Pup's first pheasant hunt

[jonesface]

I went to Utah last week to hunt some upland game with my 11 month old Brittany(Ellie).

She did pretty good for her age but she didn't get to point much because these wild birds would run on her.

We started off hunting pheasant, which was a blast because we had over 800 acres of private land to ourselves.

After the pheasant hunting we went after some Valley quail and were able to connect on a few of those beautiful birds.

We had a snow storm hit in the middle of the week and I was trying to decide whether to chase some chukars or grouse.

We ended up going after the grouse. We cut tracks in the snow and Ellie would find them pretty close to the cut tracks and flush them into a pine, from there it was pretty easy.

All in all it was a lot of fun.

Now heading back out to chase our desert birds.

[Flatlander]

Looks like a blast Josh. Glad you had fun with your dad.

[dcshorthairs]

What an awesome time! Looks like that was a blast! Them darn pheasants are tough on any age dog!

[jonesface]

Looks like a blast Josh. Glad you had fun with your dad.

Thanks! The best part was not pulling cactus out of the Lewis Dog boots every trip out.

[Upland81]

It looks like you were able to get a mixed bag of birds. It always extremely rewarding taking a pup out for the first time.

[bgshooter]

Thanks for sharing! Looks like a whole lotta fun...

[jonesface]

A few months ago the question was asked:

 

 

How many of you use a dog and how many don't? Always curious how the non hunting dog owners do.....

 

For over 20 years I've hunted quail without a dog. I would get birds without a dog but I never limited in one day.

I've found having a dog you will be more successful than without.(Especially when it comes to Mearns) For one, I find all of my cripples. In the past I would go to a new area and walk around and not see a thing. I would think there wasn't any quail in this new area. I'm not saying the quail are always there but I also think I was walking past a lot of birds that were holding tight in cover. I have found going out on this last trip, if I didn't have a dog I would have walked past a lot of birds that were holding in cover.

For instance, today after one of the coveys busted I stood there and watched exactly where they landed. There was dirt all around the thorny brush they landed in so I kept my eye on that area as Ellie and I walked to it. I had Ellie check it out and she just walked away from the brush. I knew the birds were in there so I had her come back and smell it again. Again she gave it a courtesy sniff but walked away. I then started kicking the brush to see if I could flush anything out. Nothing.. All of a sudden Ellie locks up on point about 20 yards from the brush. I walk towards her and just before I get to her the covey flushes. I never saw the birds escape from the brush. I could have easily walked past these birds if it wasn't for her.

Here are some pics of today's success.

 

[Flatlander]

Man, I wish I knew about this earlier. I've spent way too many years glassing for quail!

[slowandsteady]

Congats brother! I am glad you were able to get out and get after it. Looking forward to seeing some Mearns here shortly.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Awsome thanks for sharing. Love the gun you were using.