Out of curiousity. In your opinion, please rank in order of most challenging to least challenging (#1 being most challenging):
Pheasants with a dog
Pheasants without a dog
Grouse with a dog
Grouse without a dog
Everyone else will differ but for me and my golden and springer who don’t point and sometimes don’t work as close to me as I like…
1. Grouse with Dog – Hardest
2. Pheasant without Dog
3. Grouse without Dog
4. Pheasant with Dog – Easiest
1. Pheasant without Dog- Hardest
2. Grouse with Dog
3. Grouse without Dog
4. Pheasant with Dog – Easiest
I dont hunt pheasants without a dog.
I dont hunt grouse with a dog.
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I dont hunt pheasants without a dog.
I dont hunt grouse with a dog.
Suzuki:
I agree, but do know guys up here who prefer to hunt grouse without dogs. Since I have moved here, I hold the belief that training your dog to grouse hunt first is beneficial to pheasant hunting, because if they are not close you will never get a shot at a bird. Also believe that in most cases, the grasses of the pheasants habitat is harder on the dog and they need to be in better shape than our grouse dogs.
Like Suzuki, I couldn’t hunt without a dog and find that most hunters that hunt without them, move far to fast not letting the dog do its thing. Even my best friend who has two labs, moves too fast. Without a dog, I would probably wait until there was snow on the ground and track.
pheasants without a dog – hardest
grouse without a dog
grouse with a dog
pheasants with a dog
In every case being able to see the dogs reaction to a bird in the area, gives the the hunter a measure of preparedness, thus making it easier. Tough cover can make either situation more difficult by not being able to see the dog’s reaction to the bird in the area.
Mark
Pheasants without a dog – hardest.
Pheasants with a decent dog – easiest
Grouse ….. It all depends on what you call ‘hunting’…..excluding road hunting and ground swatting – I feel I can kill more birds with a dog than without. I have had multiple 50 bird years(without ground pounding) behind a dog. If you factor in most guys tendency to swat them on the ground given the chance…that may tip the scales.
Consider a lazy 4-wheeler hunt AND ground swatting(from the wheeler like MOST guys do, regardless of what they may claim)…that would be the easiest, but it is a FAR cry from what I would try to pass as “hunting”
T
Quote:
Pheasants without a dog – hardest.
Pheasants with a decent dog – easiest
Grouse ….. It all depends on what you call ‘hunting’…..excluding road hunting and ground swatting – I feel I can kill more birds with a dog than without. I have had multiple 50 bird years(without ground pounding) behind a dog. If you factor in most guys tendency to swat them on the ground given the chance…that may tip the scales.Consider a lazy 4-wheeler hunt AND ground swatting(from the wheeler like MOST guys do, regardless of what they may claim)…that would be the easiest, but it is a FAR cry from what I would try to pass as “hunting”
T
I dont know how you can say MOST shoot or even hunt from quads. I dont see it happening when I am out there. I dont use quads. Also I dont think there should be a destinction on how the quarry is killed as long as it’s legal. It aint hunt and release.
Ooops…wasn’t too clear…. I meant that MOST guys that I see (and know) hunting with wheelers will generally not get off the wheeler unless it is to pick up a bird they have shot. In the areas I hunt – Itasca and St Louis counties – I would wager that ATV “hunters” outnumber walkers by a very high margin.
The distinction I was trying to make was that the standards that a hunter goes by is a huge determinant on the difficulty of the hunt. If you quietly walk a trail without a dog and groundswat every bird you can, that is a different hunt than if you only shoot flying birds. I am an avid bird hunter and only shoot birds that my dog points – by personal preference – and I have no issues with however you or anyone else chooses to hunt.
Grouse hunting difficulty is directly dependant upon how they are pursued, IMHO. I had a 50 bird season in 2011 – and I am confident that I could have easily doubled that number if I killed every bird I could have.
I didn’t intend to slight you or anyone else – and I apologise if I did. 
T
I have a problem with guys that take every advantage. The ones that live near them and kill high numbers using every tactic available over and over again. Week after week. Game or fish.
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I have a problem with guys that take every advantage. The ones that live near them and kill high numbers using every tactic available over and over again. Week after week. Game or fish.
Agreed. I know a few “hunters” that kill over 100 most years – none of which I would call a fair kill…..either off wheelers or out a truck window with a beer ‘tween their legs…..
T
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