Photo By: Tim Herring"Cassie" and her Grouse
I drove Steve to the airport in Missoula this morning. I sure hate to see him go home. We were room mates in powerhouse operator school in Redondo Beach in 1967. He's been a great friend for a long time. Tim hunted by himself today, flushing 3 and getting 1. I regained access to some great cover today. It changed hands and I can hunt it again. I will be there tomorrow morning. Dick picks up "Jack" and "Annie" at 8:00 tomorrow morning and Tim leaves for Boise. Something about his wife's birthday.......... ❤Happy Birthday Carol❤ DWT
Can you get any more equipment on the collar!
ReplyDeleteTim runs a beeper/bell combination. His beeper collar is an older unit from Scott's Dog Supply. He has had it forever and it still works. It looks like it is over "Cassie's" regular collar. Tim was also testing a GPS unit before putting it on his other dog "Bailey" who tends to disappear from time to time. Another friend uses a beeper/bell combo because the bell sounds continuously and he can track the speed and pace of the dog better. When the bell slows, the dog may be on to something, and we can tell, even though the dog is not visible in deep cover. When the bell stops, the beeper starts. I prefer a beeper only myself. DWT
ReplyDeleteLOL - I had forgotten to take her regular collar off. Art, she does look loaded down! Dan has what I was trying correct. The GPS Garmin Astro DC30 worked great! I am emailing the track from this hunt to Karen & Dan. It was a short hunt and we hit the grouse not far from the truck. Cassie locked up out in front and to my left, the bird flushed left to right across the road. My first shot was behind, but I dropped it with the second. Tim
ReplyDeleteI just purchased an Astro for my new dog to keep track of her. Looks like you have enough room left to slip in a satellite dish if you don't weigh her down too much. Looks like you guys are having way too much fun out there. I had to settle for setting out some pigeons for the dogs and watching the Ravens beat KC on TV!
ReplyDeleteLOL, You're right about the fun! Say, Art, What kind of dog do you hunt these days?
ReplyDeleteI just got Erin, a retired Springset Dam. She just turned 9 in August and she is very sweet. Unfortunately, she knows more about pups than birds so she is getting some remedial training right now. I had to repair the pigeon coop and rebuild the quail house for her. I picked up the quail yesterday. I had two Springset dogs that I got in 1994. Flash died a year ago in August; Ginger will be 15 on 9/22. Gin was a great dog in her day but has arthritis pretty bad. I was quite amused when she raised a fuss that she couldn't play with the birds so I set a few out for her. She sniffed all of them out and locked into a nice point on each one. 15 years old and she still has it! I don't think she worked a bird in 3 or 4 years. Anyway, that's what we have now and I'm looking forward to getting out with Erin in a month or two. Finally have some time to spend with the dogs and I intend to make the most of it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been hunting much these past few years. I went back to school to get my RN and then worked two jobs. That's done and now I have some time to myself. My original two Gordons came from Springset in 1994. Flash died a year ago August; Ginger will be 15 in about a week. I just got Erin, a retired dam from Springset. She's a smart, sweet dog but needs some work. I fixed up the pigeon coop and quail house and we're doing remedial work right now. Hopefully, we will be out in the woods in month or so.
ReplyDeleteHi Art, Our dogs are Springset with some Belmore thrown in. I was a powerhouse operator for 37 yrs. but I was forced into medical retirement 6 yrs. ago. Fortunately I can still hunt and fish. The best thing you can do for Erin is to get her into lots of Grouse. I work with pigeons to teach fundamentals but the pigeons in a launcher are nothing like a wild bird. I do a lot of obedience with emphasis on WHOA before the bird work. It gives me a lot better control and control is the key to a good Grouse dog. - Dan
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the grouse are about 2.5 hrs west of here and I want to make sure Erin is up to it before letting here run in the big woods. The Astro I ordered was waiting for me when I got home. I've been working on Whoa on the training table and leash and she is doing pretty well. Off the leash she pretends she can't hear you so we have a ways to go. She has been sight hunting and not using her nose but she's starting to get it. I'm sure she will do fine. When I took out a shotgun she looked like she was scared to death. She doesn't seem to care about the starter pistol so I'm not sure what that's about. Anyway, its good to have a new dog to work with and I'm looking forward to the season. Our's starts in early October. I enjoy the Blog and I've picked up some good tips on products and esp. Gordons. Thanks
ReplyDeleteWe are very fortunate to have Grouse in the driveway quite often. I let them get off in the brush, then turn a puppy loose. Our dogs get to see lots of birds at an early age and the hunting dogs get into tons of them on a good year. I have several years in my journal of over 900 flushes during the season. Not counting the birds flushed in Aug. while training and scouting. High flush count for a single day is 70. That was an exceptional year. Hope I see another one like that!! Dan
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