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JD- Good luck!! Hopefully they get a freeze or two before then. The mosquitos were a pain! The leaves were starting to turn a bit, so you should be hitting it pretty well for color.

I haven't updated this much lately as I haven't done much except some work in the yard with bumpers and obedience stuff. My plan for Veteran's Day weekend was to head to Iowa to meet a guy for some pheasant hunting. The Monday before the guy contacted me and let me know that he'd had a death in the family and would be out of town. I very much understood and hold absolutely no ill will. However, this put me into a bit of a quandry. While I had posted in a previous thread on here about Iowa pheasant hunting, I didn't really know where to go. For the price of the trip to Iowa, I could buy a whole bunch of birds to release myself or to visit preserves here at home. Between JLS and my wife, they convinced me that going to Iowa was the better choice, so Thursday after work Hank and I headed out.

I had a general idea where the guy I was going to with hunted, so I booked a room and did some internet recon. My co-worker is from the part of Iowa that I'd be staying in and his family have a farm there so that help me center in where I would base out of. Long story short I spent 2.5 days bouncing from one public land spot to another as well as some time on the co-workers family farm. Hank and I moved quite a bit of birds over that time with a very high hen:rooster ratio. To the order of 10:1. Even though they couldn't be shot, the hens gave Hank some very valuable lessons!

The first day out, Hank was full of piss and vinegar, charging through cover working far and wide. By the third day he was beat up! Scritches and scratches everywhere, footsore, and tired. Until he got a whiff of bird or flushed one then it was back to game on! The last bird of the trip was "The One". We had moved 9 hens on this piece of ground, with him having pointed a good number of them, two of which he pinned between me and him before the flush! We were working our way back to the truck when we jumped a deer. The deer bounded up and off the property. A minute or two later, Hank was quartering in front of me when he started getting birdy and lined out a bit on a track. He'd lose it for a second, come back to find it, and kept moving on. I was thinking that he was probably trailing the deer and attempted to recall him with his collar's tone. No response. As he neared the edge of the cover I got ready to give him a shock when he locked up on point! By this time he was about 75yds away and he took me a bit to get over there as the grass was tall/thick enough and laid over enough that one had to sort of goose step through it. I get there and he's still locked up on a piece of cover about the size of a dinner table. I move in front of him and he holds! One more step and a roosters launches out cackling and flying for all it's worth. One shot and the bird's down, Hank grabs it and brings it to hand. It was fun to see him find, track, point, and retrieve the bird! If they could all just work out that smoothly...

When Hank was younger I used to tease that he was a hunting breed and not a hunting dog until I had shot some wild birds over him. More recently, I teased that he wasn't a versatile breed as he'd only done upland birds. Well, I can't do that anymore. I retrieved his first duck that I was able to shoot after jumping it off a creek and also jumped then retrieved a cottontail I shot!
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

DSCN2282 by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

DSCN2300 by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

[img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4566/37674879304_5f12e9da23_b.jpg[/img]Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Fun trip and Hank and I both learned a lot! Now, to figure out how to get back to Iowa again this season...

This made for a great read pointer! Perfect timing for me to see this, we're headed to pick out our first lab pup this afternoon.

Thanks and good luck with the pup!

Time for an update; of sorts...

Not a whole lot of anything special this summer/fall for Hank. We haven't tightened up obedience quite a bit and working on giving up what ever he fetches. The relocation and leaving the proximity to where I was training him had me a bit curious as to what he'd do in Iowa on pheasants. He behaved as I think a bird dog is supposed to. He ranged appropriately, listened well, and when we were where there were birds he seemed to find them. Only a couple of very good, solid points as the birds seemed quite wild. Not sure if that was the birds, or him getting too close to them. I was pretty stoked for this trip as the bird counts showed numbers being up. However, places I found birds last year were dry holes for us this year, but we did find enough birds to make it a worthwhile trip. If I head back to IA next year, I might spend a few $$ for some access and am greatly considering broaden my horizons and driving quite a bit further...
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr

Hank rubs that hair off right under his eyes like Bane does. Hank must have been working hard and I bet loving it.

He does. First time I saw it I got a bit worried, but it didn't seem to bother him any. After 3 days he was pretty beat up, as he was working HARD. That said, no matter how tired he gets a whiff of a bird is a boost of adrenaline and it's back on! He did lay around for about 3 days after we got back. I know some folks warn me against it, but I just can't help myself, we'll be hitting the preserves a bit over the next few months.

A few things:

First, congratulations on a fun trip! Hunting new places is always a worry at first but that helps create lasting memories no matter the outcome. I go in with low expectations as if I am right it is as I expected so am not disappointed but if I am wrong it becomes a great hunt.

Second, regarding the birds not holding for a point. Part of that is the cover, some is more conducive to birds holding than others. Experience will help you recognize the differences and even then there will be times you get stumped. And that works both ways.

Another factor is the birds. Hunting pressure, cover, weather, and whatever possesses the bird's mind often determines how well or if a bird will hold for a point. Some days they will flush at the slightest provocation while other days they will hold until you step on them. You just roll with what you get and make the best of the chances you get.

The other factor is your dog. It takes exposure for a dog to learn how to read birds. There will be some mistakes along the way and the dog needs to make them to learn. Some dogs learn quicker than others while a few never pick it up though the latter are rare from decent lines. A corollary is you. Trust your training and the dog. Verbal and whistle commands are a tip off to the birds that something bad is coming their way.p and they get nervous. The more silent you are from the time you approach the area in your vehicle to the time you leave can have a positive affect on your hunt. If the birds have no clue you are in the area until you are close, the more likely you are to find them.

As for a game farm, that can be good practice. One needs to find a place that has cover conducive to pointing dogs though, many have cover better suited to flushers and/or drives. I take a friend to one once a week and help her work her pup. We set out 4 birds for training then follow up hunting scratch birds. Some of These survivors can be pretty cagey as they may have survived predators and Hunter's for a number of weeks. It is good for reaffirming the training as one only pays for these birds if you shoot them. If the dog doesn't perform as you want, don't shoot and if it does then shoot what you can afford.

Again, congratulations on your trip!

I almost forgot- a little Vaseline under the eyes can help lessen the abrasions in that region. One may have to apply it more than once depending on the cover and how wet it is. It doesn't take much and a side benefit is it can keep your own lips from drying out at the same time.

Thanks for that!! Makes tons of sense. I know when I took Hank to ND, the cover was smaller (ie thinner) and the birds seemed to hold better. The public lands I was hunting in IA were big tracts compared to ND. Great suggestion on how to make a preserve a good learning tool.

I was jonesing to get Hank out after some birds, so my BIL, his son, and my son got to do some shooting over Hank at a local preserve. He crowded the birds a bit, but found and pointed them all. Held steady through the flush and retrieved all to hand. This was my nephews first time after birds and my son's second. They loved it! I fired one shot all day and had a blast just working with Hank.
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on [bleep]

Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on [bleep]

First blood with a Ithaca 37 I bought for my sons to use!
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on [bleep]

Looks like Hank is doing great. I think retrieving to hand is kind of a have to have. I watch a lot of youtube videos and the manner of retrieve in those is amazingly bad in many cases. Looks like the squad had a great time. Betting these 2 year old dogs just keep getting better and better.

It was a hoot seeing how much my son enjoyed it. More fun to spend money on some birds for him to shoot vs say a dinner and a movie!

Hank's 3, and way behind Bane in bird exposure but we have fun! Kind of coming of age type thing where he was one of the guys and just not a kid. It was a great time! Guy has some chukar he'd like to get rid of, so they may be next as soon as I can squeeze out some time.

Hank's earning his kibble! Great to see your kids getting into it too.