Beauty!!!
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Beauty!!!
When I visited my oldest bro in Las Vegas, there was a shooting facility with trap, skeet, and sporting clays... they had all kinds of shotguns for rent. I highly recommend seeing if there is a similar place in your area before you take your dog out.... they can be ruined by too many missed shots... they give you "the look" and then lose confidence/interest in what you two are doing as a team. Their reward for a good point is you taking a good shot and them getting to retrieve the bird, with all the tactile senses of holding the bird and the strong scent, plus the attaboy for returning it and dropping it in your hand or at your feet.
Shoot some of each shotgun sport, they will give you diff skills that translate to hunting various birds. IMO, trap for pheasant, blue grouse, and distant chuckar. Skeet for quail, huns, chuckar, ruff grouse. Sporting clays for just about everything you can imagine including bunnies.
Practice until you can hit a high percentage of clay birds. Even if from a ground or hand thrower. Don't disappoint your dog!!!
Shoot some of each shotgun sport, they will give you diff skills that translate to hunting various birds. IMO, trap for pheasant, blue grouse, and distant chuckar. Skeet for quail, huns, chuckar, ruff grouse. Sporting clays for just about everything you can imagine including bunnies.
Practice until you can hit a high percentage of clay birds. Even if from a ground or hand thrower. Don't disappoint your dog!!!
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My dachshund girlie dog would go on point on birds with perfect formView attachment 758664
Then she would hunt any little furries around.
Then she would hunt any little furries around.
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Excellent info and advice. I live in the land of the anti-gun Seattle, so I will see if maybe I can take a trip to eastern wa for some practice. I suppose I should make sure she isn't gun shy as well. Fireworks she didnt care about and a few subsonic rounds she slept through, so I suppose I'll pack some .22 pistols and rifles and see if she can tolerate them okay.When I visited my oldest bro in Las Vegas, there was a shooting facility with trap, skeet, and sporting clays... they had all kinds of shotguns for rent. I highly recommend seeing if there is a similar place in your area before you take your dog out.... they can be ruined by too many missed shots... they give you "the look" and then lose confidence/interest in what you two are doing as a team. Their reward for a good point is you taking a good shot and them getting to retrieve the bird, with all the tactile senses of holding the bird and the strong scent, plus the attaboy for returning it and dropping it in your hand or at your feet.
Shoot some of each shotgun sport, they will give you diff skills that translate to hunting various birds. IMO, trap for pheasant, blue grouse, and distant chuckar. Skeet for quail, huns, chuckar, ruff grouse. Sporting clays for just about everything you can imagine including bunnies.
Practice until you can hit a high percentage of clay birds. Even if from a ground or hand thrower. Don't disappoint your dog!!!
Good work so far!
IMO, the best way to sound/shot breakin/train a gun dog is by starting when they are distracted by eating. First you clap, then you use a cap pistol in another room, and work your way closer. The dog should never be startled. You want to be sure before the first time you fire any size round in the field. Once she associates loud noise with good food or positive experience or at least ignores it, you can go into the field and have a friend fire a .22lr from farther away, working closer, and then working larger up to shotgun. Never fire a handgun or full size rifle with your dog unprotected by your side, their hearing is even more sensitive than ours. Start slow, work up. Set your dog up for success. Always. In everything you do together!!!
Read books on training a gun dog!!!!
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Honestly if you already have a shotgun just go for a walk with the dog and gun. Make sure you know species, licensing, and seasons.
I have a pile of books I bought before and during the first year of owning my Vizsla.
I hunted with him last year once. He did his job alright. We hunted yesterday he did his job better. My goal was to have an excellent family companion and if he made a mediocre hunting partner I was satisfied. Those goals are achieved.
I have spent a lot of time, hard work, sweat, frustration, money(boarding/training when I've been out of country), getting him to where he's at.
It's been rewarding. The pinnacle was when I shot my first pheasant yesterday.
My best advice is to have fun with your dog. Gun dogs need physical and mental stimulation. Dragging a wing around the back yard to a hiding spot is a great way to start on the nose work. Play lots of "games" with him that are also training him.
I have a pile of books I bought before and during the first year of owning my Vizsla.
I hunted with him last year once. He did his job alright. We hunted yesterday he did his job better. My goal was to have an excellent family companion and if he made a mediocre hunting partner I was satisfied. Those goals are achieved.
I have spent a lot of time, hard work, sweat, frustration, money(boarding/training when I've been out of country), getting him to where he's at.
It's been rewarding. The pinnacle was when I shot my first pheasant yesterday.
My best advice is to have fun with your dog. Gun dogs need physical and mental stimulation. Dragging a wing around the back yard to a hiding spot is a great way to start on the nose work. Play lots of "games" with him that are also training him.
That's the book I mentioned "Gun Dog" in the red cover... best book I ever read on training a pointer and versatile hunting breed!!!
Gotta love a Vizsla... great dogs!!!!! My Chuckar buddies had a few of them.
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Thanks.
The other books are good as well. I use bits and pieces out them all.
He really came into his versatility with water this summer. I haven't tested it in regards to hunting. He now loves swimming with us.
Chukar is a species I want to hunt. I have no idea on where in Oregon other than the east side in the Snake River canyon area.
We enjoy the breed so much I have a second puppy on the way. He should be home in about 7.25 weeks.
My second shorthair really didn't like water much at all... he would go in ONLY if he could see a downed bird to fetch. No training dummy or playing in the water.
East side is the only place I know for chukar. There could be some around Bend or Madras but I really don't know. The Snake is where I always hunted them, saw off one of your legs so you can stand up straight, but I've been told that the hills further inside from the Snake also have them. Looks more like Hun country to me but my old bozz swears by it. Only he wouldn't tell me exactly where. Chukar hunters are like that, yeah they are!
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Got my first pointing dog last November. She was fairly easy to train on almost everything. Had a lab before that we hunted with but he was a flush dog and didn't get much distance from us. Excited to see what she does this weekend as it's gonna be her first hunt. My GWP always needs a job and usually do a wing search and a lot of fetch almost every day.
As far as a shotgun, right now what I see in stores at a decent price is CZ shotguns. I got a woodcock 12 gauge O/U last March. With the whole panic buying going on the Remington 870's are one of the first to go as a lot of new gun owners want a home defense shotgun. The CZ's are a cheaper option that works great.
As far as a shotgun, right now what I see in stores at a decent price is CZ shotguns. I got a woodcock 12 gauge O/U last March. With the whole panic buying going on the Remington 870's are one of the first to go as a lot of new gun owners want a home defense shotgun. The CZ's are a cheaper option that works great.
German Wirehairs.... one of my buds had one... fabulous in the water too... gotta love those ugmuggs!!!
I love me an O/U shotgun too... nothing better. I owned a Miroku/Daly with 30" barrels and 3" chambers, and an SKB 20ga with 26" barrels. Todays models have interchangeable chokes... wowsers!!! If I could still see out of my right eye, I'd be chasing down one of those CZs you mentioned, the Redhead Premier!
I would vote for an older Ithaca feather weight model 37. Still can be had fairly inexpensive, slam fire for fast follow ups and points naturally, also not heavy. As an extra bonus bottom feed/eject.
me and my family only trained Labs as flushing and brush/ditch busting dogs so I am of limited help in that aspect.
me and my family only trained Labs as flushing and brush/ditch busting dogs so I am of limited help in that aspect.
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Start rattling pans around the dog.
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I have some experience in Pa hunting upland birds but not a lot of success since I do not have a dog. But I have three 12g shotguns, SxS, O/U and a pump, if you wanted to pair up for driven hunt, you could borrow one of mine or try them all. I also bought an automatic clay pigeon shooter, eager to try it out.
Let me know.
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I had a shorthair when I was a kid.
They're bred sporting dogs.
It's their natural tendency to go hunting.
I was just looking at Pheasant release sites earlier today.
Surprised by how many were around here!
Get a shotgun, if you don't already have one and take that dog hunting.
He'll (she'll?) love you for it.
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This thread is awesome.
You bought a dog, and for the enrichment of the dog you will buy a shotgun and start bird hunting.
Not the usual progression for an upland hunter but good for you!
You never know where life takes you and what rabbit holes you will go down!
FWIW I bought a CZ sxs last spring and found it a great value for the money (whilst owning several other bird guns).
Best of luck.
You bought a dog, and for the enrichment of the dog you will buy a shotgun and start bird hunting.
Not the usual progression for an upland hunter but good for you!
You never know where life takes you and what rabbit holes you will go down!
FWIW I bought a CZ sxs last spring and found it a great value for the money (whilst owning several other bird guns).
Best of luck.
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FWIW, I know a few people that have bought CZ SxS's and enjoyed them, but some gunsmith's have seen the bad side of the Turkish gun industry.
I guess for every good, there is a bad, too...anyway, buyer beware.
Shockd might try looking in the classified section of this site.
Doesn't seem to have a preference, so something that will fit him, that's not too expensive, is probably his best bet.
Try sticking with the better known names, too Shockd...Remington, Winchester, Ruger...way back when, they all made quality arms, and made them here in America.
Dean
I guess for every good, there is a bad, too...anyway, buyer beware.
Shockd might try looking in the classified section of this site.
Doesn't seem to have a preference, so something that will fit him, that's not too expensive, is probably his best bet.
Try sticking with the better known names, too Shockd...Remington, Winchester, Ruger...way back when, they all made quality arms, and made them here in America.
Dean
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