The Retrieve

[Pheasant Slayer]

A wrap up of the week. Was able to hunt Tuesday and today (Friday). Tomorrow is suppose to be a washout. Nor'easter heading up the coast. Tuesday's hunt was another after work hunt. About a hour and a half before sunset. Tuesday produced a nice rooster. It also produced my first miss of the season. I find this "miss" very interesting though. So far this season I have been using Polywad Spread-R's. On Tuesday I took the rooster with a Spread-R. I reached in my vest for another one to re-load and I was out. (forgot to refill my vest). So, I dropped a RST #6 shot both barrels... On our way out Benny decided to put up a hen which kinda caught me off guard, but no excuse. I raised and fired!... And yes I missed. Another one of those shots were you say, no way could I have missed, but I did. Friday I was out of work early and I had some time, so I hit the woods in the early afternoon. Benny's first bird of the day was a another nice rooster. Took him down with a PolyWad. Once retrieved we headed into a think area were he put up a hen.. So thick I just caught a glimpse of her but, I did see the direction she went in so, I circled around to see if Benny could pick up the scent. Which he did. I watched him go though his routine, (zig-zag pattern, "stub wag"). She was running on the ground. (A Runner) We tracked that hen for a good ten minutes. We were finally on the edge of the thickets when she finally flushed... Straight towards me at point blank range, then up over my head into the field. I turn and let her put on some distance, then I let loose a Polywad which sent her to the ground. I have enclosed a series of photos of Benny's retrieve. The first photo is of Benny's rooster from Tuesday. (Taken with a cell phone)This is his third season and he has become the "Pheasant Machine". It was a beautiful thing watching him retrieve that hen in a open field. The last photos are of Friday's catch.

[charlie cleveland]

i really enjoyed this phesant hunt great hunting ground good looking and better yet afine hunting dog....and all birds taken with a double barrel....you honestly got it made...hope you have more good hunts.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

The best of times!

[ken wight]

Thanks for shareing your hunt.

[Brush Buster]

Hi William ,Looks like a couple of good hunts ! Benny looks like he is more than up to the task ! Seems Springers are a natural for retrieving , My Britt Chip will only Retrieve if we are hunting with another Dog ! If we are hunting alone ,he will run to the Bird and stand and wait for me to retrieve it myself ,if we are hunting with another Dog ,then it becomes a foot race to get the dead Bird first and bring it in ! He will also chase and retrieve cripples even while hunting by ourselves . I really don't mind fetching my own Birds ,it could always be worse ,his Mother had a flaw in her character also ,she didn't care much for fetching anything but she would tear after a Woodcock , grab it ,dig a hole ,spit it in and cover it up all in about 30 seconds and then slink off ,I would really have to watch where she put it ,and dig it up and we would move on ????????????? Don't ask ,I have no idea !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pheasant Slayer]

Russ, I have to tell ya, you have me laughing like hell here sitting at the computer. I love the story about the woodcock getting buried. I think all dogs have their little flaws. Benny has his own as well. Sometimes if the bird falls close he will not retrieve it and I will have to walk over and get it. but he will stay with it until I pick it up. I am not one to push a animal and yell and scream. I am easy to please. I think in many ways a dog can pick up on that. In my opinion, (now this is just my opinion) if the dog is a good hunter that is what matters. I do have to say though, it is nice when he goes into the water after it.... Growing up, I always hunted over Springers, my uncle had several. I remember one being an exceptional hunter and she would never retrieve the bird. None of us complained though. Very often each of us would go home with our limits. She was a good dog and to this day I always compare a hunting dog to her. They all have their own personality. I think many hunters over the years will have their "one dog" that stands out above the others.

[Brush Buster]

I have to be honest ,I read and understand the teachings and learnings of Force Breaking to Retrieve , for me ,just not that big of deal with an upland hunting dog also as very much an amateur at training ,it is a very easy way to make serious mistakes with your Dog . Now with that said a Water Dog would be a different story and I would take the time and probably the money and put the Dog with a professional for retriever training if I were a Duck hunter ! Russ

[Big D]

I don't care for the concept of force breaking. Does it work? Yes. Using force breaking techniques, i suppose you could get a toy poodle to retreive a goose, but after a few generations of force breaking, I believe that you begin to lose natural retrieving ability, and you end with dogs who must be force fetched to retrieve. Sorry. Not for me

[Pheasant Slayer]

Russ,
I would have to agree with you. I also understand the method of Force Training. I think the term "Force" just throws peoples thoughts on it, as something that it is not. I hope I did not open up a can of worms here on dog training. I would have to say I am a amateur trainer as well.

[Brush Buster]

William ,I agree ,FORCE ,sounds brutal ,it is not and if done correctly really works , I wouldn't worry about the can of worms ,really I don't believe this to be argumentative ,just not for every body and definately not for the faint of heart . Once you start the program ,you just must be committed to finish it ,Geez ,most guys I know have good intentions on getting that new Pup ready to go and barely find time to do basic yard training with it ,let alone a full scale program !