arkansas = duck heaven. i'd leave tomorrow if i could.

I think you should pack an extra box of milkbones for Pritch and head WAY up north to my neck of the woods, New Brunswick.There are plenty of great areas for ruffed grouse and spruce grouse hunting.New Brunswick also boasts the highest woodcock population within their northern summer/fall habitat.If youve never hunted Timberdoodles, it is very similiar to flushing grouse with a dog, only you have to hit a mourning dove sized bird that easily zigzags through thick cover.
There is also great waterfowl hunting opportunties province wide, with both cropfield and marsh/estuarary hunting areas very accessable.Mallards,Blacks,Woodies,Eider and Teal are all very abdundant,plus in some areas the sky is literally black with Canadian geese.The province is releasing an early season waterfowl hunt(early september)for Canadian geese next year.
And if all the great upland, and waterfowl hunting isnt enough we also have a very health moose population,excellent black bear hunting and huge bodied whitetails, though deer densities are low.

Actually, Robert, US 83 is the very road I had in mind...

Any trip with a dog is a great memory. Used to take my Akita moose hunting to keep the bears out of camp. He also guarded the place when we were away and always wanted a daily ride on the quad, if only a short one. Just thinking of all the dogs I have had over the years makes me realize how short a life they live, and how each and every one had a unique personality but almost all were extremely loyal and loved unconditionally. What more could you ask for in a best friend?

That road trip sounds heavenly. I could use one now.

Can someone drop SillySally3 off along the way?

BigJake-- I'm on my way. Man, that sounds like good living...

minigunner-- The more the merrier. Come on.

AlbertaHunter-- You're Akita sounds like it was a winner. Dogs sure do take life up a notch, don't they?

At the end of October I drove back "home" to Montana for a week's pheasant hunt. My real home is in Ontario, Canada. I have driven that route many times, but it's getting harder on me as I get older. Takes about 21 hours if I can drive without stopping (much). My two black labs went along, of course. The youngster (2 yrs) was raised there and she knew exactly where we were when I got there. Talk about excited! The older dog had never hunted pheasants. My Jimmy was quite loaded up but I put everything in a couple of waterproof containers so when I stopped for a rest, I'd put the gun in the front seat and throw the luggage in the rack on top. Rolled out the sleeping bag in the cargo area and the three of us were nice and cozy. No need for a heater! It was a great trip. Your pal should go up to Montana first and work his way back through S. Dakota. I believe the season opens first in Montana.

Nothing better than makeing memories for a young hunter Dave.Good luck!Chadlove write the trip down I would buy it.

Only one thing better than hearing about great hunting from different regions thats living it!

Yeah, I find that most of the hunting/fishing magazines have allowed the "how-to" and "techno-junk" articles to dominate their publications these days. Hardly any good old fashioned stories about an ordinary hunt.

Same thing up here in Ontario. Hardly any ducks. I did shoot a couple out of one big flock that dumped into my goose decoys one evening. Kinda felt bad about it afterwards. The geese are definitely over-running things.

For me my ultimate gun dog road trip is me, my step dad, and the pup all going up north wisconsin for some partridge hunting in the northwoods.