Hunting Dogs

[LET EM GROW]

I love hunting over dogs. Ever since i got to watch them work Rabbits and do just what they're trained to do. It was an amazing warm feeling. I rescued a beagle named Toby last winter and we got out once, he was not scared of brush and put his nose right into them as he followed the others. No rabbits that day but he seemed to be doing what he should be. Hoping to get him out this weekend or next. 

I also have a good friend who lives in VA, I made him some Tungsten deer loads to try this year. Well they worked phenomenal .. and wants me to come down next year for a weekend of pushes. Sounds like a lot of fun..  

There's real joy watching a dog work the woods with its nose.. 

Edited January 11, 2023 by LET EM GROW

[LET EM GROW]

I had a Springer Spaniel named Molly as a teen that ended up going with my dads gf at the time when they split.. but she was getting pretty good at flushing some Pheasants. I miss that girl. 

[airedale]

I get asked quite a bit about books that give good information  on how to go about training hunting dogs. For me there is no question that John Wick's two volume set "Walk With Wick" have helped me more than any others. While these books are geared toward tree dogs much of the stuff will translate over to other hunting dog breeds. These books are kind of hard to come by these days but if you are a dog person that hunts the info gleaned for these books is invaluable.

Al

[New York Hillbilly]

Best briar bibs and jacket I ever owned were my Wicks. Basically lived in them all rabbit season when I was running my beagles. Still have them somewhere in a box out in the garage. Any chance he's connected to the makers of that line? 

If I remember right they went out of business, and when my Wicks finally did get too beat up, my wife ordered for Christmas a similar set from a company I think is called Mule. Those are also out in the garage because I never got to use them.

[airedale]

On 1/21/2023 at 8:54 AM, New York Hillbilly said:

Best briar bibs and jacket I ever owned were my Wicks.

I still have my Wick Chaps and Jacket, they were worn a lot but are still in pretty good shape. Don't hunt Coon anymore so they are pretty much retired. Still have my Wick Coonhunting cap light also, threw it on the charger a while back and she still works, on the heavy side compared to the new LED stuff out there today.

Al

Edited February 11, 2023 by airedale

[airedale]

My favorite part of training young pups is introducing them to targeted game and see what kind of natural instincts they have toward it. Coon was one of my favorite animals to hunt with dogs and the rolling cage was an integral part of the process. A live trapped Coon would be put in the cage and the pups introduced along with an older experienced Dog to get everyone fired up. The Cage gets rolling around and keeps both Coon and Pups safe and it only takes a few sessions to accomplish what I am looking for then the Coon is released back into the wild.

Dusty my old Tom Cat loved firing up the pups and would put on his best imitation of a Mountain Lion.

Al

[airedale]

A buddy out on California passed along a pic  of his young Airedale "Red" on his first hog, did some Hog hunting years ago with dogs  it was a blast.

Al

[Paula]

1 hour ago, airedale said:

A buddy out on California passed along a pic  of his young Airedale "Red" on his first hog, did some Hog hunting years ago with dogs  it was a blast.

Al

Nice

[airedale]

Red is also showing his versatility and is coming along quite well on Pheasants, not bad for a ten month old pup.

Al

[airedale]

Some hunting dog magazine cover art.

[CharlieNY]

My yellow lab Waylon this morning with a nice snow goose he retrieved for me.

[airedale]

A few hunting Dog cover art  pics.

Al

[GreenDrake]

I love the old magazine covers and advertising with English Setters. I have amassed a rather large collection of English Setter artwork from Rousseau and others (prints, NOT originals). My home and law office are adorned with prints all over.  Sadly, much of the artwork is currently stored about the home. We will soon be starting construction on our new home and the artwork will have a place to be hung and enjoyed. Looking at the artwork brings me to the place I was as a child, watching my father and uncles heading out or me tagging along pheasant and grouse hunting with the setters. Unlike many of us today, they wore traditional bird hunting clothes from the 40's well into the 90's and carried their Browning Auto 5's they purchased in their 20's.  My fascination with the 16 gauge came from watching my father pulling those purple shells from his coat pocket, blowing off the weeds, seeds, lint and errant pheasant feathers, before sliding them into the chamber. The old artwork captures those moment like nothing else.

[airedale]

The magazine era is pretty much over with these days, like you I grew up with Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream along with others and love looking at the art used in them. No computers or internet, the magazines were the best source of information to learn about the outdoor sports. The cover art those magazines used can be spectacular. Many of the manufacturers of outdoor gear used the same artists for advertising their goods.

I have collected a few pieces myself also have The Remington Collection in coffee table book form and also the Philip Goodwin collection in book form.

Al

[First-light]

1 hour ago, airedale said:

The magazine era is pretty much over with these days, like you I grew up with Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream along with others and love looking at the art used in them. No computers or internet, the magazines were the best source of information to learn about the outdoor sports. The cover art those magazines used can be spectacular. Many of the manufacturers of outdoor gear used the same artists for advertising their goods.

I have collected a few pieces myself also have The Remington Collection in coffee table book form and also the Philip Goodwin collection in book form.

Al

I subscribed to Outdoor life for years as a kid. Got a lot of cool stuff including these B&W prints that featured a dog, bear, trout and buck. They hang in the cabin. I have three magazines from the 60's still in good shape. Being I was in the Magazine Publishing business for 20plus years I actually got to Meet Todd Smith Outdoor Lifes Managing Editor a few times. Real nice guy!

Edited March 11, 2023 by First-light

[GreenDrake]

I have maintained a fair collection of very old magazine and advertising hunting artwork. I tried to limit it to English Setter...or upland bird hunting artwork, otherwise I would be buying everything in sight.  I also buy some vintage hunting related photographs I find in antique shops, etc. They always kind of make me sad knowing that at some point, they lost their family connection and are now in the hands of strangers who cannot tell or retell the stories behind them.

[airedale]

Any kind of hunting that involves dogs has my interest, I have tried to participate hunting just about everything available to hunt with a dog sometimes just for the experience. I have my favorite breeds but I admire them all.

Al

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by airedale

[airedale]

These boys out in Iowa have big time Coon populations and they hunt them with assorted Terriers in Barns, they call the folks that hunt this way Barn Burners.

The Coons take up residence in the lofts and anywhere else they can hide. The little dogs going in and flush them out to the big dogs who take care of business.

I have done some of this in old buildings but never had the numbers these guys have, I can say the action is wild and wooly and a lot of fun.

Al

[New York Hillbilly]

Got to love terriers! I had a Cairn terrier that pinned a big fat woodchuck once in a hole they were digging to install a pool in our backyard at the time. I heard a hell of a ruckus out back, and went out just in time to see Greta finishing him off and dragging him up and out of the hole. It sounded fierce while lasted, and he easily outweighed her. 

My senior aged Westie looks pretty all white and fluffy, but she is relentless in hunting down mice. I never saw her tangle with anything bigger than a mouse, I think because we never allowed for free range enough to run into anything. But I think in her younger day, if she had the chance she would have charged in. 

I have only seen two Airedales in my lifetime. Once when I was about 6 years old that was owned by a friend of the family, and the second one about 15 years ago a buddy of mine's neighbor owned. I think they look cool, and bet they must be even cooler to own if they have that little terrier bravery in a big dog body. 

[airedale]

Fellow has his pup coming along good for tracking.

Al

[airedale]

On 3/11/2023 at 2:13 PM, GreenDrake said:

I have maintained a fair collection of very old magazine and advertising hunting artwork. I tried to limit it to English Setter...or upland bird hunting artwork.

One of my all time favorite hunting shows was Dez Young's "Hunting With Hank", I purchased the whole series on DVD and also "Dash In The Uplands", and bought his book to boot. Those shows were hands down the best.

Al

[airedale]

 Wild hogs are considered to be a pain in the ass for the environment and especially for farmer's crops, where they are prevalent there is open season on them year around. I have had the chance to hunt them a couple of times and it is about as much fun as I can handle, dogs are the way to go for me, exciting with that possibility of danger. Some folks I know are hammering them on a regular basis, wish there was some good Hog hunting closer by, I would like to get in on the action.

Al

[airedale]

[airedale]

[GreenDrake]

On 3/20/2023 at 3:16 PM, airedale said:

One of my all time favorite hunting shows was Dez Young's "Hunting With Hank", I purchased the whole series on DVD and also "Dash In The Uplands", and bought his book to boot. Those shows were hands down the best.

Al

That was an excellent show, especially for the fact he didn't hunt the large preserve operations in the mid-west.