Bird hunting without a dog?
- Thread starter DaveInPA
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predator86
New member
i hunt without a dog.....its the same as fishing without a boat, you are still fishing, you may catch just as many from the shore or you might not.
i hunt pheasants without a dog, i just walk the fencelines and kick them up, they practicaly wait till i step on them!! only bad part is that you are your own retreiver.....but you only pick the ticks off of yourself...
roy-why is it unethical?? are you the guy that gets offended when somebody catches a trout with a worm vs. a fly? do your feathers get ruffled when somebody brings a tacticool shotgun to shoot clays? does it really bother you if they actually hit them?
there is no reason that hunting without a dog is unethical, dont be snobby, it makes hunters look bad.
i hunt pheasants without a dog, i just walk the fencelines and kick them up, they practicaly wait till i step on them!! only bad part is that you are your own retreiver.....but you only pick the ticks off of yourself...
roy-why is it unethical?? are you the guy that gets offended when somebody catches a trout with a worm vs. a fly? do your feathers get ruffled when somebody brings a tacticool shotgun to shoot clays? does it really bother you if they actually hit them?
there is no reason that hunting without a dog is unethical, dont be snobby, it makes hunters look bad.
DonR101395
New member
Kinda curious about that too. I've never hunted with a dog when I hunt by myself. I've flushed plenty of birds.
Depends
I am refering to mainly small upland birds like quail. I have shot them and had them land God knows where. I would never, ever have found the bird. If it was wounded I couldn't finish it off, Either way, meat would have been wasted.
My dog has found 99.9% of the birds I have shot. I have no idea how she found some of the birds as they landed in brush that was all but impossible to penetrate. Or they landed in high grass that would have made looking for the needle in the haystack a picnic in comparrison.
I suppose on larger birds where finding a cripple should be easy then hunting without a dog, is OK, I suppose. But I do think that hunting the smaller species without a dog is unehtical. I do believe hunting dogs are a great conservaton tool. After all, an ethical hunter will do everything he or she can to retrieve downed game, even if one has to use a dog.
I am refering to mainly small upland birds like quail. I have shot them and had them land God knows where. I would never, ever have found the bird. If it was wounded I couldn't finish it off, Either way, meat would have been wasted.
My dog has found 99.9% of the birds I have shot. I have no idea how she found some of the birds as they landed in brush that was all but impossible to penetrate. Or they landed in high grass that would have made looking for the needle in the haystack a picnic in comparrison.
I suppose on larger birds where finding a cripple should be easy then hunting without a dog, is OK, I suppose. But I do think that hunting the smaller species without a dog is unehtical. I do believe hunting dogs are a great conservaton tool. After all, an ethical hunter will do everything he or she can to retrieve downed game, even if one has to use a dog.
I've hunted for 30+ years in So Cal without a dog for quail, and don't remember ever not finding my birds. I do watch where they fall, and normally don't take doubles.
More hunting has been done without dogs in this country than with. I don't think I'm much out of step with prior generations in quail hunting either.
More hunting has been done without dogs in this country than with. I don't think I'm much out of step with prior generations in quail hunting either.
I can see where you're coming from, to a point. But alot of that depends on the type of terrain you're hunting on. Where I hunt it's all flat farm land with really nothing on it...no trees, no tall grass. I've been able to see where every bird I've shot has landed so I'm not too worried.
DonR101395
New member
I can see that side of the argument Roy. I can honestly say I'm 41 this year and been hunting since I was 9 and have never knowingly left game in the field, but I have come home with less than my limit because I spent 2 hours looking for a bird. A needle in a hay stack is an understatement.
Better Eyes?
Some of you must have better eyesight then me. I have been out with other hunters and multiple dogs. Sometimes it takes a spell to find a downed quail with two or three dogs helping.
Read what professonal bird hunters have to say on this subject. Read what Young, O'Williams and had others have to say.
I do believe dogs are a great conservation tool.
I also suppose none of you have knocked a pheasant down only to have it make out like the roadrunner. How do you catch those wounded runners wihtout a dog? I suppose some of you are marathon runners and have never had a pheasant outrun you.
What to you do about ducks that fall to far out to wade or swim if you don't have a boat? Do you hope for a favorable tide?
Yes, bird hunting can be done without a dog? I prefer with a dog. Part of the reason is the fun, part of it as responsibility to the birds I may hit.
Some of you must have better eyesight then me. I have been out with other hunters and multiple dogs. Sometimes it takes a spell to find a downed quail with two or three dogs helping.
Read what professonal bird hunters have to say on this subject. Read what Young, O'Williams and had others have to say.
I do believe dogs are a great conservation tool.
I also suppose none of you have knocked a pheasant down only to have it make out like the roadrunner. How do you catch those wounded runners wihtout a dog? I suppose some of you are marathon runners and have never had a pheasant outrun you.
What to you do about ducks that fall to far out to wade or swim if you don't have a boat? Do you hope for a favorable tide?
Yes, bird hunting can be done without a dog? I prefer with a dog. Part of the reason is the fun, part of it as responsibility to the birds I may hit.
DonR101395
New member
Most of my pheasant hunting has been in southern MI. When they bolt on you they run right down the rows and if they make it to the end they hold up in the woodline separating the fields.They aren't difficult to find at all.
The only place I've ever had a difficult time finding birds on occasion was when I lived in Spokane and hunted grouse in the mountains. I found them, but it wasn't always easy. You just had to limit yourself to singles and pay attention.
predator86
New member
a dog would be nice but not everybody can afford a decent shotgun, not to mention a 300 dollar bird dog (keeping it cheep, i know the current dog prices), a kennel, shots, food, time spent with it ect.ect.ect.
getting a dog is kinda like having another kid with all the expenses but just because you dont have a dog doesnt mean you cant hunt.........i think it is more unethical to push your ethics on to somebody else, which is why i dont do that.
getting a dog is kinda like having another kid with all the expenses but just because you dont have a dog doesnt mean you cant hunt.........i think it is more unethical to push your ethics on to somebody else, which is why i dont do that.
Re
redator86
My ethics?
A person goes hunting for quail in an area with lots and lots of thick brush and heavy vegetation. The stuff is so thick that it is near imposasible to walk. When a covey is busted, you are lucky to glimpse a flying bird, much less get a chance to shoot one. But you get lucky and tag one. You see it fall behind some bushes. You walk over in that area and you can't even see the bare ground because of the grasses. You have no way of finding that bird. You don't know if you've just clipped a wing and the bird is alive and suffering.
Call your dog over, nothing can hide from his nose. But wait, you don't have a dog. Oh well, it was only a bird and some predator or scavenger will have a meal.
This should be unethical in everyone's book.
redator86My ethics?
A person goes hunting for quail in an area with lots and lots of thick brush and heavy vegetation. The stuff is so thick that it is near imposasible to walk. When a covey is busted, you are lucky to glimpse a flying bird, much less get a chance to shoot one. But you get lucky and tag one. You see it fall behind some bushes. You walk over in that area and you can't even see the bare ground because of the grasses. You have no way of finding that bird. You don't know if you've just clipped a wing and the bird is alive and suffering.
Call your dog over, nothing can hide from his nose. But wait, you don't have a dog. Oh well, it was only a bird and some predator or scavenger will have a meal.
This should be unethical in everyone's book.
"A person goes hunting for quail in an area with lots and lots of thick brush and heavy vegetation. The stuff is so thick that it is near imposasible to walk. When a covey is busted, you are lucky to glimpse a flying bird, much less get a chance to shoot one. But you get lucky and tag one"
"This should be unethical in everyone's book"
Why would you take that shot? Hoping you would get lucky?
"This should be unethical in everyone's book"
Why would you take that shot? Hoping you would get lucky?
Re:Ion371
Good question.
Even with a dog I pass on shots. I will not shoot at a bird that might land in some thick berry brush, My dog won't go in there. That would be waste of a natural resource.
I know our Fish and Game frowns on this. I know that if someone is shooting waterfowl that is landing in the middle of a pond without any method for recovery they will levy a fine.
Mr. Pilot
You have no problem with folks hunting and not recovering their game?
Good question.
Even with a dog I pass on shots. I will not shoot at a bird that might land in some thick berry brush, My dog won't go in there. That would be waste of a natural resource.
I know our Fish and Game frowns on this. I know that if someone is shooting waterfowl that is landing in the middle of a pond without any method for recovery they will levy a fine.
Mr. Pilot
You have no problem with folks hunting and not recovering their game?
Not at all, but I would ask them to exercise good judgment about the terrain and probability of game recovery. As someone else said, we pass up shots if we don't think the game is recoverable, even with a dog. Fortunately with a GSP there is not much brush they can't get through. They are relentless.