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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