I just put the finishing touches on another upland video. This one features some South Dakota pheasant action. The vid is comprised of the best dog work, and bird shots of the trip. Check it out!

I was going to let this go, however I'm fairly fed up with PC.

It definitely had potential, but the fact is the whole thing sucks. Not all that different from an extremely bad movie that even good actors couldn't save.

Upland Bird hunting-or any hunting for that matter-should be undertaken with respect for the animal. The music-or at least the lyrics-were inappropriate. The whole thing reminded me of the outdoor channel fist pumping, giggling and fake joy in the taking of an animal.

The only salvation was the Dog work and you managed to ruin that by screaming at them instead of giving them credit for doing it right.

Then again, hopefully there will be next year. Maybe you will get it right.

Dont hold back let us know how you really feel. After watching the video I know why I like to hunt solo or with just a buddy.

I'm sure it was a lot of work but some screaming moron and bad music ruined it for me...for starters.

Wow, tough crowd here. I'd like to see some of you put together a video that meets your standards.

So sorry to offend you.

"Check it" around here means comment on it and if you expect a pat on the back just because then you are mistaken. Sorry but your rendition of a Pheasant hunt was substandard for those who appreciate a quality hunt no matter the effort put into the filming. I much prefer hunting Pheasants rather than just killing them and there was an obvious difference for those who know the difference. Do it right and I suspect you may also.

Check my comment on the Deer video.

Addition: If I was one of the Dogs I would have told you to find/retrieve them yourself and went back to the truck.

I didn't even have to watch the video to deduce that a quick read of my sig line is in order for the OP.

BTW,,, CS,,, I could care less what others do or don't do, but in this instance I'm gonna have to agree with my arch nemises (WCH) and say that if that's your idea of "Hunting" I feel for ya.

If I lived whre you do, I'd get me a good dog and take advantage of some of that beautifull country and the good Grouse populations the UP is famous for and forget about the country club hunts.
JMO

Maybe my perspective is off due to weird camera angles, but it sure looked like a lot of shots taken at low birds right over dogs or in the direction of other hunters.

If you were going for a documentary about a roving gang of self absorbed screaming pheasant killers, ya nailed it.

CS, as Battue says, if you post something here on 24HCF, you can expect a plain-spoken response. Don't take it personally, but do take it to heart. You might learn something about how to present your material to other hunters that could make your presentations more popular in a lot of other venues.

As for my comments, I won't be quite as harsh as some of the other posters, as I can see you really enjoyed your hunting trip and you were excited enough about it to put up that video.

First thing: I turn off any hunting video/show as soon as I hear metal music. I don't care for that style of music at all, and it seems bizarre to pair it with hunting/fishing vids. I realize it's really popular on a lot of TV hunting shows, but I can tell you that no matter how much I want to watch a particular hunt, if they put up loud metal music, I'm changing channels, and so are a lot of other bird hunters.

Second thing: I appreciate the attraction of POV camera work, and it can be really interesting at times, but I think a lot of your best opportunities to record really spectacular scenery and dog work would have been better presented with a regular lens on a more stable platform (tripod).

Third thing: the whole shouting and whooping deal might fit real well with the metal music, but it's a definite turn-off for me. I enjoy the hunt, the open spaces, the sights and sounds of nature. If I want a lot of noise I'll go to a football game. A pheasant hunt, not so much.

Anyways, thanks for posting your video. I hope the comments you've received are of some value to you in your future video productions. You have talent in that area, I'd encourage you to develop it further.

Definitely a non-resident!

Gotta agree with Doc, even without the music (which didn't seem to fit) the bouncing wide angle shots made me give up maybe half way through. Good effort though. I think Benny Spies gives a good example of where to start though hunting shows are not my thing. His are a lot like hunts I've had except turned up a bunch of notches. Seems to be trite advice these days but think along the lines of telling a story rather than just a bunch of action.

(Definitely a resident)

I used to and had a full video editing studio, back when all the commercial stuff was done on 3/4" tape.

I would never have done one remotely like this one of yours, sorry.

I'm awfully sick of all the crummy music and testosterone overloaded vid like this.

Hunting used to have a certain grace and pastoral feel to it. It wasn't about waging war on critters and making dogs slaves.

Sorry again, but I have made them, and nothing like this one.

You have good dogs to work over - praise them for it, even when they find hens. Contrary to rural legend, no dog can tell the difference between the scent of a rooster and of a hen. I'm on my first dog (weim) and now understand the guys that I hunt with once a year that don't measure the success of a hunt by limits of birds. I grew up in the thick of SD's best pheasant hunting in Miller when it was unbelievable and only worried about shooting my limit. Today I measured the success of my hunt by Lucy locking up hard on the four birds that held for her - all hens, and sticking with the ones that ran on her and flushing them within range - all hens. Each one received extensive praise and congratulations, even as she looked at me trying to tell me I was an idiot for not shooting. Now she's curled at my side resting from many miles of work and I didn't clean a single bird, yet count it a great day of hunting. Wouldn't have done that 10 years ago. I used to help guide non-residents. The one that think it's about yelling and screaming I would take to the side and tell them that I'm glad they're excited, but to cool it. It's annoying and unattractive. And I wouldn't listen to metal music if you paid me, complete turnoff.

I will have to disagree with some...the music was pretty good.

We all have music we like, music we don't like, music we love, and music we hate.

I guess it all comes down to asking yourself, "What am I trying to say? What am I promoting with this video?" If it's pheasant hunting for metal-heads, then the OP hit the nail on the head. But if it's pheasant hunting for pheasant hunters of all musical tastes, not so much.

I like classical music, but I'd rather there be no music at all in a hunting video, except maybe in the opening or closing credits, or during a transition scene.

I am with those who would prefer no music and a great deal of respect between hunters and their dogs.

Actually is was nasty in my initial post, hence the edit. I had to stick with something...I went with the music comment.

Didn't mind the music. The bouncy camera work made me dizzy and didn't do much for me. Some shots from those cameras showing kill shots would be cool. The whole video shot that way was annoying. Could definitely tell that you fellas were excited, guess that's a good thing...

Selmer I remember some of those days. Riding shot gun in the back of Big Red and shooting the last rooster clearing the house, a killing at the end of row walk etc... Then you get turned on and tuned in to pointy dogs, sloughs, cat tails, no whistles, just being there etc.. and it becomes an epiphany:)

A vet friend had this really super yellow lab, Belle. She would consistently flush roosters, seldom a hen though you know there were a lot more of those around. Neither of us really believed she could tell the difference by scent but we could find no other reason for her defying the odds so soundly. So who knows? Could make a case for roosters and hens smelling differently, but getting a dog to discern the difference would be something.

Well, I for one have no problem believing the "rural legend".

YMMV, but I'm not on my "first dog" here. I've worked with a lot of dogs over the years, and with a lot of dog trainers, and a lot of field-trial trainers and handlers, and there's more than one or two of us who've known dogs that appeared able to tell cocks from hens by scent. You don't find it in field-trial dogs hardly ever, because they're trained on all manner of species of birds, cocks & hens, and they've learned that any flush is a good flush.

Not so with a dog that's trained to hunt cockbirds only. He doesn't get the "reward" of a shot and a retrieve if he flushes a hen, and any dog I've owned or shot over that was worth hunting over figured out the difference in a hurry. Certainly by the time the dog is 4 years old he'll know the difference, if he's worth the price of his kibble. It helps if you train them carefully... I douse my live training pigeons with cockbird scent, and I don't train with hen pheasants, even though it costs more to buy cockbirds for training. It pays off in the hunting field.

When you have a dog whose flushes are 75-80% cocks, and the pheasant population is 75-80% hens, that gives you something of a clue.

The vets and the field-trial trainers can talk all they want, but none of them really knows what a dog can or can't smell. We can only guess about it by what they do with their sense of smell, and in my view, the good ones can do a lot more with their noses than most dog men give them credit for.

Makes sense. Harry trained Belle by taking her hunting, and pheasants only as far as I know. Amazing concentration. Hunting CRP she'd cross a trail and never give up on it unless called off. A pleasure to watch, as often as not she'd find and flush a rooster if we were patient enough. And usually she'd follow the same trail no matter how many others she crossed.

But I won't give her credit for knowing which direction to follow the scent though it seemed like she did. But maybe she did, sometimes she'd go one direction a bit and then turn and go the other way.

I've learned to never underestimate dogs in anything, they do the most amazing things but most people don't pay enough attention to see it.