This was to be a post on a Sage Grouse and Ptarmigan hunt but we did not see a bird. What is that recipe to remove the stench of skunk?
Tag Archives: Bird Dogs
Colorado Dove 2012
Here in Colorado the drought is in full bloom and heat records seem to be set daily. It has been a tough summer for the birds. Dove hunting in Colorado is rarely spectacular but this year our one day dove hunt was notably slow. My guess is that there were about half the birds as compared to the year before. No one took a limit but of course the hunters the day before were limited out and done by 9:30am, we were told. Maybe so as that was opening day.
Even though the hunting was poor, we had a great time. The birds arrived in ones and twos all morning, the weather was perfect and this was Tex’s first hunt. Tex had two Labs and another GSP to hunt and play with. There is no doubt that he had a terrific time and was exhausted at the end of the morning.
Filed under Wild Bird Hunts
Beautiful Colorado Sage
The two day Colorado Sage Grouse season is almost upon us. Last year we were skunked but with the 2012 drought in full swing and the dwindling bird numbers, I am sure we will all limit by brunch. We are OK with the poor odds, it is great to get the dogs out and hunt after a long hot summer. Not to mention that we have a new puppy to break in! Here are some of the better pictures from past seasons.
Sage, and lots of it. We love the desolate, lonely places of the bird hunt.
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Tex on Birds
Yesterday was a big day for Tex. Not quite 6 months old we put him on live birds for the first time. By nature Tex is a very sweet, mellow dog and we love him in the house but you wonder what will happen when he has feathers in his face. Will he have interest, not to mention intensity and an enthusiasm to hunt? Is he going to get it and fulfill his bird dog destiny, or is he going to lay in the shade under the truck and lick his balls?
Not to worry, Tex gets it. Within 45 minutes he went from mildly curious to a bird dog with fire in his eyes. With guidance from our trainer, John Augustine of Nickel Creek Gun Dogs, we had a tremendously successful day. Tex learned what a game bird is, what they smell like and how they taste. To see the light come on, to see the instinct kick in, to see your puppy perform is an incredible experience. I think I am tearing up.
Tex worked the field well, he picked up scent and worked it to the bird. He pointed and held point well and we were able to shoot over him with no ill effect. You always worry about gun shyness, but happily there was none of that. He did pretty good on the retrieve as well. Being his first time, none of this was flawless or executed consistently but the skills are certainly there. Most importantly he was into it and we have the opportunity to develop a terrific gun dog and also have a wonderful pal back at the ranch.
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Cajun-German Shorthaired Pointer Pups Available
My friend Grant from Melville, LA has an awesome litter of GSPs on the ground.
Here is what he says:
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Tex at 5 Months
Tomorrow Tex is 5 months old. He still is a puppy but at 48 pounds sometimes it doesn’t seem like it.
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First Point
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Moretex
Here is more Tex! He is 81 days old and, in the 4 weeks since he arrived, he has more than doubled in size. These wonderful puppy days are moving by too fast!
More Puppy Pics
Tex has been with us for two weeks and is 40% bigger than when he arrived. At 9 weeks he is learning the key commands well and though I hesitate to say this, we think he is house broken. (I am sure he took a crap in my wife’s new shoes as I wrote this.)
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Ahhhhh . . .
Tex is 2 months old today and has been with us for 1 week.
Better the deck than the carpet!
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Tex Comes Home
Tex left his littermates at Valhalla and came home on
Saturday morning. It was a perfect weekend of puppy fun that started with a quiet, reserved pooch trying to understand a new world and ended with a marauding alpha dog full of vinegar and armed with needles for teeth. Tex is confident, fearless and a very happy dog. We could not be more pleased with him.
Handsome boy!
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Tex
We have come full circle now. Last November we lost our beloved Rio, not even 7 then. It took a while to recover but now we are ready to roll with our next GSP. We feel very fortunate to have found the wonderful dogs at Valhalla Hunt Club near Bennett, Colorado and have secured a fine boy. . . .Thank You Gary Thompson! We are looking forward to picking him up next weekend and for the adventure to begin!
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More GSP Puppies
These sweet pups are 24 days old. The litter has 4 females and 2 males and we will pick between these two males. One is about the largest dog in the litter and the other is the smallest. Other than the female in pink, which one would you choose?
Moose? This little fellow turns out to be our Tex!
German Shorthaired Pointer Puppies
Who doesn’t love a puppy! Here is a litter of irresistible black and white GSPs. Beautiful pups at 5 weeks.
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Colorado GSP
We lost bird dog Rio last November and now the search is on for a new puppy. This morning we shot at some Chukars with Rio’s half-sister, Matrix. You sure can tell they are related, the resemblance is amazing. The hope is to have a pup by the beginning of summer.
We love those white & liver pointers.
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Preserve Points
Cost and time effective, the hunting preserve provides an accessible escape for the time-strapped hunter. The shortcomings of a staged event are offset by the opportunity to get the dogs on birds and let them enjoy a morning practicing their art. Most compelling is that a bunch of points are a sure thing. Like finding a date at a strip club, the game is abundant as long as the $20s hold out. Last sunday we hit a perfect morning at Kiowa Creek Sporting Club and captured these shots.
Filed under Preserve Bird Hunts
Texas Bird Dogs
We love West Texas quail hunting for a lot of reasons but mostly because we get to hunt behind these beautiful pointers. I can’t imagine hunting without them. Below are some of the superb animals at First Shot Outfitters. These are hardworking dogs, tools of the trade who spend their lives doing exactly what they were put on earth to do. I can’t think of a place I would rather be than walking up on one of these puppies pointing the way to old Bob.
Filed under Bird Dogs
Dog points bird . . .
Capturing the intensity of a covey nailed is a tough assignment. Most attempts fall short but not this piece that I read in Sporting Classics some years ago. It is by far the best I have found. It was written by Tom Davis, the Senior Editor and Gundogs columnist for Sporting Classics and author of “The Tattered Autumn Sky: Bird Hunting in the Heartland.”
“You turn the dogs loose and let them roll, and as they sift the wind – miners panning for gold – you feel yourself pulled along in the slipstream of their intense, unfettered joy.
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And when they strike point, transformed in a blazing instant from pure kinetic energy to living statuary, it’s as if the earth stops spinning, There is no past or future; there is only this moment, and what hangs in the balance, awaiting resolution, is nothing less than everything.”
– Tom Davis
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Birdhunter 
