Look, I understand. You’ve seen countless social media posts about how productive this corner of the state is. Your news feed is stacked with photos and stories of covey after covey that hold tight for dogs with any suggestion of point drive. In reality, the vast majority of these photos were taken by local dedicated bird hunters with dogs that have a Ph.D. in the habits and terrain of their local quarry. Or are at least veteran road trip hunters who have already been there and hunted that. The tailgate shot on social media is just the sum of hundreds of hours and hundreds of miles.

But alas, you do not have the time to invest in gathering this amount of on-the-ground information. It’s been my experience that left to its own devices, an upland road trip can quickly leave a beginner flustered, unable to identify proper cover, and driving in circles looking for “the field of dreams” where birds flush from the cornucopia as you drive bye, cackling, “Come hunt here!”

As I have yet to have this happen, here are a few ideas to help avoid the road trip traps that I have found myself in over the years. 

Read more at projectupland.com.