are some of the basics to ensure these elite athletes have a good hunt and many seasons to come.  Read more at projectu...

As you may have guessed, the steps to a better-tasting bird begin moments after you lace up your boots. As little shot as possible to get the job done is the goal, so this means understanding what shotgun choke you are running. A tighter choke, like a modified, may require you to wait until birds reach 20 yards before taking the shot as a tighter pattern at a closer range means far more pellets in...

Rosie, my German Shepherd mix, loves any outdoor adventure I can throw at her. Although she’s not necessarily a hunting dog per se, I take her small game hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and camping with me all the time.  My dog gets extra exercise and high-quality life experiences when she tags along on my outdoor adventures. Bringing Rosie camping with me also adds peace of mind. Her shepherd...

Saying I’m into dogs is like saying Manitoba winters are “a tad chilly.” I spend most of my waking hours hanging out with, thinking about, reading about, and writing about dogs. One of my favorite reads as of late is a blog connected to the Institute for Canine Biology website run by Carol Beuchat, Ph. D.  Dr. Beuchat’s post, “ Celebrating the Preservation Breeders! ” was a sort of good-news progr...

The name of the breed in Hungarian is Magyar Vizsla. The official FCI translation is Hungarian Short-haired Pointing Dog, but in English the breed is most commonly called Vizsla or Hungarian Vizsla. “Magyar” means Hungarian. There are several theories regarding the origin of the word “Vizsla”. Some authorities claim the word is of Turkish origin meant “to seek”. Others suggest that it was the name...

When it comes to selecting a bird dog breed, there’s a common piece of advice handed out: “Choose a dog that hunts the way you hunt.” This is all well and good if you are a seasoned hunter—or if, in fact, you’ve ever hunted at all—but if you are coming into hunting completely green, it’s tough to imagine what your hunting style will be. And before you dive into the minutiae of the various breeds,...

Many countries are home to iconic and world-renowned firearms manufacturers. Inventors and engineers like Bartolomeo Beretta of Italy, Samuel Colt of the US, and  William Anson and John Deeley  of Great Britain are just a few examples. These are names that are synonymous with innovation, craftsmanship, and quality. Despite Canada’s notoriety as a country with restrictive firearm laws, Canada is no...

For those of us whose hearts have been enthralled by bird dogs and bird dog training, it’s easy to imagine as beginners that everything we do is tied by a silver cord to an ancient past and that there’s one tried-and-true process for training a bird dog, passed down in an unbroken generational succession from master to disciple.  There’s some truth to all that, but just a little. Our dogs’ genes a...

Once the spring turkey season ends, many of us pivot to our local rivers and lakes to cast flies at fish. However, the thrill of your hunt does not have to end once the fly rod is strung. Many of the fly patterns attached to our leaders are tied with turkey  feathers , and what could be a more rewarding full-circle experience than catching fish with flies made from the turkey you harvested?  Turke...

Raspy trumpets descending from the heavens broke the crisp silence and broke me out of my ice fishing trance. It’s easy to lose yourself while staring into the flashing circles and lines of a Vexilar screen, but the first sandhill crane calls of the year would snap anyone back into reality. I looked up through my copper-tinted glasses and counted nearly 200 cranes flying west over Blue Mesa Reserv...

Frost fell from the prairie grass as it moved around our legs. The sun had come up halfway through our walk, and water droplets began crawling up the denim of my jeans. Jack and Gunner, young labs and littermates, worked the cover intensely. Their backs, covered in white ice particles, began to steam off from the heat and excitement of the opening weekend.  We had bagged a few birds and were almos...