Pointers

SerchforPerch · Oct 23, 2017

Have a question for you guys that run Pointers.. I have a GWP and don't have the luxury of hunting a ton of private ground with un-pressured birds and primarily hunt public ground, therefore don't have the luxury of being super selective, etc.. Primarily hunt tall grass with occasional cattails..

Question is, do you only shoot pointed birds, or do you shoot regardless if that bird was bumped or flushed wild before your dog has a chance to re-establish another point??

Big Iron · Oct 23, 2017

I have GSP and hunt exclusively public land. In my experience, the old wily roosters are the runners and bust long. If you want to even think about killing birds, need to take off running when the dog gets on a hot trail. Guarantee the rooster will bust 80 yards ahead of the dog hot on its trail.

Young roosters and hens (don't shoot) are the opportunity to get a beautiful point.

Long story short, I shoot whatever I have a chance at, otherwise I'd go hungry. If I had the luxury of hunting an area with a better bird population, I could be more of a snob--- hope this helps.

Petras · Oct 23, 2017

choot em all. Yes, watching your dog work a scent and come on point is awesome, but to me, so is watching them retrieve a bird. Part of my reasoning for this is because my dog points even the dead ones haha. When she finds a dead one that I've knocked down, she points it for about 10 or 15 seconds and then she grabs it and brings it to me.

There are things you can do to help prevent birds from flushing so far out. some of the things I like to make sure and do include hunting into the wind. This serves 2 purposes. First, it will make it easier for the dog to get on a scent before the bird knows they are there. Second is sounds. If you approach from down wind the sound you and your dog make will be masked by the wind blowing away from the birds. This improves the chances that you won't be busted by the birds before you are well within range and your pup is on their scent.

I have a GWP as well and we hunt a mixture of both public land, and private unposted land.

Duckslayer100 · Oct 23, 2017

I let my dogs get loosey goosey in the fall. They're both trained steady through wing, shot and fall, but when it's hunting season I let the bust at the shot. I also have both dogs trained to break on command, so in the thick stuff they'll flush a pinned pheasant if I can't get to them. It's the only way to go around here where I hunt cattails 90 percent of the time.

SerchforPerch · Oct 23, 2017

Thanks for the information! good to know what other do.. Not that I think its a snobby way of hunting, just don't want my young dog to develop any bad habits down the road....

How far out do you let your pointers range out??
Duckslayer - do you use a beeper collar while hunting the taller cover?? if so, which brand and do you run the collar on a constant beep or have it set to silent mode and only beeps when on point??

Thanks again!

Rowdie · Oct 23, 2017

I've often wondered why guys use pointers for pheasants. Most will run, and run, and pointers would seem to get out of range easily. Unless hunting grouse or quail wouldn't flusher breeds work better?

pointer · Oct 23, 2017

Rowdie yep a guy would think that,I did too until I got my first GSP tried to stop her but as KDM has said the dog will teach you how to hunt, mine would go out about 80 yards ahead in the middle of the field then work the tree row back to me. She basically pinned the bird between us and the birds just freeze just like the locked up dog for the most part. til you say get it, almost like saying pull. Times have changed but I haven t have had a GSP in the house for 30 some years now

KDM · Oct 23, 2017

Rowdie said:
I've often wondered why guys use pointers for pheasants. Most will run, and run, and pointers would seem to get out of range easily. Unless hunting grouse or quail wouldn't flusher breeds work better?

;:;popcorn

This debate has been going on since flusher and pointer breeds originated. In my experience it ALL comes down to training and NOT the breed. I've hunted behind the most expensive, best equipped, longest trained, and most colorful barking paper weights ever to pollute the pheasant fields and have hunted behind the free mutt that was worth their weight in GOLD!!! I've seen pointers that wouldn't get beyond 20 yards if the darn bird was walking at 22 yards and I've watched flushers bust an entire quarter of cover in a minute and a half from being let out of the truck. If you spend time with the dog, train them to hunt the way you want them to hunt, and enforce those standards, breed is of lesser importance. I run an English Cocker as that breed normally works closer, slower, is a bit more even keeled so to speak, and is a smaller breed thus more suitable to my house and my style of hunting.

And YES, the little fur ball taught me more about hunting pheasants in the past two years than I learned in 35 years of chasing them. Good thing he doesn't know how to gloat. (Grin)

shorthairsrus · Oct 23, 2017

What we do is run the pointers on the sides and flushers up the middle. Flushers get the tough stuff ---- the Pointers will pin em back on a point or send them down into the cover in the middle. Its like a vacuum cleaner -- sucks up all the birds.

IMO its 50 50 50% built into the breed based on pedigree and 50 in training-- my first pointer could pin down the wildest of roosters. I seen her put together a small herd of whitetail and have them trot right in front of you like go ahead and pick your buck sir. Some of those tricks are built into em ------ honoring all that stuff - i never taught em that. How do you teach pinning -- lots of time in the field - but they knew how to do it the first year. They have to have the speed agility and range to properly cover the ground.

SerchforPerch · Oct 24, 2017

Any of you guys run GPS units or Beeper collars on your pointers when tall cover and dog(s) are out of sight?? Ive been reading on line about beeper collars and seems like they are hit and miss on functionality, etc.. Are the GPS units worth the extra money??

shorthairsrus · Oct 24, 2017

i have what is now an old dogtra 2000 t and b -- beeper works fine --- They say 400 yards and i would assume that would be the case -- the only downside is a beep on a point---you would be surprised the number of birds that stay in one place during a beep.

SerchforPerch · Oct 24, 2017

shorthairsrus said:
i have what is now an old dogtra 2000 t and b -- beeper works fine --- They say 400 yards and i would assume that would be the case -- the only downside is a beep on a point---you would be surprised the number of birds that stay in one place during a beep.

So you don't have any issues with running the beeper continuous vs silent mode and only sounding when the dog is on point?? Ive heard mixed results on whether the sound volumes/style will keep a bird pinned or not..

Big Iron · Oct 24, 2017

I have a beeper for my tritronics collar. Tried using it once and didn't like it. Dog kinda freaks out too when it goes off.

Beeper sits in the garage and collects dust.

Kurtr · Oct 24, 2017

guiding the shorthairs and other pointers figure out real quick that if they dont flush the labs will and if they want a retrieve you better get with it. It is a joy having 8 or so dogs out in the field all working together and competition makes them work even harder. Pointers on the edge flushers in the middle like shorty said and its killin time

shorthairsrus · Oct 24, 2017

SerchforPerch said:
So you don't have any issues with running the beeper continuous vs silent mode and only sounding when the dog is on point?? Ive heard mixed results on whether the sound volumes/style will keep a bird pinned or not..

I apologize - i didnt understand your question --- i only use the beep button at will -- i do not leave the beap on. I just dont like the noise all the time. But have used it -- it works too - but i think stealth mode is better. Beep when you dont see her.

Allen · Oct 24, 2017

I have a Garmin Alpha collar. It has the GPS built into it for tracking your dog.

When in cattails and other really tall stuff, I used to get nervous as hell about the dog getting lost when I couldn't hear them rustling through the weeds. I no longer have that in the back of my mind and it's really a comforting feeling that if I lose him, I can find him again in mere minutes.

Duckslayer100 · Oct 24, 2017

I don't like beeper collars, personally. I used to run bells, but in the wind around here those are next to useless.

Now I have a SportDOG Tek 2.0 GPS collar. I tried that and the Garmin Alpha, and I prefer the SportDOG. I know exactly where both my dogs are at all times, which is critical in the cattails. Especially since the older one is going deaf and doesn't hear my commands very well. He's had a rooster pinned for 15 minutes before and won't budge unless the bird does if he can't hear me hollering.

SerchforPerch · Oct 24, 2017

Allen said:
I have a Garmin Alpha collar. It has the GPS built into it for tracking your dog.

When in cattails and other really tall stuff, I used to get nervous as hell about the dog getting lost when I couldn't hear them rustling through the weeds. I no longer have that in the back of my mind and it's really a comforting feeling that if I lose him, I can find him again in mere minutes.

Does the Alpha and Tek 2.0 both have a feature that lets you know when the dog goes on point as well?? I can see that being nicer than having to listen to a beeper or hawk screech..

Good stuff everyone thanks for the input.:;:thumbsup

shorthairsrus · Oct 24, 2017

We hunt with others ------ if my GSP is on point -or has a bird going and i am close enough for a shot - -- the last thing i want to do is look at my phone or some other screen. My hand can reach the beep button without losing focus --- and i can move quickly to the shot without losing eye contact with other dogs and our other hunters. IMO it all happens so fast (its like driving and texting).

3Roosters · Oct 24, 2017

Where are these birds located that you guys speak of?:;:muahaha

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