16ga.com ~ View topic - Good article on choosing a pointing dog by Steve Grossman.

Gentlemen,

In the Jan/Feb Shooting Sportsman Magazine (SSM), Steve Grossman does a real fine job explaining how to choose a pointing dog that will fit a sportsman individual needs.
I do not know Steve personally, however hs is a talented gun dog trainer and the article shows it. Here at Pine Creek Grouse dog Trainers we specialize in training companion
Grouse dogs, which is a bit different than supplying dogs for the open country out west. Steve talks about knowing the different types of gun dogs and most importantly seeing the parents of the pup you choose, do their hunting so that you know both the genetics and the actual hunting style of the dog you are purchasing. He also advised doing some looking into the dogs pedigree, in our Ryman/Old Hemlock Setter Grouse dogs this is especially important to understand, the same with our Gordon and Small Munsterlander dogs also. Steves article is a good article for those sportsman trying to decide on what gun dog they most want to hunt behind. If you have the time definitely peruse it.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man
Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers

Joined: 26 Apr 2010 Posts: 3178 Location: NCWa

My dad was a fan of GSPs. One was heavily trained for upland birds and could find birds in fields that had just been hunted by others. However, she didn't care for waterfowl. Dad would shoot a duck, the dog would see the bird fall and instinctively jump into the water and swim out to it, but when she got to it, see it was a duck, she'd turnaround & swim back to the blind, leaving the duck in the water.

Joined: 16 Jul 2015 Posts: 2126 Location: Hudson,Wy

Out here in the West, we just plunk down $35 at the pound for a good Border Collie and go hunting. Sorry, couldn't resist.

When it comes to choosing dogs, I'm a firm believer that there is more than one road to the mountain. I've been fortunate enough to hunt nearly every day of the seasons, for decades, and this has allowed me to watch a lot of good dog work by a lot oof breeds.

It is interesting how people get hung up on a breed because it's bragged on or popular, then rush out to get one without considering what they actually need. This sometimes results in an owner disappointed their dog won't "go big" or their dog won't stay in sight. These people should have spent more time observing various breeds, or even bloodlines, working in the field to see which ones do what they need most.

Of course, newcomers often don't yet know what they need in a dog and this sure complicates things. Once again, tagging along with someone else sure can provide an education as to what a particular dog has to offer.

On the subject of ducks, it's funny you mention it. My newest Border Collie, Tucker, is proving to be a gift from the Almighty as an upland bird dog, but he lacks enthusiasm with ducks. Rusty never cares, as long as it has feathers, he wants it.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1844 Location: Central ND

I'm with Tucker.....upland all the way. Someone else can have my share of the ducks and geese.

I’ll have to check out that article; once the inner-city rescue dog settles down, I’ll be looking. Thinking about a Pudel Pointer, but really haven’t decided. I loved my Pinecoble Setter from Ryman/Old Hemlock lines…I sat down in the kennel with the litter and she picked me.

I trained her on quail at first, then woodcock. One time we hit one of my best covers for doodles & a grouse or two in CT. At the creek about 2 dozen greenheads flushed, and me with lead #7-1/2. I cut the hunt short, thinking I would come back in the morning for the ducks and then hit the cover. In the AM, I made a quick blind and sat down for shooting light, 2 cheapie Flambeaus twirling in the current, Bayberry curled up next to me. Just after shooting light a pair of Mallards came down stream, paused at the sight of the dekes, and then kept coming. I stood up, they flushed and I took my first double of anything. They flopped down on the water and without reloading I said “Fetch!”, whereupon 2 simultaneous and indelibly memorable events occurred: my Setter looked at me with raised eyebrows and ears, still on the bank, as if to say “You got the wrong dog!” and 2 dozen mallards minus two got up and vacated the creek, never to return.

I got the ducks back to the truck, swapped out steel for lead, and we chased woodcock till noon, bagging a limit.

Citori16,

When I lived in CT working for Hamilton Standard I trained more than a few Pine Coble Ryman/Old Hemlock Setter, beautiful talented dogs for Grouse, Woodcock & Pheasants. We did a lot of training on the old Windsor Locks abandoned airport, there were Grouse, Woodcock and the state stocked Pheasants also. Back at the time we had some fine bird hunting in that area. From one of the men, I understand its all gone now. CT messed up everything when the government stole the Game Commission budget and put it into the general fund, nothing has been the same in CT sense for bird hunting.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Dave,

Warren had a great line of Setters, and was not afraid to tell it like it is, in the quiet way that he had.

One of the drafters I started my career with worked at Hamilton Standard. Ed used to let me use his pencil that drew the plans for the lunar module to sign drawings at Connecticut Yankee. Great guy, funny as hell and wiser than most.

Grouse are still around, but fewer than ever. It would be easy for me to blame the state, but I tend to think a string of icy winters combined with loss of habitat (and subsequent predation from coy-dogs) did the most damage. I used to call them MCGs (Mythical Connnecticut Grouse) and say that the entire CT flock knew me each by name. My success in CT was counted in flushes, with occasional connects requiring special dinners and celebrations. Doodles were plentiful, however, and they served to focus Bayberry and myself on team work, while we waited each year to return north for grouse. I stopped hunting them, but will start again once my Flues comes back from the gunsmith, for purely nostalgic reasons.

I have little desire to hunt stocked pheasant, being only one notch above freshly stocked trout (I would take a brace of 6” natives over a stocked breeder any day!). The pursuit of wild birds is what drives me to hunt ducks in CT, woodies especially since they fly near as close to grouse speed, and taste better than most other ducks.

Citori16,

I do believe I knew the Ed you are taking about at HSD, real nice guy and fine sportsman. I believe we actually Grouse hunted together a couple times.

I do remember we had some great Woodcock hunting every year we were living in Simsberry also. There were some open farms on the back roads from the HSD plant to Simsberry and we had a great time with the dogs on them hunting Woodcock, unfortunately no Grouse on those old farms in that era.

My best friend was stationed in Groten on the Navy base at that time and we did a lot of bird hunting together, had some great times both bird hunting and Fly Fishing.

Warren had some serious English Setter dogs, no doubt about it. My best friend almost bought one from him to run with mine. Unfortunately he was shipped out and never got the dog.

I have some real nice memories of CT and NH when I lived in CT, no regrets at all,
the people I worked with were kind of stuck up, more than any other New Englanders I worked with unfortunately.

Fortunately I was a 32nd Degree Master Mason and had a lot of contact to Grouse hunt on private property and fish some very private waters. It made my living there quite nice for me, my wife hated it however.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man