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What Are the Prime Locations for Trapping Pigeons?

Online Editors — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:56:20 -0400

by Chad Love

I've previously blogged about the importance of using live birds for training and how it's smart to use a mixture of both pigeons and pen-raised birds. While I try to mix it up between the two, I have to admit that pigeons are what I use the most. Why? In theory, off-season training with live gamebirds sounds great. In practice, however, there are some issues.

First off, live gamebirds can get expensive. In my area, adult quail generally will run you four to five bucks apiece, chukars and huns will go slightly higher, and pheasants will set you back up to $13 per bird. On top of the initial expense, trying to keep gamebirds healthy, alive and in re-usable condition can sometimes be a struggle. Not to mention the fact that you can't take a bunch of quail out to a remote field, turn them out and then expect them to find their way home.

You're pretty much restricted to one training location and a johnny house/callback pen set-up if you turn out free-roaming quail. And if they're not adequately flight-conditioned enough to, well, actually fly away from your dog, then it pretty much defeats your purpose.

That's why so many of us rely on pigeons, both trapped and coop birds, for our training. They're free (if you can trap them) or cheap (if you have to buy), they're very hardy, easy to keep and raise, and are strong fliers. If they're adequately homed or imprinted on your pen or coop, even normal barn pigeons will (mostly) find their way back home from distant training sites. You can either buy barn pigeons or homers on Craigslist (barn pigeons normally got for two or three bucks a piece, culled homers a bit higher) or you can choose to trap your own.

I'm cheap, so I trap my own. Which is why I've been driving around town lately looking for likely pigeon-trapping locations. I just received two commercial pigeon traps made by SW Cage (available from Gundog Supply). I'll be talking more about the traps and my pigeon-trapping experiences in a future blog, but for now I have to figure out where and how to place them. That's where you come in.

I need some suggestions on where to trap for maximum skyrat catch rates. Any ideas? Downtown buildings, old grain elevators, underpasses or bridges--I've seen a few pigeons in these spots in my town, (which doesn’t have a huge pigeon population to begin with) but I'm not sure I've seen enough to make placing a trap worthwhile. Do you have a surefire, under-the-radar pigeon-trapping spot or technique? I'd love to hear it.

CA Bill to Ban Hunting Bears and Bobcats With Dogs Passes Senate

Sarah Smith — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:28:22 -0400

--Chad Love

California is one step closer to banning hunting bears and bobcats with dogs after this bill passed the state senate yesterday.

From this story on sfgate.com:
The state Senate voted Monday to ban the use of dogs to hunt bears and bobcats, a practice the bill's author compared with shooting animals in a zoo. State Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, introduced the legislation after a California fish and game commissioner posed for photos with a mountain lion he killed during a legal hound hunt in Idaho.

Before the vote, Lieu described the practice in which packs of dogs chase the animals until they are exhausted and climb trees, holding them until the hunter arrives. "It's been likened to shooting a bear at a zoo," Lieu said. "It's simply not fair." He also noted that dogs are sometimes injured or killed and called the practice inhumane and unsportsmanlike.

Thoughts? Reaction? Anyone want to place odds on the next low-hanging fruit anti-hunters try to grab are gundog field trials? Or even hunting with dogs altogether?

Study: Dogs May be Evolutionary Reason Humans Beat Out Neanderthals

Sarah Smith — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:12:52 -0400

by Chad Love

We all know that dogs have been hanging around the campfire for a long, long time, and that as a result they have become quite distinct from their wolf ancestors. But now some researchers are positing that the human/dog connection goes way deeper than we ever beleived. In fact, dogs may have been an important clue in one of the biggest evolutionary mysteries in science: how and why did early humans thrive even as the Neanderthals disappeared?

From this story in the Atlantic:
One of the most compelling -- and enduring -- mysteries in archaeology concerns the rise of early humans and the decline of Neanderthals. For about 250,000 years, Neanderthals lived and evolved, quite successfully, in the area that is now Europe. Somewhere between 45,000 and 35,000 years ago, early humans came along. They proliferated in their new environment, their population increasing tenfold in the 10,000 years after they arrived; Neanderthals declined and finally died away. What happened? What went so wrong for the Neanderthals -- and what went so right for us humans?

According to the story, some researchers now believe early humans may have had significant help from their recently domesticated friends. Anthropologist Pat Shipman argues that early humans owe much of their evolutionary success to the domestication of dogs, basically making early humans more efficient and effective predators, which in turn gave humans an important leg up on their Neanderthal rivals.

From the story: Shipman speculates that the affinity between humans and dogs manifested itself mainly in the way that it would go on to do for many more thousands of years: in the hunt. Dogs would help humans to identify their prey; but they would also work, the theory goes, as beasts of burden...The possible result, Shipman argues, was a virtuous circle of cooperation -- one in which humans and their canine friends got stronger, together, over time.

The Atlantic piece is a great summary of the research and worth a read, but the original story on americanscientist.com is a fascinating read as well and worth the time for anyone interested in our evolutionary relationship with dogs.

The 35 Best Photos From Field & Stream's 2012 Spring Trail Cam Contest: Round II

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:15:02 -0400

Who says trail cams are only fun in the fall? Set yours out this spring, then send us your best photos. You could win a new Bushnell Trophy Cam HD (MSRP $323.95).

Here's how it works. This contest will have three rounds. The first, Round I, began, March 12, and closed on April 12. Round II ran from April 12 to May 12, and Round III from May 14 to June 14. We're giving away three Bushnell Trophy Cam HDs (MSRP: $323.95) in each round, one cam each to the top three entries, as chosen by our editors.

Congrats to users luna, mod70 and Semibald, who each have won a Trophy Cam for their shots in Round II.

So go set your trail cams up already. And have fun! --The Editors

Click here for more info on the prizes.

Click here to enter ROUND III of the 2012 SPRING TRAIL CAM CONTEST

New TV Channel Created Just for Your Dog's Entertainment

Sarah Smith — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:05:44 -0400

by Chad Love

So you think the media merchants of mindless pap are content to only lobotomize us into drooling, slack-jawed consumers? Think again, fellow zombies, because now they're after our dogs, too. Welcome to the future of canine entertainment, and the end of civilization as we know it.

From this story on businessweek.com:
Gilad Neumann wants to be clear: He does not want to turn your dog into a couch potato. But if you’re going out for a few hours, he hopes that soon you’ll leave your television on and tuned to his new cable channel, Dog TV, the first channel directly targeting canine viewers. “Veterinary associations like the Humane Society and the ASPCA have been recommending for dog owners to leave the TV or radio on when they leave their dog home alone for many hours,” says Neumann, Dog TV’s founder and chief executive officer.

However, “not every video that you leave your dog with is appropriate,” he says. “[Anything that contains] fireworks or gunfire could scare your dog and create more stress than no TV.” Dog TV’s programming, on the other hand, is meant to soothe your dog’s abandonment anxiety—and spare your furniture—while he or she is alone.

That's right. Dog TV. It's here, but only if you live in the lone test market of San Diego, California and only if you have Time Warner Cable or Cox Media. The channel went live in San Diego on Feb. 12, but if it takes off, the Israeli company behind Dog TV hope to take it nationwide by the end of the year and start charging $4.99 per month for the privilege.

So what, pray tell, does Dog TV consist of? Oh, completely awesome(less) stuff like this. According to the story, that's the kind of stuff your dog wants to see.

From the story...Dog TV, after all, isn’t for humans. For one thing, the colors will seem off, since they’ve been calibrated to suit dogs’ limited vision. (Essentially color-blind, dogs can only see shades of blue and yellow.) “We’re constantly doing … you can call them focus groups for groups for dogs,” says Neumann. “We’ve noticed, for example, that dogs are not thrilled about barking on the channel, so we’ve removed almost all barking.”

Really? I think maybe they need to expand their "focus groups" past the dog park, because I'm pretty sure my dogs want to see programming like this.

So...if that's the kind of stuff non-sporting dogs like to watch, and if there's a market for it, might there be a market for a channel dedicated to sporting dog programming? What do you think your dog would like to watch? Would you pay for it?

And while we're riffing the possibilities, what about subliminal dog training programs? Hour after hour of exciting gundog footage that's not only entertaining old Spot, but subconsciously teaching him important training concepts? Might that be the future of gundog training? Training DVDs and programs, not for us, but the dogs?

Hmmm, I just might be on to something there...

Share Your Gun Dog Tips, Win a FireKnife

Sarah Smith — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:43:49 -0400

by Chad Love

Who wants to win a really cool knife? I mean it, I've been playing around with one for the past couple weeks, and I gotta say the new Swedish Fireknife is a very well-designed and comfortable knife, so much so that mine is now a permanent addition to my knockaround/training bag. It's light, ergonomic, razor-sharp and the blade design lends itself well to a variety of tasks. The question is, who wouldn’t want to win one?

All you have to do is continue sending in your training tips to fsgundogtips@gmail.com for the chance to win. I've got several of these knives to give away, so the more tips you send the more chances you have to win one. Your tip can be about any aspect of training, ownership or hunting with your dogs. It can be a useful piece of gear (homemade or otherwise), a time-saving piece of advice or a novel or unusual way to teach a concept.

Our first winner, Bill Maggart, gave us a cool tip to help introduce a pup to water. I thought using Cheetos to lure a pup into the water was a pretty creative way to overcome an issue many puppy owners struggle with, and this week's winner from reader Lee Nelson is similar in that it uses a treat in an unorthodox way to help us out with a task that is sometimes difficult with an active dog: trimming toenails.

Ever have a dog that fights you non-stop while trying to do his periodic claw trimming? Maybe a bad past experience or one of those who just can't sit still. Rather than fighting with him, found the key is total distraction. What dog doesn't love a good treat? I'll take a slice of very fresh white bread. You know the kind. The type you can wad up into a tight dough ball. Slather it up with peanut butter. Open the dog's mouth. Stick the slice up in the roof of his mouth, peanut butter side up. He'll be so busy trying to get it down with his tongue, he won't care what you're doing! The only challenge to this technique is to stop laughing long enough to get the deed done! Enjoy!

Interesting. I'm lucky in that all of my dogs are used to me trimming their toes, but some dogs can get happy feet when you're trying to trim, and it's no fun when you accidentally cut into your dog's quick because they're bouncing around so much. Curious, I decided to try this tip out on my pup this morning, and I gotta say, it worked like a charm.

Now, I know some of you expressed concern with the last tip about giving a dog human food. Personally, I think that as long as you're not feeding your dog table scraps every day and buying them candy bars, chips and beer on a regular basis, occasionally giving them a treat like Cheetos or a bit of peanut butter isn't the end of the world. I can certainly think of worse things for a dog to endure.

Congratulations to Lee Nelson (Lee, I'll send you an e-mail shortly...) and remember, please keep those tips coming.

Wild Chef's Best: Fish and Turkey Recipes

Online Editors — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:16:11 -0400

A Call to Action: CA Battle Over Hunting With Hounds Heats Up

Sarah Smith — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:42:14 -0400

by Chad Love

Gundog owners are used to low-grade attacks on our way of life. Not even the loony fringe believes outright bans on hunting dog ownership can work. Yet, there are any number of ways that anti-hunting and anti-pet ownership forces can nickel and dime us with laws that, on the surface seem fairly benign or even well-intentioned. I mean, who isn’t against puppy mills, irresponsible dog owners and animal cruelty, right?

So these groups trot out, mostly on the local level but increasingly on the state level as well, proposed legislation like spay and neuter requirements, dog limit requirements, "kennel licensing" requirements, breeding restrictions, etc., that would make owning, breeding, training, and hunting with dogs as difficult and expensive as possible.

But gundog owners in California need to sit up and take notice on a piece of legislation. The battle over hunting bears and bobcats with hounds is heating up in the Golden State, with round one going to the anti-hunters. But this is much more than just another piece of anti-hunting legislation. Hunting dog owners in California - all hunting dog owners, not just houndsmen, need to fight this.

From this story in the Mount Shasta News:

Hundreds on both sides of the hound hunting debate testified before the state senate’s Natural Resources Committee in Sacramento last week before a bill that would ban the practice was moved forward to the appropriations committee. The vote was 5-3 to approve the legislation, which would make it illegal to use hounds while hunting bear and bobcats in the state of California.

Sounds grim for Golden State houndsmen, but the legislation, known as SB 1221, still has a ways to go before it can be signed into law. It now goes to the state senate appropriations committee, then if passed goes on to the full senate floor, then to the state assembly and the governor's office. If California sportsmen can get mobilized, maybe they can halt its passage. If not, then all hunting for bears and bobcats with hounds will be outlawed, and then what? Emboldened, will they come next for our beagles? Coursing hounds? Coon hounds? Working terriers?

If you live in California and you own a hunting dog - any kind of hunting dog - then you need to start calling your elected representatives, making placards, sending letters, whatever it takes. The right you save may be your own...

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from April 2012

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:25:49 -0400

Each month, Field & Stream editors review the hundreds of photos submitted by readers to our Trophy Room. If your photo is chosen to be printed in the Game Faces section of the magazine, you’ll win a Rapala Fish ‘N Fillet knife!

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

Planet of the Dogs: K-9s Groom Humans as Personal Well-Being Tools

Sarah Smith — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:58:38 -0400

by Chad Love

A few years back, the world got its shortpants in a wad over the beating IBM's "Deep Blue" computer administered to world chess champion Gary Kasparav. They bunched even tighter last year when IBM's "Watson" computer thoroughly trounced the best human "Jeopardy!" players on the planet. In the wake of these and myriad other examples of the growing superiority of the silicone chip-based servant over its carbon-based creator, there was much bloviating about the nature of sentience, logic, intelligence, reason, and whether computers would eventually overtake humans in all these heretofore exclusively and uniquely human categories.

To which I say (to myself, since no one listens to me): What a waste of time and apparently not-so-unique-after-all thought. Seriously. That's the problem with academics; they're too damn academic. Devious cunning and opposable thumbs got us where we are today and devious cunning and opposable thumbs will always insure that computers will never become our robot masters, so forget the Matrix.

But dogs, on the other hand, well, I can easily see them going all Planet of the Apes on us. If you ever stop for a second and think about it, I mean really think about it, I believe you'd come to the conclusion that there's not a damn thing a dog can't be trained to do, and do it better than pretty much anything else out there. Dogs can find people buried under tons of rubble, they can sniff out bombs and drugs, they can be trained to detect cancer, pick up shed antlers, help guide the blind, I mean, the list literally goes on forever. And although they do seem to lack our devious cunning and handy extra digit, dogs are our superiors in virtually every other way imaginable. We may be the "masters" in this eons-old relationship, but who's really controlling whom here?

According to some recent research, dogs have evolved not so much to please us, but to groom us as their personal well-being tools.

From this story on scientificamerican.com:

By sharing an environment with humans, dogs left behind their ancestral environment and found a place in a new one. No longer would they have to hunt to eat; humans would come to provide for their care and feeding. It is probably no accident that the relationship between dogs and their owners mirrors the attachment relationship between parents and their children, behaviorally and physiologically. Indeed, humans who have strong bonds with their dogs have higher levels of oxytocin in their urine than those with weaker bonds.

But it isn’t only the source of their food that changed as wolves became dogs; their entire social ecology changed. Instead of sharing social space primarily with other wolves, dogs came to treat humans as social partners. This is one of the critical differences between a domesticate and a wild animal that is simply habituated to the presence of humans. Domestication is a genetic process; habituation is an experiential one. Domestication alters nature, habituation is nurture.

Several years ago, scientists at Eotvos University in Budapest wanted to determine whether the social-cognitive differences among dogs and wolves was primarily genetic or experiential. To do this, they hand-raised a group of dog puppies and a group of wolf pups from birth, resulting in roughly equivalent experiences. Any differences between the two groups’ social cognitive skills, then, would be attributable to genetics.

What the researchers found was that despite being raised under identical circumstances, wolves and dogs exhibited completely different behaviors in terms of problem-solving. When given a task that was essentially impossible, dogs almost always looked to their humans for cues, or "help" if you will, while wolves did not.

In one simple task, a plate of food was presented to the wolf pups (at 9 weeks) or to the dog puppies (both at 5 weeks and at 9 weeks). However, the food was inaccessible to the animals; human help would be required to access it. The trick to getting the food was simple: all the animals had to do was make eye contact with the experimenter, and he or she would reward the dog with the food from the plate. Initially, all the animals attempted in vain to reach the food. However, by the second minute of testing, dogs began to look towards the humans.

This increased over time and by the fourth minute there was a statistical difference. Dogs were more likely to initiate eye contact with the human experimenter than the wolves were. This is no small feat; initiating eye contact with the experimenter requires that the animal refocus its attention from the food to the human. Not only did the wolf pups not spontaneously initiate eye contact with the human experimenter, but they also failed to learn that eye contact was the key to solving their problem.

Other experiments in the research projects had the same result. The rest of the story is a fascinating read and well worth the time for anyone interested in dogs. It reinforces the notion that dogs truly are distinct from wild canids. They aren't just friendly wolves, but the unique genetic result of thousands of years of mutually beneficial domestication, if that's what you want to call it. They've "trained" us as much as we've trained them, a fact the researchers point out

It’s not that wolves are unintelligent; it’s quite the opposite, in fact. Wolves are cooperative hunters, skilled at negotiating within their own social networks. It’s just that even after being raised by humans, wolves simply do not see humans as potential social partners. The dogs, however, quite rapidly took a social approach to solving each problem they were given. In one sense, this is a remarkable example of tool use. Only in this case, the humans were the tools, and the dogs the tool-users.

So remember that, and be kind to your dogs. Your smart, deeply-intelligent, human-training, always-watching, always-adaptable dogs. Treat them well, or in a few more millennia of canine evolution it won't be HAL 9000, Skynet or some malevolent toaster we have to worry about, it'll be our canine masters.

It's Going To be a Bad Year For Ticks

Sarah Smith — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:07:27 -0400

by Chad Love

Do you have a favorite parasite in your life? Some mooching blood-sucking, free-loading friend or relative who's sucking you dry, but just won't leave? Then send them a gift-wrapped hint with one of these awesome and cuddly plush dolls from www.giantmicrobes.com.

Since this is a gundogs blog, how about a giant tick plush doll? Or perhaps a cute little flea? If that's not creepy enough, how about a darling bed bug? A louse? Maggot, maybe? Yes, it's fairly disgusting, but today I have bloodsuckers on the mind. Why? Because I just got in from a walk with the dogs, and picked up an astounding number of hitchhikers. It's going to be a bad tick year. Blame rain and winter warmth.

I reside just a few miles east of the 100th Meridian, that historical dividing line between the arid shortgrass prairie that lies west of the 100th and the semi-arid mixed-grass country to the east. My area averages a little over 20 inches of precipitation a year. Last year, however, was anything but average. In 2011, according to the rain gauge at my house, we received slightly less than 12 inches of rain for the entire year, combined with Mars-like summer temps for record-setting lengths of time. As a result, virtually all of my dog training, duck hunting and bird hunting got cooked away last year.

There was, however, a small silver lining: Not once did I get bitten by a mosquito, nor did I ever find a tick on any of my dogs. Granted, I have my dogs on heartworm and flea/tick medication year-round, regardless of the weather, but still, it's unusual to not find any ticks at all, even on treated dogs. The mosquitoes (and subsequent heartworm risk) is easily explained away: no standing water, no winged vermin. The lack of ticks last year? I'm no expert on pestilence, but I suspect the lack of moisture and the heat had at least something to do with it.

But oh, what a difference a year makes. This year, according to the rain gauge at my house, we've received almost 13 inches of rain (more than all of last year) since the end of January, when the skies suddenly opened up and began making up for lost time. The lakes and ponds are full, the prairie is lush, and big chunks of the southern plains that last year resembled the planet Dune now look more like Ireland.

But there's a price to pay for all that moisture. Huge, primordial clouds of mosquitoes, with larva-infested standing water everywhere. And all that lush grass? Every blade of it covered with blood-sucking little buggers, just waiting to hitch a ride. And it's not just where I live. While it may seem a cruel joke for all you northeasterners under winter storm warnings right now, but this past nationwide non-winter means flea, tick and heartworm season is going to be especially bad this year for gundog owners.

I live in a relatively not-too-bad tick area, and I normally get by with just the monthly dose of my preferred topical flea/tick medication, heartworm meds and that's it. In mild years I find I can even stretch that out a little farther between dosings, because that stuff 'aint cheap. But not this year. Based on what I've experienced so far, I'm thinking I may have to combine a topical treatment with a collar to keep the ticks off my dogs. I can only imagine how you guys in the northeast and south are going to have it this year.

What's the flea/tick situation in your area this year, and what's the best way you've found to deal with it? Topical treatment? Collar? Combo? How about treatment of your yard/kennel area? Any tips or suggestions?

Turkey Hunting Tip: Sleep In and Still Tag a Gobbler

Online Editors — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:08:47 -0400

by Mark Hicks

Serious turkey hunters are in the woods at first light with the intention of calling in a gobbler hot off the roost. But a gobbler isn’t likely to come to your calling while hens are standing in line for his services. That’s when disgruntled hunters often mumble the words “henned up” after they return empty-handed. In this instance, a midmorning hunt has a much greater chance for success. By then, the hens have left the gobblers, and those toms are still in the mood for love. Here are two approaches:

Plan A: Stay Put
If you set up decoys in a field and play the waiting game, stay put and call frequently so any gobbler that wanders within earshot hears your calls.

Plan B: Get Moving
If you hunt large wooded areas, typical of public land, you’re better off covering ground. (Wear fluorescent orange when moving if required.) Sneak along for 60 yards between calling stops. A series of yelps from a mouth call usually does the job, but sometimes cutting, cackling, or even a crow call will yield a better response. You can overrun toms if you move too fast. A tom might not respond to the first three or four calls it hears as you move closer, only to sound off when you’re practically in shotgun range. When that happens, plop down against the nearest tree, because the gobbler often comes on the run. With any luck you’ll be out of the woods in time for a late breakfast, or early lunch.

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Turkey Hunting Tip: Sleep In and Still Tag a Gobbler

Online Editors — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:08:47 -0400

by Mark Hicks

Plan A: Stay Put
If you set up decoys in a field and play the waiting game, stay put and call frequently so any gobbler that wanders within earshot hears your calls.

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

A Revered Line of Clothes and Dogs: Eddie Bauer the Gun Dog Breeder

Sarah Smith — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:44:55 -0400

by Chad Love

Back in February, Phil Bourjaily wrote a Gun Nuts blog post about the return of the revered Eddie Bauer name to hunting and shooting apparel. I was able to take a look at some of Eddie Bauer's new upland hunting and shooting apparel at SHOT this year, and came away impressed.

As Phil has already noted, Bauer has a full line of shooting apparel, and will also launch its upland collection this fall. It looks very nice, and I'm looking forward to trying out some of it, but in perusing the Eddie Bauer Sport Shop site I discovered that Eddie Bauer (the actual man, not the company) was a pretty serious gundog guy.

From the Eddie Bauer website:

In 1930 Eddie drove to Canada, paid $65, and brought home the first black Labrador retriever in Washington State. Eddie took a lot of ribbing from his hunting buddies. "What are you doing with that mutt?" they laughed.

The Lab didn't disappoint. Hunting alongside Eddie and Stine, Blackie impressed everyone. One time he even leapt from a 10-foot cliff into pounding surf, then retrieved straight to his master's hand. Blackie inspired Eddie to begin breeding Labs, leading to the creation of Wanapum Kennels in 1960. In 1974, Eddie was named Retriever Breeder of the Year.

In honor of this legacy, Eddie Bauer (the company, not the actual man) has gone back to its lab-loving roots...

In 2010, as a return to our roots, we brought home a black Labrador puppy, in honor of Eddie and his first retriever, Blackie. Born at Sunnyview Labradors in Salem, Oregon, on March 24, 2010, Eddie the dog currently field trains at McKenna Kennels, the same Northwest kennels that trained several of Eddie's dogs in the 1960s and 1970s. A skilled hunter and field competitor, Eddie is our brand ambassador and frequently appears in photo and video shoots. When he's not hunting or training, you can find Eddie at our corporate headquarters, serving as the official inspiration of the Sport Shop.

How cool is that? Kudos to Eddie Bauer. It's nice to see companies embrace what made them great in the first place (Note to Abercrombie & Fitch: half-nekkid pubescent anorexics did not make you great). And apparently, Eddie Bauer's roots and legacy in the retriever world are deep, indeed. Intrigued, I did a little Google Fu and discovered that Eddie Bauer could make dogs every bit as good as he could make outdoor clothing. Here's a link to The Retriever News about a Bauer-bred dog named Wanapum Dart's Dandy that won the 1975 US National Field Trial Championship, the 1976 Us Amateur National Championship, and both the 1976 and 1977 Canadian National Field Trial Championship. That's some serious dog power there.

Any lab guys out there who can trace their dog's pedigree back to an Eddie Bauer-bred dog?

Reader Gun Dog Tip: Use Cheetos to Introduce Your Pup to the Water

Sarah Smith — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:31:12 -0400

by Chad Love

We've gone through the first round of reader-supplied gundog tips, and I have to say there was lots of good stuff contained therein, so much so that I had a hard time picking a winner for the inaugural installment. But before I get to the winner let me remind and urge everyone to submit their tips to fsgundogtips@gmail.com for a chance to win an extremely cool Swedish Fireknife from Mora and Light My Fire.

If you've never owned a scandi-grind Mora before, here's your chance. I promise you'll love it, and this brand new iteration of the famous Mora has a built-in firesteel from Light My Fire. Not only is it Zombie/Mayan Apocalypse/Peak Oil Doom-approved, but it's also brightly-colored so you won’t lose it.

All you have to do is submit your tips to fsgundogtips@gmail.com. It can be about any aspect of training, ownership or hunting with your dogs. It can be a useful piece of gear (homemade or otherwise), a time-saving piece of advice or a novel or unusual way to teach a concept. In fact, our first winner is a good example of a novel approach to dealing with something all gundog owners go through: introducing a pup to water.

Now there are about five billion different ways to introduce a pup to water, but not all of them will work for all dogs. Some work on the pack principle (let the pup learn by following your other dogs into the water) while others play to pup's retrieving instinct (tossing puppy bumpers into gradually deeper water). I've tried pretty much all of them, and all of them will work. However, I also believe that virtually all dogs, especially retrievers and flushers, will eventually take to water regardless of how you introduce them to it, the timing just varies from dog to dog.

So introduction to water, at least in my experience, isn't as crucial in how you do it, as say, introduction to gunfire, and there's more leeway for mistakes. As an example, one of my chessies got accidentally "introduced" to the water at about 12 weeks of age when I foolishly let her fall headlong off the end of a dock into six feet of slushy, icy, late January water. At the time I thought I'd ruined her. She turned out to be the water freakingest dog I ever owned.

Still, it's natural for puppy owner to fret about their pup's desire to swim, hence all the various strategies. But if there's one thing above all others that pups respond to, it's their stomach. And that's why I liked this tip from reader Bill Maggert.

Low-stress (for the dog) and foolproof so far: Take a bag of Cheetos, eat a handful, give a handful to pup, and then toss a couple into some still water, like a pool or a pond. (The pond would be good for you). Coax her if you have to; but every puppy I've tried this with has been swimming and gobbling snacks within 15 minutes. I don't have any photo or video proof, but this is the final result. A young dog that will hold patiently after a water retrieve from the Atlantic Ocean. No Cheetos in the pic, but they were there!

What a great and extremely simple idea! Using a handful of Cheetos as a floating treat that encourages the dog to swim. Love it.

Bill, the editors will get your knife in the mail soon, and thanks again for all the responses so far. Keep them coming, and I'll announce another winner in a couple weeks or so.

How to Use a Wingbone Turkey Call

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:54:11 -0400

by Dave Hurteau

For all you gobbler hunters out there, I give you the first in any number of turkey-related posts that will appear this month and next:

Way back in 2004, with the help of New York turkey call maker Jim Young, we ran short piece in the pages of Field & Stream on how to make your own wingbone call. All these years later Jim's phone won't stop ringing. Folks are making wingbone calls just fine, he told Video Editor Mike Shea, but no one knows how to use them. The secret, Jim says in this video, is in the "tight kissing motion." Have a look and give it a try, with the call that is. His original article on how to make the call is below.

From the archives, Sportsman’s Notebook March 2004:

Winging It: The Ancient Art of Making a Wingbone Turkey Call

Native Americans started using wingbone turkey calls as early as 6,500 B.C. Today, these ingeniously simple calls still fool gobblers and are fairly easy to make – at least, that is, with the expert instructions here, provided by professional wingbone call-maker Jim Young (813-661-9460, jimyoung@jimyoungturkeycalls.com) of Auburn, New York. – Dave Hurteau

1. Remove The Wing. Make the cur right where the wing meets the body; you need the entire shoulder bone. Then, while the wing is still fresh, remove the feathers, skin, and as much meat as possible. You’ll end up with three bones: the humerous, ulna, and radius.

2. Cut And Cook. Remove the ends of the bones with a hacksaw, leaving as much bone as possible. Put the bones in a pot of water and dish detergent and boil for about an hour.

3. Hollow The Bones. Take a wire or pipe cleaner and remove the bone marrow from the radius. Next, put a small amount of paper in the ulna and push it through the bone using a piece of wire. Then, take a small pocketknife a clean out the lattice –type bone structure inside the humerous.

4. Fit And Glue. Insert the ulna about ¼ inch into the humerous. Now, notice that the radius has one round end and one flattened, oblong end. Insert the round end into the ulna, leaving the flattened end for the mouthpiece. You might have to file or sand the bones to get a proper fit. The ideal call will be about 8 to 8.5 inches long. When all looks good, epoxy the bones together. At this point the call is perfectly functional, but you can improve its appearance by filing any excess epoxy, rounding off the mouthpiece, and buffing the entire call with two types of files (course and fine) and three types of sandpaper (60, 150 and 600). Head for the woods.

How to Use a Wingbone Turkey Call

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:54:11 -0400

by Dave Hurteau

For all you gobbler hunters out there, I give you the first in any number of turkey-related posts that will appear this month and next:

From the archives, Sportsman’s Notebook March 2004:

Winging It: The Ancient Art of Making a Wingbone Turkey Call

2. Cut And Cook. Remove the ends of the bones with a hacksaw, leaving as much bone as possible. Put the bones in a pot of water and dish detergent and boil for about an hour.

The 50 Best Photos From Field & Stream's 2012 Spring Trail Cam Contest: Round I

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:22:02 -0400

Who says trail cams are only fun in the fall? Set yours out this spring, then send us your best photos. You could win a new Bushnell Trophy Cam HD (MSRP $323.95).

Here's how it works. This contest will have three rounds. The first, Round I, starts today, March 12, and closes on April 12. Round II runs from April 12 to May 12, and Round III from May 12 to June 12. We're giving away three Bushnell Trophy Cam HDs (MSRP: $323.95) in each round, one cam each to the top three entries, as chosen by our editors.

Congratulations to users Kim Doucette Kelly, Isham C. Shelby and Stephen Schimacher who each will receive a camera for their entries in Round!

So go set your trail cams up already. And have fun! --The Editors

Click here for more info on the prizes.

Click here to enter ROUND II of the 2012 SPRING TRAIL CAM CONTEST

The Spay/Neuter Dogma: What's Your View?

Online Editors — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:08:33 -0400

by Chad Love

I was perusing the always-excellent Upland Journal forums recently when I came across an interesting thread discussion on spaying and neutering your dogs.

The impetus for the discussion was a recent thesis on spay/neutering that found neutered/spayed dogs to be more aggressive, fearful, excitable and less trainable than intact dogs, as well as significant differences in bone growth between fixed and intact dogs.

Now, one of the most important (and potentially wrenching) decisions a gundog owner must make is whether to have their dogs spayed or neutered. If you ever plan on breeding then obviously the question is moot, but what if you don’t plan on breeding your dogs? What then? Should you get them fixed or leave them intact? It's one of the most contentious issues of dog ownership, with compelling arguments on both sides.

There are the usual dueling scientific papers on the health issues surrounding spay/neuter (see above), but perhaps the biggest issue from an owner's perspective is, of course, pregnancy. It's a certainty that with a fixed dog you don’t ever have to worry about an unwanted pregnancy (or siring) and (if you have a female) you don’t ever have to worry about her coming into season either right before or during a hunting trip, hunt test or field trial.

On the other hand, many dog owners believe spaying and neutering isn’t always a good idea, and can precipitate changes in a dog's behavior and/or health (see above). I'm not a breeder, and when I was considering having one of my female chessies spayed several years ago, not one but two old-time field trialers I trained with at the time warned me not to, as they claimed to have seen too many dogs change for the worse after getting fixed. My vet, on the other hand, recommended it. Talk about confusion...

Ultimately, I ended up not getting my female spayed at that time, but probably will now, for the simple fact that she's much older and I doubt she can get much slower, fatter or lazier than she already is. But I've also got a young (two-year-old) female setter, and Ozzy, my new male setter pup, so it's something I've been thinking about lately. Again, I'm not a breeder, and the only two litters of gundogs I've raised have both been whoopsies. Well-bred whoopsies, but whoopsies nonetheless. It'd be nice to not have any more whoopsies, but at the same time I don't want to experience any behavioral or health changes with my dogs. And it's worth noting that I've never had any of my dogs spayed or neutered, so from a personal perspective, I simply don’t have one.

So what do you think? What’s been your experience with spayed or neutered dogs versus intact dogs?

Photo Timeline: Celebrating 75 Years of Ducks Unlimited

Online Editors — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:29:28 -0400

Seventy-five years ago this month, a small group of avid waterfowlers took bold action to help restore waterfowl populations devastated by drought and wetland drainage. Led by printing magnate Joseph Palmer Knapp and other members of the More Game Birds in America Foundation, these conservation pioneers founded a new organization with the singular mission of protecting and restoring wetlands in Canada, where the majority of the continent's waterfowl are raised.

A year after outlining their plan, the dream of Knapp and his colleagues became a reality. Ducks Unlimited, Inc.—the U.S.-based entity that would serve to gather and disperse funds—was incorporated on January 29, 1937, in Washington, D.C. Ducks Unlimited Canada, the entity that would actually carry out the founders' ambitious plan, was incorporated shortly thereafter in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on March 10. This is a timeline history of Ducks Unlimited from that date to the present.

Training Your Gun Dog with Birds: Get Pups Into Contacts Early

Sarah Smith — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:06:22 -0400

by Chad Love

Regardless of how well-bred your dogs are, or how much natural talent they possess, the old adage "birds make bird dogs" still holds true. Getting your pup into bird contacts early and often is a crucial part of a young dog's education.

That's why, with two pointing dogs and a retriever to work this spring and summer, the subject of obtaining, raising, and training with birds is something on which I'll be spending a lot of my time and energy.

Some guys use pen-raised birds with a callback pen or Johnny house, others use wild-trapped pigeons, and some trainers even use homing pigeons that can be used on distant training grounds and then allowed to fly home to the loft to be used over and over again (provided you don’t shoot them, of course).

I've primarily used a combination of trapped pigeons and pen-raised quail for my training. I like the idea of not having to pay three to four bucks apiece for quail that tend to be somewhat fragile when I can (hopefully) trap nearly indestructible barn pigeons for free, but on the other hand I find that it's also a good idea to utilize both, depending on your needs or specific training goals.

But I'm curious to hear what your favorite training bird is. Pen-raised gamebirds like quail or chukar? Or do you trap or raise pigeons (more on trapping and raising pigeons in a forthcoming blog post) for your training birds? Any thoughts on the relative merits of one versus the other?

Make Hot Drinks on Windy Days with the Kelly Kettle

Online Editors — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:27:45 -0400

by Chad Love

One of life's great simple pleasures is (for me, anyway) sitting on the truck tailgate on a crisp fall or winter day out in the field, with the dogs at my feet, sipping a hot cup of coffee or tea after a morning's hunt, idly ruminating on Life, The Universe, and Everything. That's the bucolic, highly idealized Corey Ford version, anyway. The reality is, I live in Oklahoma (you know, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains) and usually the wind isn't merely sweeping, it's howling. Which makes preparing my coveted hot beverage a frustrating proposition.

A Thermos just doesn't keep water hot enough for my little French press to work effectively, so what I've done in the past is take a little single-burner propane stove and a small teakettle with me on bird-hunting trips. This works fine when the wind is down, but the wind is rarely down in my part of the world. The slightest breeze renders my stove, even with the windshield, not very effective.

In addition to wind trouble, space is now at a premium for me. I've largely parked my gas-guzzling 4x4 truck and started doing most of my hunting out of my wife's old Subaru Forester. Having to tote along a stove, a propane cylinder, a kettle and a French press in addition to the dog crates, hunting gear and everything else, makes things a bit cramped. So I started looking around for alternatives last season. And when I'm researching effective, minimalist camping or trekking equipment, the first place I look is on the various bushcraft websites, bulletin boards and forums. That's how I stumbled across the Kelly Kettle, a European import originally used by Irish fishermen, gamekeepers and herders to quickly boil water for tea and cooking.

It is often called a "volcano" kettle. Why "volcano"? Because that's basically what it is: A double-walled kettle with a big, open hole in the middle in which you start a small fire. Due to the kettle’s extremely large surface area, the water heats up very quickly. And the fire is protected from the wind, thanks to the kettle walls surrounding it (a biggie for me). In fact, the fire burns hotter as it gets windier because the kettle's stand acts like a bellow that draws air into the fire chamber.

On paper, it sounded perfect for me. I could get rid of the teakettle because this thing holds water. I could get rid of the stove and the bulky propane cylinder because it works with grass, twigs, bark or pretty much any other combustible material you're likely to find out in the field. Plus, it is allegedly windproof.

After a field test, I have to say that it works brilliantly.

I was scheduled to go quail hunting on the day I received my Kelly Kettle, but had to cancel because the weather was so bad. Temps were plunging, the wind was screaming and snow was starting to fall. What better time to try it out, right? So I immediately took it into the backyard, poured some water in it, scrounged a few twigs from the ground, lit the fire and waited. I didn’t have to wait long. In fact, I was, quite frankly, shocked at how quickly this thing boils water with such little fuel.

I dropped a few more twigs down the chimney and had the water boiling within a couple minutes — three at the most. Really boiling. All this during a bitterly cold, strong and gusty wind: The kind that would have been quite impossible to keep my cheap little propane jobber lit, much less heat water.

The next week, I took the Kelly Kettle and my French press to a quail hunt at a local WMA. The weather was sunny, but with that ever-present stiff breeze. I scrounged some tufts of grass and a few dry twigs from the parking area, lit the fire, and within a few minutes, was enjoying a nice cup of coffee out in the field with the dogs instead of choking down a Styrofoam cup of battery acid in some convenience store parking lot. That, however, was the only hunt I got to take my Kelly Kettle on. The season ended a couple days later. I've made backyard tea and coffee several times since then, and the Kelly Kettle has performed flawlessly every time on just a handful of twigs.

Are there downsides? A few. One, it's relatively expensive compared to the fuel stove/tea kettle route. Prices range from $59.95, for the aluminum "Trekker" model that holds 17 ounces of water all the way, to $84.99, for the stainless steel base camp model that holds 50 ounces of water (stainless models are a bit pricier). Will I ultimately save money by not having to buy propane cylinders? We'll see. Two, the large base camp size is a bit bulky (but still not as bulky as the stove, cylinder and teakettle it replaced). I got the base camp, and I'd probably opt for the medium-sized "Scout" model if I had it to do over again. Finally, the fire base and the inside chamber of the kettle itself will get messy and sooty, and will pretty much stay that way. The kettle comes with its own bag, and I just keep it in the bag when not in use.

Those are, however, very minor nits, especially when compared to how much better the kettle performs in the wind than did my old set-up. The Kelly Kettle will definitely become a permanent part of my kit come next fall. For the particulars, you can check out the Kelly Kettle USA website and videos on YouTube.

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from March 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:00:43 -0400

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

A Call For Gun Dog Tips From F&S Readers, Win a FireKnife

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:15:49 -0400

by Chad Love

First, thanks for all the great name suggestions for my new pup.

I really did read every one both on the blog and on Facebook, and in the end we named him Ozzy. Not for any particular reason or after any particular person, we simply decided that, for some reason, he just looked like an Ozzy. Although I will say that, thanks to his exceedingly calm demeanor, he almost ended up being named "The Dude."

I'm happy to report that Ozzy is doing just fine and settling in with the other dogs. In the short time he's been here he's already gotten himself caught in a pigeon trap, broken into the pen where I keep my training quail, learned that an open dishwasher door means good licking opportunities, and (somehow, when I wasn't looking) caught and partially ate his first gopher. Or maybe the gopher was already dead from one of the neighborhood cats. I don’t know. All I know is when I came around the corner of the house he was gnawing on the gopher's head. I'm sure the rest of it will show up in a few hours...

With that out of the way, I'd like to introduce a new feature here on the blog, one I've been wanting to try out for a while, but it all depends on you.

One of the neat things about writing a blog like this is getting the interaction and exchange of idea with readers. I love hearing about better, cheaper or innovative ways of doing things, so what I'd like to do is start up a semi-regular blog feature showcasing reader-supplied training tips. However, it doesn't strictly have to stick with training. If you have a favorite tip or trick you use regarding any aspect of gun dog ownership, training, care or bird hunting with your dog, share it with us. It could be a money-saving tip, a time-saving tip, or a sanity-saving tip.

Do you make any of your own equipment or substitute other items for expensive training gear in order to stretch your budget? Let us know (here's an example). Or maybe an indispensable piece of kit you always take along on your hunting trips? You get the idea.

Send your tips to fsgundogtips@gmail.com and try to include a picture to better demonstrate the concept or practice of your tip. Periodically I'll choose a tip to feature on the blog, and if it's yours, you'll win a Swedish FireKnife from Mora and Light My Fire. I mean, FireKnife just sounds cool, doesn't it?

As a good example of out-of-the-box thinking, here's a great idea from the always-interesting 8 More Miles bird hunting blog wherein the blog author brainstorms and then fabricates a very handy, neat and portable roll-up multiple-dog chain gang for use on extended hunts.

From the blog:

This summer, I think I've built a better chain gang. For those of you unaware, the chain gang is a useful tool if you've got a bunch of bird dogs in your care. Trainers use it so an entire pack of dogs can observe others being trained. For me, they make a lot of sense when you're airing, watering, and feeding a string of dogs.

Last year in Montana, we had six dogs, and every night at feeding time, we hammered six stakes into the often-hard ground. After two weeks on the road, it got a bit old.

This year, we'll have eight dogs. The chain gang lets you hammer just two stakes -- one at each end -- and you hook up a dog every six feet on 18-inch drop chains. It gives the dogs plenty of room to stretch out, drink and eat, do their business, all while not tangling (literally or figuratively) with one another.

After a lot of Internet reading, discussions with buddies, and scores of visits to various hardware stores, I came up with a pretty handy system that I think will suit my needs well.

That was a great idea that served his needs and didn’t break the bank in the process (further chain gang details can be found on the blog). That's what we're looking for. So if you have a favorite Nugget 'O Wisdom, send it along to fsgundogtips@gmail.com. Fame, fortune and beautiful groupies await those lucky enough to be chosen*

*not really, but send your tips along, anyway.

Auburn University Trains Labs to Flush Pythons in Everglades

Sarah Smith — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:38:31 -0400

by Chad Love

Ever hear the old saw (which happens to be true, by the way) that a trained gundog is the greatest conservation tool a hunter can have? Think about that. Without a dog, just imagine how many animals you may otherwise have lost in the field, all those precious, delicious and hard-won quail, pheasants, ducks, geese, chukars, huns, ruffed grouse, sharptails, prairie chickens, Burmese pythons, African rock pythons, boa constrictors, anacondas...

Wait a second...pythons? Uh, yep. Pythons.

From this story on takepart.com:

Sometimes when man creates a huge problem that destroys the balance of the ecosystem, man’s best friend must come in and sort it out. Oanow reports that Jake and Ivy, two Labradors from Alabama's Auburn University, were recently called to the swamps of Florida to find a formidable non-native species: the Burmese Python. Brought to Florida by the exotic pet trade, and set free in the Everglades, the Southeast Asian snakes are normally about 12 feet long but can reach lengths of up to 19 feet. Opportunistic eaters, pythons have all but wiped out marsh rabbits, opossums, and raccoons in the southern region of Everglades National Park, according to a nine-year study.

Terry Fischer and Craig Angle of Auburn’s EcoDog program traveled to Florida to pick up samples of the species’ scent and then imprinted the dogs with the essence of Burmese python. “We found the use of detection dogs to be a valuable addition to the current tools used to manage and control pythons,” said Christina Romagosa, of AU’s School of Forestry and Wildlife, in a press release. The dogs can detect pythons from a distance and when they spot one they stop in their tracks and crouch. The pythons’ reaction is strangely poignant. Rather than striking when discovered, they curl up and hide.

“It’s their first line of defense,” said Melissa Miller, biological sciences doctoral student who handled the snakes. “People think when you catch a snake it’s going to come back biting at you...but they see us as a predator even though they’re a large snake.” So far Jake and Ivy have located 19 pythons, one of which had 19 eggs.

That's pretty fascinating stuff, there. Much ink has already been spilled about Florida's python problems and in an effort to help control the snakes Florida even opened up an official python hunting season, which ended in total failure.

But the possibility of hunting giant snakes with dogs brings a whole new dimension to the upland experience, doesn't it? Is python hunting with pointing dogs the new quail? The similarities are sort of eerie, when you think about it. Quail hunting in the southeast is quickly disappearing and no one other than a few die-hard disciples seems to care, just so long as they can keep shooting their turkeys and deer. But some scientists predict pythons can and will spread beyond south Florida into those very same areas that at one time were the heart of the southern quail culture. And what do giant pythons eat? Deer and turkey (and anything else they can wrap a coil around). So if the snakes eat all the deer and turkeys, and if hunting them without dogs is futile (see above) could we someday see a resurgence in upland hunting over pointing dogs in the south, with giant pythons replacing quail as the quarry?

Granted, a python's defensive measure when found by a dog (see above) isn't quite the same as the explosion of a covey rise, but when life gives you giant reptiles, you gotta make giant reptile lemonade, right? And I'm betting a flushing python is a helluva lot easier to hit with a load of #7 1/2s than a quail, at least for the more accomplished wingshots among us.

Laugh if you will, but I think this is the next big thing. Which brings us to the question I'm dying to ask: What breed of pointing dog would be best suited to python hunting and why? Britts, pointers, setters, one of the versatile breeds? How would you want your dog trained? Steady only to slither and hiss? Or steady to slither, hiss and shot? I'll leave it to the Gun Nuts to discuss the proper python gun, but what's your ideal python dog?

*Need I mention that tongue is somewhere in the vicinity of cheek with this? Of course I do...