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Bear Attack Leads Florida Woman to Stolen Champion Hound

Online Editors — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:13:21 -0500

by Chad Love

A Florida woman whose champion Plott hound was stolen and sold to an unwitting bear hunter now has her dog back, thanks to that hunter's honesty and a bad encounter with an angry bear.

From this story on jacksonville.com:

The frightening picture gave Joi Hosker both hope and despair. Hope because it meant her champion show dog had been found. Despair because it showed him hooked up to IVs and near death after being attacked by a bear. For eight fruitless months, she had searched for George, her Plott hunting dog whose registered name is “Hosker’s Georgie Boy.” It’s a lost-and-found story with a tall “tail” of an ending.

"...In late 2009, Hosker boarded George with a hunter/trainer in Columbia County while she traveled to Lake Charles, La., to visit her seriously ill mother and her husband was out of town on a job. When she returned home after her mother’s death, Gary Hosker broke the news that he feared George might be dead. The kennel owner had told him George had escaped.

Can You Put a Price Tag on Hunting With Your Gun Dog?

Online Editors — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:48:57 -0500

by Chad Love

There was an interesting article last month in a Texas A&M University publication called Agrilife Today, which sought to put a monetary value on the bobwhite quail.

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From January 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:06:52 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of January.

Dog is Only Cure for 13-Year-Old with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Sarah Smith — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:37:08 -0500

--Chad Love

Anyone who's ever owned or been around them knows that dogs are a Swiss army knife for the soul. No matter what's troubling you, no matter how bad things are, or how bad they may get, the presence of a dog just seems to make things better. How do they do it?

Who knows, but if Big Pharma could somehow extract, replicate and synthesize into pill form, the effect of a dog's love on the human soul, it would immediately render all other forms of therapy and treatment obsolete.

But they haven't, thankfully, which is why we still have stories like this one from the New York Times Magazine about a young boy suffering from the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome and the dog that helped him when nothing else could.

Learn How Traps Work: It Could Save Your Dog's Life

Sarah Smith — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:34:55 -0500

--Chad Love

There are any number of things that can go wrong, sometimes horribly, when we take our dogs into the field. They can run through a fence and get torn up, run through a cattle guard or hole and break a leg, run into a porcupine or skunk, inhale dangerous seeds, get bitten by a snake, trampled by a cow, run over by a car, get overheated, dehydrated or completely lost, the list is pretty much endless in terms of potential dangers.

All you can do is take it on faith that those things won't happen while hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. That's why most of us do things like carry first-aid kits on all our hunting trips and plugging the phone numbers of local vets into our cell phones.

But here's one more thing that every one of us should familiarize ourselves with: what to do if one of our dogs gets caught in a body-gripping trap. Here's an absolutely heartbreaking story from last week's Minneapolis Star-Tribune about a rash of dogs dying in traps.

From the story:

Doug Snyder won't forget the day he loaded a .22 rifle and shot his dog at point-blank range. He and his two teenage sons were walking along a forest road near their cabin east of Hinckley in late December when Polka Dot, their 9-year-old setter-Lab mix, suddenly howled in distress. Bolting headlong into the woods, Snyder found his dog 60 yards away with its head and neck caught in a deadly body-gripping trap. "She was standing there, bleeding from the snout," he said. Frantically, Snyder and his 16-year-old son struggled to free their pet before it suffocated. But two powerful springs held the trap's jaws tightly closed. "We fought like hell to get it off, and we couldn't," he said. "She was melting away."

New Gear for Waterfowl, Turkey and Upland Bird Hunting in 2012

Online Editors — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:25:15 -0500

Here are the best gear items for bird hunters for 2012.

National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic: A Hunting Expo Worth Attending

Sarah Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:11:51 -0500

by Chad Love

The noted French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once famously opined that “Hell is other people.” As a lifelong misanthrope, I’ve found that little gem to be not only a great way to kill conversation at dinner parties, but a wholly satisfying life philosophy. It’s not that I don’t like people; it’s just that I try to avoid large numbers of them at all costs.

So when the website informed me that I would be attending SHOT this year with some 65,000 of my closest friends, and that I would even be allowed to wander the show floor unsupervised, I questioned the decision as either a gracious but misguided act of charity or the result of a lost bet.

I took pains to point out to my editors that in matters of tact, wit and other social graces I’m roughly on par with Bat Boy from the Weekly World News. I reminded them, too, that, frankly speaking, I prefer the company of dogs to outdoor industry types, and that as a preferred destination for the third week in January I’ll take a CRP field in Kansas over Las Vegas, Nevada, oh, about ten times out of ten.

End-of-Season Reflections: Looking Back and Ahead

Sarah Smith — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:38:42 -0500

by Chad Love

It's always been hard for me, as a bird hunter, to get very reflective around New Year's, simply because most upland and waterfowl seasons are still in high gear. But as we inexorably creep toward February, that starts changing. This is the time of year when waterfowl and upland seasons begin to wind down for many of us, which I think is as good a time as any to reflect on the past year and look toward the next.

For me, this past weekend marked the end of duck season, and in about three weeks I'll no longer be able to walk mile after fruitless mile in vain pursuit of the bobwhite quail, a bird which I'm told is rumored to inhabit this area. Of course, I've also been told leprechauns inhabit this area, too, and I haven't seen any of them, either.

The Best Shotguns of 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:56:43 -0500

These are the best new shotguns of 2012.

Oldest Dog in the World Dies at 26...er...24...25?

Sarah Smith — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:33:26 -0500

by Chad Love

Apologies for the lack of blog posts last week, but I was attending the SHOT show in Las Vegas. I did manage to survive the experience, so look for a new gundog and wingshooting product web gallery soon. In the meantime, sad news from the world of canine centenarians: Uncle ChiChi has died. Who the hell is Uncle ChiChi, you ask? Hey, I didn't know either, but he was absolutely, positively, perhaps, might have been, the oldest dog in the world.

From the New York Times:

Uncle Chichi, a toy poodle whose unusual longevity led to fame and an appearance on “Good Morning America,” died on Tuesday after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 26. Or 24. Or maybe 25. The imprecision over his age led to debate over whether Chichi, or the Cheech, as he was sometimes known, had been the world’s oldest living dog.

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The Best New Rifles of 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:41:18 -0500

The Best New Rifles of 2012.

U.S. House Passes e-Duck Stamp Bill

Sarah Smith — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:49:36 -0500

--Chad Love

The ability to buy your federal duck stamp online is one step closer to reality after a bill seeking to make the program permanent passed the U.S. House this week.

From this story in the Washington Post:

The e-Duck Stamp would become a permanent part of federal law under legislation passed by the House Monday. Since 1934, migratory waterfowl hunters over the age of 16 have been required to buy the federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamps, or duck stamps, at post offices or sporting goods stores. But four years ago, eight states joined a pilot program allowing them to sell temporary duck stamps through the Internet. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., said that program has been a success and it was time to make it federal law.

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SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day 3

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:48:52 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 2.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day 2

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:34:22 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 2.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day I

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:48:40 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 1.

Blank Headstones Call For Good Dog Quotes...Obviously

Sarah Smith — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:45:00 -0500

by Chad Love

A few years back I did a blog post soliciting great outdoors quotes for a number of blank granite headstones that had come into my possession. Headstones? Well, yes, it's a long story.

I was reminded of that blog post last night as I was reading a thoroughly enjoyable book entitled "Mile Marker Zero: The Moveable Feast of Key West." As the title implies, the book is a fascinating chronicle of the raucous, brilliant, and utterly debauched Seventies-era Key West literary scene.

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Kayaking Fisherman Saves Swimming Dog

Sarah Smith — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:57:47 -0500

--Chad Love

A Florida kayak angler fishing a mile offshore got a surprise when a small dog appeared out of nowhere. The unlikely rescue was caught on tape, but the tragic backstory to how and why the dog ended up in the Gulf of Mexico is even more bizarre.

From this story on the the Huffington Post:

A fisherman kayaking on the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend made one catch he'll never forget -- a dog swimming for his life off the Siesta Key coast. What initially seemed like a bizarre rescue actually took place following a horrific tragedy, when a drunk driver fatally struck the dog's owner in a hit-and-run accident approximately one mile from the shore, according to ABC Action News.

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The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From 2011

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:15:14 -0500

The 60 best photos submitted by readers in 2011.
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Field & Stream's Best Photo Galleries and Blogs of 2011

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:53:52 -0500

The 25 best online stories from F&S in 2011.

Ten-Month-Old Basset Hound Eats $4,500 Wedding Ring

Sarah Smith — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:39:36 -0500

by Chad Love

A while back I wrote a blog post about the canine propensity to eat virtually anything that can be chewed up and swallowed. Or perhaps your dog tends to dispense with chewing altogether and simply swallow whole whatever can slide down its ravenous and undiscriminating gullet.

Either way, I wrote, swallowing a foreign object that gets stuck in your dog's GI tract can be fatal at worst, and very expensive at best. I was talking about vet bills, of course, but here's a dog who just took expensive to a whole new level.

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Dog Survives Avalanche That Killed His Owner in Montana

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:51:25 -0500

--Chad Love

Here's an amazing story of a dog that survived an avalanche that tragically killed his owner. Pretty incredible stuff, and testament to a dog's innate will to live.

From this story on the Herald Tribune:

A dog that was feared dead after he was swept away in a weekend avalanche that killed his owner showed up four days later at the Montana motel where his owners had stayed the night before going backcountry skiing. Search and rescue team member Bill Whittle said he was "positive" that the Welsh corgi ˜ named Ole ˜ had been buried in Saturday's avalanche. "The avalanche guys were up there on Monday investigating and they were looking for the dog too and never seen any signs," he said.

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The End of an Era: South Dakota Bird Hunting is Changing

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:18:34 -0500

--Chad Love

Are hunters in our top pheasant hunting state witnessing the end of an era? Maybe so, according to this excellent story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

In the nearly half-century he's lived in South Dakota, John Cooper has seen countless beautiful prairie sunsets. But none perhaps prettier than one on a recent late afternoon that arched wild hues of orange, red, yellow and crimson across a darkening sky. "I never get tired of that,'' Cooper said, nodding toward the colorful horizon, a 12 gauge double-gun slung over one shoulder and his Labrador retriever walking ahead. However barren in appearance, South Dakota prairies pulse with life.

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The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From December 2011

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:44:10 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of December.
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What's Your Favorite Gun Dog Moment of 2011?

Sarah Smith — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:22:28 -0500

by Chad Love

If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then I'm sincerely flattering (or "ripping off" if you're a plainspoken sort) Joe Cermele's most recent Honest Angler blog post. In it Joe asks what were his readers' most memorable catches of 2011. (Mine? I've recently taken up the fly rod in a serious but comically flailing way, and the big sow largemouth I somehow managed to catch this spring on a six-weight, while not my biggest catch of the year, was definitely my most memorable.)

It's a great question, which is why I'm going to borrow it whole cloth and ask MBF readers what their most memorable 2011 gundog moment was. It could be a first retrieve of a new pup, the last retrieve of a gray-muzzled senior, a particularly intense point, a quiet moment of affection between you and your dog, pretty much anything that was worthy enough to stay with you long after the moment itself.

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First Shots Photo Collection

Online Editors — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:59:48 -0500

A collection of jaw-dropping hunting and fishing photos from Field & Stream's "First Shots" magazine section.