We had a couple of awesome ruffed grouse hunts over the weekend with Gauge our English Setter.
Check out the Video
Gauge (English Setter) hunting ruffed grouse
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Forest Grouse Hunt Right Around the Corner
The ruff grouse/dusky grouse hunt is right around the corner and I am gearing up. I have been out in the field hiking and learning new spots and marking locations of broods I found during the summer. I also have several dogs in shape and ready to go for the season. With some of my bigger running setters and pointers I like to run bells on them so I can keep track of them in the thick mountain brush cover. Unlike running birds like desert quail or pheasants, I don’t think the bell negatively affects forest grouse. If anything, they probably hunker down sooner from the noise.
The season starts here in Idaho on August 30th this year. In Utah the season opens September 11th.
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English Setter For Sale
English setter (Gauge) I have been working with this English Setter (Gauge) the past month, force fetching and steadying to wing. He is good bird dog, and a great grouse dog. Gauge is for sale. Contact me by phone (208-254-0243) if you want to know the details.
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Cocker Seminar
Jordy, an English Cocker Spaniel with ears flying, flushes a pigeon in training for an AKC senior hunter test This weekend we had a cocker spaniel hunt test seminar with what I call the No. 1 Ladies Hunt Club. These gals came from southern Utah, the Wasatch front, northern Utah and Wyoming to work their spaniels in the field. To escape the heat we went up into the mountains and found a great hunt test site. We worked 9 cocker spaniels on various aspects of the hunt test, including, introduction to birds, introduction to gunfire, quartering a field, flushing and retrieving birds. With one of the more advanced dogs named Six, who is working on his master hunter, we worked on sit to flush.
Start of the hunt with Luke, an American Cocker 
Rudy, an English Cocker Spaniel flushing for the gun We had a great time and saw some great dog work. The heat, even at 7000′ was an issue and we paused often to water the dogs or take them swimming in the nearby pond. Good luck on your hunt tests this fall!
We had some great bird help by AJ and Susan 
Becky and Rudy after one of his first bird retrieves in the field.
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Dogs and hot weather
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We have had record cold temperatures here in Southeastern Idaho so far this spring. We got snow here last week above 6300 feet and we lost our tomatoes for the second time to frost. I heard somewhere that May was the coldest on record for this area. I have tried to take it in stride and enjoy the cool weather.That said, I have enjoyed the cool weather for training and running the dogs. I believe now have hit the hot weather with little time for my internal thermostat to adjust. When talking to some folks in Arizona and Las Vegas, they are already seeing temps in the upper 90’s and even breaking 100.I have started to get things ready for the hot weather by filling the 50 gallon trough and putting shade up for the kennels. Soon I will be wetting the dogs down good before roading them, and will be switching to early mornings for training to take advantage of the cool. Spring was nice while it lasted.While preparing your kennel and dog area for summer, consider the following: make sure your dog has shade accessible from at least 11:00 am to four pm, make sure there is plenty of fresh drinking water available. If you are going to be running the dogs, try to do it in the cool morning or evening. Also, make sure they are watered well. Since dogs don’t sweat (the cool themselves by panting), wet them down thoroughly before running them.
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Collar Quality
There's a huge difference in quality of collars If you have read much of this blog or know me, you know I like quality and I think it is worth the extra effort. If you have the same tendencies, here’s something to watch out for. The other day at the local feed store, I bought a couple of new 3/4″ vinyl coated nylon collars to replace the chewed up collar straps on several of my bark collars. I thought they were reasonably priced at around $8. When I got home and compared them to the original collars I was amazed at the difference in quality. The nylon collar itself was significantly thinner, as was the rubber-vinyl coating. The worst, however, was the hardware. The buckle was much lighter, and the tang is more like a thin piece of wire than a good buckle tang. I’m sure they will work, but I was amazed at how cheaply they are made. If you are buying new collars, look carefully at the quality, they’re not all equal. When I checked a couple of the reputable online suppliers they were selling the higher quality collar with durable hardware (double buckle with a stout tang, rather than a thin roller buckle and flattened wire tang) for around $4 (check Lion Country Supply).Let’s see, which would I rather have, a cheap piece of junk for $8, or quality stuff for $4 plus shipping and a couple days wait?
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Field Cocker Spaniels
English Cocker Spaniel Retrieving shot bird Last Saturday we had a great time training dogs. I had several folks come for field work with birds. Besides my regular dogs, we got to work a setter, brittany, and a bunch of American and English cocker spaniels. We had a ball working these dogs in the field. It is really fun to see a cocker spaniel bounding through brush working up a bird. Another huge reward was seeing a dog that I force fetched last fall come back and had a perfect retrieve every time.
I hope I get the chance again this fall to hunt behind one of these field breed cockers.
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Best upland hunting vest
I enjoy hunting coats and vests. I probably own ten different ones that I have bought over the years trying to find just the right vest for just the right occasion. I finally found the ultimate hunting vest for my needs. The strap vest from Wing Works is hands down the best vest I’ve ever taken afield. If you like extended day hunts away from the truck like I do, this vest is the ticket.
Wing Works Upland Game Vest hunting Mearn's Quail on the International Boarder My needs are fairly simple, I need a vest that can carry a fair amount of water for my dog and me, fit comfortably, not interfere with gun mount at the shoulder, and be able to carry some weight (birds, my lunch and extra layer of clothing). The Wing Works vest fits all these needs.It carries 64 Oz of water in two water bottles on the sides. (I am not much for sucking through a tube, but if you like the camelbak idea, the vest can easily be fitted with one.) Plus you can carry additional water in the back pouch if needed. The two shell pockets with velcro closure flaps in the front are deep enough to carry plenty of shells, a point-n-shoot camera and a GPS unit. A great feature is the game pouch in the back in divided up with a smaller, but easy to reach mesh pocket for empty shells to keep them separate from your birds. Then it has an additional pouch in the very back large enough for a lunch and a light jacket.Best of all is that the contoured vest carries all the weight comfortably and with the thin strap, it doesn’t interfere with gun mount. Between the shoulder straps and the padded waist belt and overall contoured fit of the vest it is very comfortable to wear. They also have a pocket and loop to hold a tri-tronics transmitter!The vests extremely well made here in the US; Idaho in fact. I have no connection with Wing Works, other than I have fallen in love with their product. Wing Works can be reached at the following website: http://www.wingworks.biz
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Sage-grouse displays
In April I had several chances to get out and see sage-grouse on the lek (breeding ground). They are such a unique bird. Their wet-popping/booming sound of the males can be heard from a long ways off. These males are almost comical to watch fight back and forth. They look almost like they are placed on little remote controlled cars that zip back and forth; their legs are such a blur. It was fun to see how things got really animated when a hen would stroll through the puffed up males showing off. As she would pass by a male, she would hunker way over and become interested in the ground and pretend to ignore the males trying so hard to impress her.If you get the chance, even though it is early in the morning, go out and watch them lekking. What a cool species! I am concerned for their long-term conservation status. I want to show my kids and grandkids lekking sage-grouse.
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Changes in CRP lands and the impact on upland game
Changes in the CRP program will have significant impacts on upland game populations in the Intermountain West. Bird hunters should be aware.
