Great pictures from both you Fellows ,wish we had Duck Hunting close to home ,I would love to give it a try ! David ,Your Pup is Beautiful ,and a new one on me ,exactly what is an Irish Lab. is it actually a different Breed from our Standard Lab.?

Here is another tradition of ours, showing the results of the hunt to Grandma

Absolutely Wonderful :bowdown:! I remember when my Daughter was little ,She would grab the Pheasants by the neck that I shot while training Maggie and Chip , and carry them while we were training and race in the house with them to show her Mom when we got home ! Great Days !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Russ
She was raised and trained in Ireland and came here as a 2 1/2 year old last August. They are quite different from American labs:smaller(50-55lb) calm and steady . They are trained with positive reinforcement , never see an electronic collar. They do not have the "fire" of an American Lab, more of a soft calm retriever. I live with her 52 weeks of the year and hunt with her 6 weeks ,so wanted a girl that was easy to live with as well as a trained duck retriever.
David

+1 Dave - We now have our second Lab imported from Britain. We got each of them as pups. I've done the training. They are the best. Our prior dog ("Tar" in my avatar) had something aver 1300 retrieves and 80 trips to Detroit's Children's Hospital

David ,Very interesting ,by the way ,She's a beauty ! There is a lot to be said about a calm Dog ,My Maggie came from Dick Belding's line of Brits ,she was a Big Long Legged Britt ,weighed in around 65 Lb. in Her prime and was as calm in house as can be but had a lot of desire in the field but was a slow hunter and fantastic on grouse ,I was quite spoiled ,I bred her only once to get a litter and Chip was the closest in temperament but really never quite came up to His Mothers ability but was quite a pleasant Fellow to be around ! Russ

John
I was just discussing with my wife , a "retired" pediatric nurse, what a great therapy dog Pepper would make. She also "catches fire" when retrieving ducks then the switch throws and she is sleeping on my feet. They are wonderful animals. I grew up with Brits but all ours were wired. They were great pheasant dogs though.
David

I love dogs, its people that can be a problem.

Isn't that the Gods honest truth.:bowdown:

This is a nice thread, good work Mills.

I used to shoot a more open choke gun at ducks but these days I stick with fuller and fuller for the most part. Open chokes are fine but when you have to shoot at a few high ones to finish the limit gimme the rifle choked model.


DLH

Full/full is a bad combination for flooded timber wood ducks. As much as I prefer full/full. I also prefer open marsh where full/full is almost required, so maybe I should stick with that.