Hunting Huns and
Sharptails can be very demanding from both a shooting
and physical standpoint, as a lot of ground has
to be covered and the dogs tend to range out to
find their quarry, once found, the birds will move
away from the point, which to the shooter means
long shots at fast targets, for some first timers this type of behaviour
leads them to believe that the birds are pressured,
which is wrong, hunters should understand that
Game Birds are at the very bottom of the food chain
and have to contend with a lot of critters, not
just hunters.
Gray partridge and Sharptail Grouse evolved out
of short grass eco-systems, both like to see what
is around them so they tend to feed, loaf and roost
on vantage points such as the sides and
tops of hills and in some cases with Sharptails
in trees, so when a threat approaches they
can see and react accordingly to the threat by
moving away from it, usually they first run, then
flush and fly.
A good dog soon learns how to handle the birds,
by pointing from a distance and not crowding the
birds even when the dog re-locates on runners,
this is something you can not teach a dog, they
just learn from experience. Some of the best Hun Dogs I
have owned, own or shot over pretty much “ hunker
the ground “ when they are pointing and I
have seen some dogs actually “Set” or
lay down and these dogs were not Setters,
all where Brittany’s .The dogs are pointing
this way for a reason, they can see the birds and
understand that getting to close means flushed
birds, which is not welcome, from a Field Trailer’s
standpoint this is not pretty, but from a hunter’s
standpoint it shows the dog is “Wild Bird
Smart” and deserves lots of praise. Hunters
have to adjust to, they must aggressively cover
the points by moving past the dogs so that they
force any running birds to flush, if birds are
not moved there is a good chance that they ran
out of the Dog’s scent cone, or behind the
dog, in either case the dog(s) are released so
they can relocate and pin the birds.
If the covey gets up wild or if no birds are
shot from the covey, I like to pursue the birds
and get on them before they have a chance to covey
up again, as there are less sets of eyes on you
at this time so the birds will sit tighter for
the dogs and hunters.
Windy days or no wind at all can make things
challenging for the dogs and hunters as the already
skittish birds seem to become a little more paranoid,
resulting in wild flushes etc. however the same
rules apply, stay on or pursue the covey until
they are broken up.
The same tactics hold true for Sharptail Grouse,
when approached a lone bird may jump up causing
the rest of the dispersed flock to do the same,
but by pursuing the birds and forcing those to
disperse will result in Dog work and Birds in the
bag. Both Huns and Sharptails are creatures of
habit and each group or covey usually goes to the
same favourite places to feed, loaf, and roost,
Knowing the area, the covey’s habits and
where they are going fly to after they flush hHelps
in the pursuit, but this knowledge is gained only
with time, which for most folks is something they
don’t have a lot of.
As far as bores are concerned, I am a big fan
of 12 and 16 Gauge guns, 20 and 28 are fine but
I have witnessed more wounded birds with 20’s
and 28s than I have with the larger bored guns.
My personnel favourite for open Prairie hunting
is a Belgian made SxS 16 bore, chocked IC and Extra
Full with Double triggers, I have shot more doubles
with this gun, than any of the others that I own
, I also love double triggers as they allow you
to quickly select your tighter choked barrel and
reach out and touch the birds.
Despite the challenges that prairie hunters face,
there are days when the birds “fly up your
sleeves” you just have to ready for it when
it happens!
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