BLACK LABS MATTER!!

[david]

Pheasants in a blanket, fry 'em with bacon!

Black Labs matter!


All Labs matter!

[Mike Leonard]

David,

How's the bird crop look in your area this fall?

right on all labs matter even my Fox Reds! LOL!

[david]

They are saying bird numbers are up. They say the dry, mild spring was perfect for them. I drive every day, and would say off the top of my head that I am seeing more than I saw in the last couple years.

The young pheasants are just now apearing, some younger than I thought they would be. Have seen grouse and Huns as well, probably more than usual. If you include waterfowl, I have never seen more ducks anywhere that I have ever lived, and I have lived a lot of places. Unbelievable duck numbers. Geese are spotty still but will increase. Doves are plentiful still but will decrease.

It is a bird hunters paradise. I really should get a bird dog. Last year borrowed a neighbors half lab/half border collie, He had never been hunted. Amazing dog, and found me lots of birds. Not always easy to find them, but always found them. Also used a half foxhound mix bred. Haha. Any dog is better than no dog.

Too bad I never learned how to shoot a shotgun, but sure was fun.

[Mike Leonard]

Good to know. I grew up in western North Dakota and was around gun dogs and shotguns from the time I could crawl. Only thing to me that comes close to riding a good horse in lion country with a pack of hounds is cruising those ash draws and buffalo berry thickets of the Dakota badlands with a good bird dog or two and my old Parker double barrel in hand.

[pegleg]

Being the dog loving multitasker i am I experimented with taking my bird dog along on cat hunts. Hound pups can find quail in a minute. However soft mouthed retrievers they're not. I'd say most people would be surprised at how talented a motivated hound is at flushing birds. We however have way more quail then cats. So between spending all day bird hunting and fighting them pups for downed birds , I decided the two sports had to be practiced separately.
Bet a hound would flush those hard running cock pheasants though! Whether they'd be in gun range or not . that I wouldn't bet on.

[david]

Mike , what was your town?

Pegleg, the half fox hound was also 1/4 sight hound. She loved pheasants but did not care about the smaller upland birds. You could easily read her, and it was just a gas if a pheasant ran, because she was on it!! And instead of running with nose to the ground every bound was an amazing leap up above the cover because she was hoping to see it. Hahaha. I would just run with her because she was quite easy to follow. She was white so it was Like following 50 pound popcorn through the tall grass and cat tails.

She also retrieved a duck for me. Whatever she did was like watching a cartoon.

Fun. That's all I can say.