Sunrise this morning
3 of my release traps
I couldn’t resist putting the sunrise this morning on the blog. Another beautiful morning for training dogs but yesterday after flushing the last pigeon I broke the strap on the release trap transmitter and it was lost. I knew it was gone and I looked yesterday before quitting and again in the evening. I searched the grounds again this morning without finding the transmitter. I had another one in the shed but I couldn’t get it to work this morning. So I didn’t train dogs.
I started trying to get the transmitter to work this afternoon but the batteries I had were no good, I thought. I finally went to the store and got a new battery. I put it in and it didn’t work either. So this transmitter is bad. My cousin, Jim Smith, had given me a release trap and I thought maybe there was a transmitter with it. Sure enough, there was and with the new battery it worked just fine. So tomorrow I will be able to train dogs. But that shows how dependent I am on the equipment.
My 4-wheeler
Backing dog
I’ve been using the 4-wheeler for about 3 years and I don’t know how I got by without it. I used to walk down and put the birds out and walk back to get the dog. Then walk back down to work the dog then walk back to put the dog up. Then to work another dog I had to do it again. Now I ride the 4-wheeler to run the dog as well as putting the pigeons out. Thirty five years ago we just took our dogs out running before the season opened then took them hunting when the season opened. There were enough birds that they would learn on wild birds. Now we need all this stuff.
I use e-collars, remote controlled backing dogs, release traps, GPS tracking for the dogs and various other releases as well as raising pigeons to work the dogs on.
Blank pistol that shoots shotgun primers.
When Garmin first came out with the GPS tracking collars I bought one and without knowing much about it I went to Montana hunting. It was the first of September, the opening of prairie grouse season. The first morning the temperature started off pretty cool but warmed rapidly. I usually set a bucket of water out beside the truck during warm weather so if the dogs get close to the truck they can get a drink but I forgot to put it out. I saw, my male setter, Pal circle the truck looking for water. I had some water with me but he didn’t get close to me. With the wind blowing I couldn’t get him to hear me. I took the other dogs back to the truck hoping he would come back. I watered the others and put them in their boxes but no Pal. I checked the GPS and it said 1000 plus yards south east. I started walking and calling Pal. Every time I checked the GPS it still showed him a 1000 plus yards ahead. Finally, I found him lying in the shade of a small bush. I checked the GPS and it was still showing a 1000 plus yards to the south east. I started trying to figure it out. After checking the hand held unit it dawned on me that it was saying 1000 plus miles. That collar was not mated to the hand held but it was a 1000 plus miles to my home. To under state it, I’m pretty low tech so I waited until I got home to take the collar to Garmin and have them mate them.
I snapped a leash to Pal’s collar and watered him from a bottle I carried with me. I led him back to the truck and didn’t run him the rest of the day. The next morning he was ready to go.
Last year I was quail hunting and had flushed a covey and was working the singles when the battery in my hand held unit ran down. I usually carry extra batteries with me but they were in my other hunting vest. I called the dogs off the singles and went back to the truck for more batteries. If I had to hunt without the GPS I wouldn’t hunt. It takes all the fear, of losing a dog, away.
Of all the things I use training and hunting dogs, the GPS is the most important to me. Without it I would stay home, although the e-collar and the 4-wheeler are important, too.