Originally appeared in Gun Dog Magazine (October/November, 1992) The Federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has converted over two million acres of North Dakota land back into grassland, and after just a few years of CRP conversion, the sharptail and partridge numbers are on the rise. Here’s how you can use your Labs and retrievers on […]
Gun Dogs and Land Trapping
Written by Carl Altenbernd originally appeared in Gun Dog Magazine Land trapping is one of the most misunderstood sports practiced in the field today. It has been an easy target for the animal-rights groups, thanks to myths and misunderstandings. As a dog owner, you should be aware of the basics of trapping. The snare, conibear, and […]
Better Tasting Birds – Alter Your Field Vest
We pay a lot of money for a field vest that may feature recoil protection, a zippered game bag, bellows pockets, 24 shell loops and a water repellent finish. But most field vests have one major flaw: they feature a lined game pouch to protect your back and legs from blood. One of the […]
Cleaning Birds with a Tin Snip
You have hunted hard and had a good hunt. Your first job home is to make sure the dogs are clean, injury-free and fed. Next we will unload our gear and then tackle a cooler full of birds. I transport all my birds pre-gutted on ice. The feathers are left intact for identification purposes and […]
Water In The Field For Your Dog
Article originally published in Gun Dog Magazine. It is not uncommon for my wife and I to walk for three to four miles on a sharptail hunt in 70- to 80-degree early season weather and find ourselves getting weak because of dehydration. You, your hunting partners and dog need water. We are not into solid […]
The Spotting Scope – Make it a Useful Tool
Doing our homework prior to going to a new hunting area takes a lot of time. Interviews with local farmers, hunting buddies, state game and fish personnel, start our minds working. The study of topographical, plat book and other general maps narrows our plans but the actual scouting may be spent driving or walking an […]
Pheasant Tail Tracks
The 1995 Pheasant Season in North Dakota was just an average year. In the areas we hunt, above average snowfall and heavy summer rains hammered the Central Dakota’s keeping the Pheasant numbers in check. Our last weekend hunt was cold and windy. North Dakota Season runs into the first week of January. I would guess […]
A Classic Picture – Recycled Duck Stamps
In my business office I have various items on display. A couple of bird mounts, framed art prints, a hunting and fishing library, photographs. Yet, there is one item that everyone always draws to and states, “boy, I wish I had kept my duck stamps, are they worth anything?” As illustrated, I have mounted all […]
Common Courtesy In The Field
Tips on how dogs (and you) should behave in the field Probably one of the most important things a gun dog owner can do before a hunting trip is to discuss his or her dog approach and field manners with their potential partners. Nothing can ruin a hunting trip faster than a companion who doesn’t […]
Gun Dogs and Traps
Traps are few and far between but here’s some advice just in case. Most gun dog owners wait with anticipation for fall. It’s a time when they hopefully will get to see the fruits of months of training—good field work by their dogs. But they’re not the only outdoor types who live for this time of year. […]
Late Season Hunting
December is a time of honest assessment—and some of the best hunting of the year It’s transition time for most gun dog owners. They’ve had several months of upland or waterfowl field trips, but now switch gears and go big game hunting. For those owners, it’s also a good time of the year to reflect and […]
Land/Water Work
The dos and don’t of an important stage in any dog’s training. You’ve probably heard this story before: “He won’t retrieve on land, but he does it all the time if it’s in the water.” Hunting dog owners who think that’s the way a good water dog should act might be in for a rude awakening. It’s a […]