In his will, a friend of ours has specified that he wants to be cremated, his ashes “loaded into shotshells and given to my duck hunting buddies, so I can keep on killing them winged bastards.” Do you love this guy or what! Well, now that’s possible with a new Alabama company named Holy Smoke. […]
The drought affecting several Midwest and Southeast states seems to be only bad news for an already hurting national quail population. We checked in with Dr. Tom Dailey, assistant director of the Northern Bobwhite Quail Initiative, to see how the quail are doing, and found out that it’s not all bad news. But first the […]
Sometimes we feel that talking to our upland brothers (some of them – and not as much our upland sisters) is like talking to someone from another century. We for sure get the brisk fall air, love of the birds, good dog work, respect for tradition and whatever else you want to throw in that […]
Recently, Purina (Nestle) scientist Brian Zanghi, Ph.D. posted an interesting but loooooooooong article with some tips about keeping an older dog going longer in the field. Give you a hint: no pizza or beer…. Seriously, it’s worth a full read if you have an older dog, and even if yours don’t qualify as old yet. […]
But Bad Stuff Stirring in MA New England and ruffies (aka, wood or furry chickens) go together like deep-fried hotdogs and Mountain Dew. Okay, maybe not the right analogy but you get the drift. Here’s some info about the best New England grouse state – Maine! – as well as some not-so-good rumblings about an […]
The first line of the About section on SportDOG Brand’s website has the phrase “electronic dog training products.” That’s been the sum total of the company’s product line since 2003. But no more. SportDOG recently intro’d Canine Athlete products, which as the name implies are nutritional supplements for hunting dogs. The first products, which you […]
Chad Love blogs most excellently for Field & Stream and Quail Forever, and recently “penned” a doozy titled How Much is Upland Hunting Worth to You? We’re sure we’re all in the same boat – the Mastercard “priceless” category. If that’s the case, would you pay an extra $15, $20, $25 to beef up upland […]
Well…sorta! Check out the cover of its latest fall 2011 hunting catalog. Not sure if everyone got this cover or just the bird-heads or what, but it’s cool. No secret that we’re huge fans of Bean upland gear, and gotta say that we found a few must-haves/wanna-tries in this catalog. We’ll be testing out the […]
In the current era of “remote control” of hunting dogs – not that there’s anything wrong with that – could it be that an even better way is…your face? That was the subject of an intriguing post by Wingshooting USA host Scott Linden. Excerpts: > Think about what dogs see, especially from any distance. Not […]
The ruffed grouse is Pennsylvania’s state bird, PA has lots of ruffies and the state is home to Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) HQ. And yet, as in many states, Pennsylvania bird hunters feel that ruffies haven’t gotten much attention in Pennsylvania. Is the state now out to change that? The state is seeking input on […]
We’ve been getting a flurry of emails the last couple of weeks about how the ruffie population looks like it’s gone up for this season. We’ll take a look at what’s being said, and then give you our opinion. Wisconsin Highlights from this article: > According to 2011 spring drumming counts from the state’s Department […]
In a recent blog post, Bob St. Pierre at Pheasants Forever asked whether the preseason pheasant forecast influences whether we all hunt. A good question, one that led to more questions, like: > Do counts of any kind (e.g., drumming) influence whether or where you hunt? > Should they? > Do these forecasts do more […]
How do you keep your Serious birdin’ spirits up in the summer months? Well, besides spending time with the dog, smacking some clays and trying to stay in shape, for us there’s…trip-planning. If you’re lucky enough to hunt right outside your door, or close to it, great. But many of us have to jump […]
“Where were you?” “Behind.” We’ve said that to each other on sporting clays courses and in the field more times than we care to remember – “behind” as in behind the bird. If only we had 20 shots and tracer rounds so, like members of our esteemed armed forces, we could walk the rounds into […]
Just read this article on hunting ruffies in MN this year. So much of it, while well-intentioned, is wrong. Here goes: > The good news is, counts were up 34 percent this spring in parts of northern Minnesota. Counts remained stable in southern Minnesota. This COULD mean that there’s more easy birds (young ones) early […]
Lessons from 2012 Maine-NH Hunt
Don’t know if we’ve fully recovered yet from our not-quite-a-week of hunting Maine and New Hampshire for ruffies and woodies. We all actually bailed 2 days early, having put in 5 consecutive days instead of our usual 7. Felt like wimps about it, but hey, we were BEAT…from 5 days of the most brutal hunting […]
No Grouse Comeback in SW Penn?
Sounds like ruffed grouse will never be as much a part of the landscape of southern Pennsylvania as they once will. “Never” sounds ominous. Permanent. But that’s the conclusion of an article by Bob Frye in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Why should you care if you don’t live or hunt in PA? Reasons: > Pennsylvania is […]
Hey: All Ruffies Drum Differently!
Did you know that? Not until now…. This info won’t help us hunting, but it’s interesting – and makes sense. Here’s more, from newscientist.com: Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds. Humans and many other animals, particularly birds, can be identified by their voices. But no one had looked […]
Ran across this quote from an article about Iowa’s pheasant count: > “I haven’t even gone pheasant hunting the last couple of years because the birds just weren’t there,†said Tim Wolf, a 61-year-old bank president who lives in Waukee. YES THEY WERE! They most definitely were there. Maybe not like this… > “But I’ve […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids
Ah the UK, the land that gave the world 17 pieces of silverware on the table, animal rights and other questionable stuff. Okay, it wasn’t all bad – that’s where our bird hunting came from too. But it’s different here…or there, depending on your perspective. Here’s some recent bird news plus some interesting vids. Katie […]
Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?
We make it a point to try not to get suckered by political hoo-ha, so that’s not what this is about. We ran across a blog post on the Discovery-owned treehugger.com titled “Why Does Congress Hate Pheasants?” and a related one, “Do Tea Party, Heritage Foundation Oppose Hunting?” Interesting stuff, written by the same gent, […]
Quail, the most beleaguered of our beloved gamebirds, is getting a helping hand in Kansas. Or rather, a bigger helping hand. The state just announced that it’s “launching a new quail restoration initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations at a landscape level.” Here’s more: > Includes the designation of two […]
Worms and Birds: What Else Don’t We Know?
Believe we’ve talked about this at least once, but a recent Wall Street Journal article on the plight of Texas quail got us thinking about it again. Here’s the applicable stuff: …Rolling Hills Quail Research Ranch, a 4,700-acre spread an hour west of Abilene. Last month, researchers there found that the levels of parasitic worms […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Lone Star Outdoor news recently carried an article on a speech given by Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Rotan, Texas. Seems that a major threat to quail, at least in the Lone Star state, may be an eyeball worm. News to us! Highlights: > Especially mysterious were the continued […]
