Rough Shooting Trials-Setter/pointers

irish setter

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

What would you call it? Walked up shooting, hunting, game bird hunting etc?
We're getting a bit technical....

i was simply picking up on foxshooters post where he quoted a book about which dog is the the best rough shooting and in the context of the book the springer is king. i was trying to make the point that to each one of us the best dog is the one that does the job we want it to do and the one we prefer to work with not what someone else tells us, especially when generalizing in a book

Donalmit

Hi EP,I have never heard of a roughshooting trial for pointers/setters in this country. Most of the trials for these breeds of dogs are held on vast open ground in bogs or mountain sides. There are trials held in a few counties for RPRs (hunt/point/retrievers) that more closely copy a rough days shooting. These dogs must vary their hunting range to suit the type of cover they are in. They will need to quarter 200m either side of their handler in open territory (stubble fields etc) and work like a springer in dense undergrowth (hazel etc). They are required to hold point post shot and fall and then be sent on command to retrieve to hand. I have a couple of DVDs of trials held in the UK for HPRs. PM me your address and I will post on to you. In the US they have a competition called "Shoot to retrieve" (Google it for details). This can be both amateur or professional and involves releasing a number of birds in a designated area. The hunter/dog (can be pointer/setter/mongrel) is then judged on how long it takes to get all birds; how many shots he fires and if the dog retrieves to hand or not. It is often a winner takes all and the prize fund can be quite substantial.The debate around whether you can successfully use trial dogs for weekly rough shooting is down to how seriously you take your trialling. Serious trialling men rarely use their top dogs for rough shooting as it is much more difficult to keep control when you are also focusing in putting a bird in the bag and also as stated before the more intelligent dogs begin to pace themselves and you will struggle to get them back up to speed for a trial afterwards. There is an old saying that I believe goes like "the quickest way to spoil a good hunting dog is to bring them out shooting" as their manners start to slip very quickly.I try to keep all my dogs teady to flush and shot for their safety (they could run across a main road in pursuit) and it also avoids them flushing game out of range on their journey. In reality, it is all about the enjoyment we all get from being out with our dogs and the excitement of trying to outwit our quarry. IMO the better fireside stories are about what goes wrong in a days shooting (and still get the bird) than what goes right LOL...

Mitch

EPointer=Birdss

Donalmit wrote: »

Hi EP,I have never heard of a roughshooting trial for pointers/setters in this country. Most of the trials for these breeds of dogs are held on vast open ground in bogs or mountain sides. There are trials held in a few counties for RPRs (hunt/point/retrievers) that more closely copy a rough days shooting. These dogs must vary their hunting range to suit the type of cover they are in. They will need to quarter 200m either side of their handler in open territory (stubble fields etc) and work like a springer in dense undergrowth (hazel etc). They are required to hold point post shot and fall and then be sent on command to retrieve to hand. I have a couple of DVDs of trials held in the UK for HPRs. PM me your address and I will post on to you. In the US they have a competition called "Shoot to retrieve" (Google it for details). This can be both amateur or professional and involves releasing a number of birds in a designated area. The hunter/dog (can be pointer/setter/mongrel) is then judged on how long it takes to get all birds; how many shots he fires and if the dog retrieves to hand or not. It is often a winner takes all and the prize fund can be quite substantial.The debate around whether you can successfully use trial dogs for weekly rough shooting is down to how seriously you take your trialling. Serious trialling men rarely use their top dogs for rough shooting as it is much more difficult to keep control when you are also focusing in putting a bird in the bag and also as stated before the more intelligent dogs begin to pace themselves and you will struggle to get them back up to speed for a trial afterwards. There is an old saying that I believe goes like "the quickest way to spoil a good hunting dog is to bring them out shooting" as their manners start to slip very quickly.I try to keep all my dogs teady to flush and shot for their safety (they could run across a main road in pursuit) and it also avoids them flushing game out of range on their journey. In reality, it is all about the enjoyment we all get from being out with our dogs and the excitement of trying to outwit our quarry. IMO the better fireside stories are about what goes wrong in a days shooting (and still get the bird) than what goes right LOL...

Mitch

Well said & as enlightened as ever Mitch! Thanks for the reply...