If I could smell a bird, walk effortlessly through thick brush, and cover ten times as much ground as the average human, Woodcock hunting would be a breeze. If I had a dog which could do all these things, Woodcock hunting would be even more of a breeze. Unfortunately I can’t smell birds, I’m a slow walker, and I don’t have a dog. The problem is that I’ve grown increasingly fond of hunting American woodcock . I am a dog-less hunter with a young family and limited time to hunt, so pounding the gro...
Sep 29, 2024•7 min
One of the most constantly changing topics in the field of veterinary medicine is flea and tick prevention for dogs. Hunting dogs are some of the most exposed and susceptible victims to ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas, mites and other insects. Every year, it is important to purchase preventative products for your dog and to ask your veterinarian what new products are available. In this article, I will discuss the three different types of preventative products and why they are so important to ...
Sep 27, 2024•11 min
Generally speaking, grassland grouse are not the most adaptable critters. Both prairie chicken species need large expanses of grassland, while sage grouse must have large expanses of sagebrush to thrive. The one exception to this rule is the sharp-tailed grouse . While generally considered a grassland species, sharpies range from the shrub-scrub grasslands in Wisconsin through the vast prairies of the northern U.S. Great Plains and Canada, culminating in the shrublands of Alaska. That’s a huge g...
Sep 24, 2024•15 min
During my childhood in southern New Hampshire , kids competed to shoot a limit of “pa’tridge,” my brother and myself included. I admit, I lost just about every time to my older brother. However, we thought shooting the limit was a good idea. After all, it was the 80s. These birds gave an air of boundless existence. Hunting the droves of ruffed grouse in the Berkshires of Massachusetts when our grandfather was setting up a stand seemed almost too easy. We believed the grouse there and in the wood...
Sep 22, 2024•19 min
Sage-grouse need large, connected, and mostly treeless swaths of sagebrush to survive. Without this, sage-grouse cease to exist. It’s that simple. Sage-grouse are what scientists and biologists call a sagebrush obligate species. You can’t have sage-grouse without sage. Sage-grouse occupy western sagebrush ( Artemisia sp.) prairies of California , Nevada , Oregon , Washington , Idaho , Utah , Colorado , Wyoming , Montana , North Dakota , South Dakota , and into the province of Saskatchewan. Altho...
Sep 18, 2024•12 min
Each September, an inexplicable reverence stirs within me as I patiently await the chance to roam Wyoming’s boundless public lands in pursuit of the bird that holds my heart—the iconic sage grouse . There’s something almost spiritual about stepping into the vast sea of sagebrush and feeling the landscape’s timeless pull. For many hunters, pursuing these majestic birds is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime adventure, often meticulously planned months or years ahead. Preparation and knowledge are key in o...
Sep 13, 2024•19 min
Recently, the states of Nebraska and South Dakota have been getting most of the attention from hunters seeking to pursue greater prairie-chickens . This makes a lot of sense, given the good population of birds in these states and the abundance of publicly accessible land available to hunt. However, Kansas has long been a leader in greater prairie-chicken harvest and continues to provide excellent hunting. With a long season and the ability to harvest other species while chasing chickens, you sho...
Sep 10, 2024•10 min
It was late September, the Minnesotan air was cool, and Ruffed Grouse were on my mind. We had just thrown our hunting gear in the back of the pickup, ready to head out for a day of chasing dogs through grouse cover, when my cell phone began to vibrate. Normally, I would let it go to voicemail. However, having only just walked out of the camp, my fiancée calling would have meaning. “A grouse just flew through the window and landed on the bed,” Sabrina said with a mix of shock and nervous laughter...
Sep 07, 2024•12 min
Spruce grouse are not often–if ever–regarded as the King of the Uplands . They suffer a perception forced upon them by those of us accustomed to pursuing ruffed grouse , ring-necked pheasants , sharp-tailed grouse , chukar , or any of the various quail species that inhabit our countrysides. They are renowned for their dim-wittedness, weak flush, and poor culinary experience. They’ve even earned the nickname “Fool Hen,” a moniker that is both well-earned and undeserved. Spruce grouse are so preva...
Sep 03, 2024•8 min
Clapper rails don’t sing. They cackle. It’s a guttural call emanating from somewhere deep within each tiny bird that reverberates with enough force to trigger a cascade. Once one rail calls, every rail within earshot erupts into its own chorus. The cacophony sends a ripple through the salt marsh and shatters its peaceful silence like glass. Today, however, there is no peace, and there is no silence. It’s already been shattered. A violent collision of arctic air and Gulf Stream winds just smacked...
Aug 27, 2024•16 min
To bird dog aficionados, names like Elhew Snakefoot, Count Noble, Shadowoaks Bo, and Manitoba Rap are well known. But to the average person, the names of dogs in our hall of fame mean absolutely nothing at all. But there are a few dogs from hunting breeds that have achieved fame beyond the bird dog world. Let’s have a look at some of the most celebrated among them. Read more at projectupland.com ....
Aug 20, 2024•16 min
September 1 is one of the most popular hunting dates in the United States. In many states, it’s the opening day of dove season, which is the start of upland hunting for many wing shooting enthusiasts. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) sets a range of dates, season lengths, and bag limits that states can choose from to harvest doves. Depending on each state’s latitude, there are advantages to selecting early dates, later dates, or even split dates. September 1 is the earliest th...
Aug 13, 2024•11 min
Is it a fuzzy face infatuation that pulls at your heartstrings? Or is it that your dog is a bird-finding machine? For most, it’s probably a combination of the two. When deciding to breed or not to breed, be honest with your motivations. That adorable face comes with heavy liabilities and responsibilities. Unfortunately, the fact that you’re in love with your dog doesn’t necessarily mean it has the genetic traits to better its breed and produce a good hunting dog . There are temperamental, health...
Aug 11, 2024•10 min
A dog conditioned for big runs in the open prairie with relatively flat terrain may not fare as well in the mountains chasing chukar or the thick brambles of the north country chasing ruffed grouse and woodcock . When the training grounds don’t match the hunting conditions, it’s like training for a marathon but running a Tough Mudder instead. The body will eventually adjust, but not before shortened or lost days in the field due to fatigue or injury. Read more at projectupland.com ....
Aug 06, 2024•14 min
Getting a willful, prey-driven hunting dog to heel can be difficult at first. It is one of the most common reasons a handler loses their prize one in the NAVHDA testing system. It’s also one of the reasons owners avoid stimulating environments while walking their dog. The drive within our hunting dogs is the putty from which we play. Because heeling is a drive-based activity, drive can be a benefit or a detriment when it comes to heeling. If done properly, the dog is driven to find its position ...
Aug 03, 2024•16 min
Doves are the highest-harvested game bird in the United States, with over 10 million bagged annually. The high harvest rate isn’t surprising, considering dove hunting season is the first hunting season to open for most wing shooters. However, the dove’s widespread range no doubt contributes to the large harvest. They can be found in nearly every state and much of Canada. They breed from the west coast to the east coast, as far north as southeast Alaska and south into Mexico. Such a massive range...
Jul 30, 2024•11 min
When acting selfishly while playing youth sports, the common phrase “there’s no I in team” was repeatedly thrown around. My coaches insisted I trust others with the ball to develop good teamwork. But giving up the ball didn’t come naturally. I often got “the eye” from my coaches, revealing their disappointment in my lack of team play. They’d use various positive and punitive techniques to get their points across, though eventually, “the eye” was all it took for me to know what needed to be done....
Jul 23, 2024•16 min
The recall is an extremely important ritual we have with our dogs. When called, the dog quickly and directly finds its position either in front or to our side. It happily and thoughtlessly finds its position, returning as excitedly as it went out and finishing with robotic consistency; something that has been groomed into it since the day it came home. READ: Understanding Timing in Dog Training When properly developed, a dog can’t wait to get to its owner’s side. Even after capturing its most pr...
Jul 21, 2024•15 min
Like most parents, I hope my children will share my interests so we can enjoy them together. As a passionate upland hunter, I dream of days spent in the field nurturing their curiosity, instilling a desire for conservation , and fostering a profound respect and appreciation for the game birds we pursue. There’s a special kind of magic and responsibility involved with welcoming young children into the world of upland hunting . I often get asked, “When is the right time?” I believe it depends on m...
Jul 15, 2024•13 min
Vintage shotguns can be particular with the kinds of shotgun shells you put through them. In a world filled with high-velocity, heavy payload shells, the difficulty of finding lighter loads can take away some of the allure of owning a classic. But it shouldn’t stop you. There’s something warm and cozy about hunting with a 50-, 75-, or even 100-year-old shotgun. Only a handful of ammunition manufacturers really make loads like they used to. With the right load, classic guns can work just as well,...
Jul 09, 2024•11 min
“Suddenly into the middle of the coterie of breeders a bombshell was flung, so startling as to cause a violent upheaval of all the old theories, and a complete revolution in setter breeding, the effects of which have lasted to the present day.” —Walter Baxendale Walter Baxendale’s “bombshell” was a man named Edward Laverack, now universally regarded as the father of the modern English Setter . Little is known about his early life, but as a young man, Laverack was apparently a shoemaker’s apprent...
Jul 02, 2024•18 min
In May of 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new rules governing dog imports into the United States. The rules are aimed at standardizing the process between countries and preventing the introduction of canine rabies into the U.S., but the broad-sweeping changes will have lasting impacts on breed clubs that depend on imported puppies for genetic diversity as well as dog owners who regularly cross international borders—including Canada . The CDC differentiat...
Jun 30, 2024•11 min
I can’t help but stare through the conference room’s glass curtain wall, in awe of some of the world’s most productive wetlands on Earth. This morning, the frozen wetlands are blanketed in snow after this winter’s biggest storms pounded the area, which is great for recharging those wetlands later in the year. During spring, summer, and fall, these Great Salt Lake wetlands are so valuable, that they’ve been recognized as being globally important and critical habitat for millions of waterfowl and ...
Jun 24, 2024•15 min
My first-ever interaction with an English Springer Spaniel was when my wife, Emily, brought one home. When considering which dog breed our first hunting dog should be, we ultimately landed on the one with which Emily was most familiar. She grew up with Springers, and consequently, that is where we landed. At that time, we weren’t aware of the differences between bench and field bred dogs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as our involvement in bird hunting deepened, so did our knowledge of the breed. Our ...
Jun 17, 2024•13 min
“Where were you last night?” These words strike fear in nearly all adolescent children. Is the parent simply curious? Was it an ambivalent conversation starter or a knowing and accusatory set up? The answer always lies within the subtle tones, expression, and body language of the parent. The same is true when thinking about the delivery of a command in dog training . It is very important to be cognizant of how we present information to our dogs because they, too, are always studying what we are ...
Jun 14, 2024•12 min
It’s not quite U.S. domestic politics or dog food , but raise the topic of “force fetch” or its euphemism, “trained retrieve,” and you’ll quickly discover that pointing dog folks have lots of feelings about it. You’ll generally find four camps: a camp of those who say they don’t need it because they don’t need their dog to retrieve but only help them find a downed bird; a “natural retrieve” camp of folks who abhor the idea and claim you don’t need to do it with a good bird dog; a camp of those w...
Jun 14, 2024•14 min
Having dealt with so-called “fine” firearms for decades, the question “What exactly is a ‘best gun?’” comes up a lot. Explaining what a best gun is can be challenging because it’s more of a concept or ethos to building a gun, not something that follows a set of rules or criteria. As such, the term is used quite liberally, especially when it comes to shotguns. Moreover, best quality shotguns made by English gunmakers are rare by any measure, giving them an almost mythical status. This makes the t...
Jun 11, 2024•9 min
As each year passes, some of us find enough time to raise and finish our dream upland dog. It is an amazing opportunity to have your dog at the ready, all day long, just begging to be educated. Extra time, whether due to retirement or working from home, has inspired many of us to get out there every day and mold our pup into the finest hunting machine. Of course, spending lots of time with a dog can have some unintended consequences, like leaving the dog at home for work, family, friends, and ot...
Jun 10, 2024•8 min
Depending on where in the world you’re hunting turkeys, you may be fortunate to see other remarkable wildlife while you sit and hammer on your box or slate call . You may even have one or two curious predatory critters come into your calls, hoping for an easy meal. For many modern turkey species, their main predators are owls, coyotes, and cougars. But what if they were golden eagles, sabertooth tigers, or dire wolves? What about sitting on the edge of a clearing and watching giant ground sloths...
Jun 05, 2024•12 min
If I were to ask you to honestly explain to me your expectations of whoa , what would your answer look like? Would you be okay with the three or four step California roll type whoa, utilizing more than a few commands while throwing in a few choice expletives? You know, the kind of whoa where you turn red while the dog sighs and rolls its eyes at you in that teenage “Are you done?” manner. I find that without guidance, this is the typical whoa we see with new clients. In this article I’d like to ...
Jun 01, 2024•10 min
