projectupland.com On The Go

Hunters throughout the uplands walk many miles each season in pursuit of various quail species.  From the bobwhites in the Southeast, Gambel’s and scaled quail in the desert Southwest, Mearns and mountain quail in the hills, and California quail throughout the west, several million birds are shot on the wing, loaded in game bags, and eventually cleaned and consumed. Sure, most hunters will note the sex of each bird harvested, but there is one more piece of data that is often skipped by most hunters: aging their birds. For many game birds, distinguishing between juvenile and adult is fairly easy, and quail are no exception. In fact, quail lend themselves to determining the actual hatch date of a juvenile to within just a few days of when the bird pipped its way out of a quarter-sized egg. This information can add a bit of scientific fun for an upland junkie, but can also be useful information to help explain previous reproductive output and possibly even help guide future habitat management.

We all have different personalities that flow into our training. Issues arise when those personalities interfere with the flow of communication. We want to be as clear and concise as possible when we train. As you and your dog navigate your way through training lessons, the clarity in communication will start to click, and it will start a snowball effect where learning comes quickly. As success builds on success, before you know it, you will be reaching your training goals in no time.

The earliest recorded reference of gunpowder was in the Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue during the Tang Dynasty in China; it was discovered during an alchemist's search to find an elixir of life. (Cambridge University Press 2008) It would still be hundreds of years until gunpowder would begin to be harnessed in way that resembles a more modern firearm.

Craig Koshyk, Editor-in-Chief of Hunting Dog Confidential and foremost authority on hunting dog history and development, inspired me to dig into old books to find the clues that lead to the stories of our past. One such book is The Gun and Its Development, written by W. W. Greener in 1897. In the second chapter of this historic text, Greener lays out the oldest historic references to the development and use of gunpowder. He references the invention of gunpowder in China as early as the 9th century, but leans heavily into discussing its development in Europe as it was harnessed for the refinement of the modern firearm and, more specifically, for the breech-loader.

What follows is a collection of excerpts from The Gun and Its Development by W. W. Greener, 1897.

Read more at projectupland.com.

Congratulations! You just brought home a new bird dog puppy and among the many preparations you made in anticipation of this new family member was building a pigeon loft, stocking it with birds, and training the birds to rehome to their loft. Wait, you didn’t get around to that yet and you are just now searching the internet for training pigeons? You've come to the right place: here is a crash course in pigeon-keeping. It’s not nearly as tough as you might think.

Read more at projectupland.com.

The close relationship between dog and hunter is ancient. Even in what is now the United States, squirrel dogs have been helping us fill the game bag for hundreds of years. Having a good dog will assist in locating game when it’s difficult to pinpoint a food source, eliminate large patches of forest as not having game available for harvest, alert you of danger or an oncoming hunter, which improves safety, and reduce crippling losses by tracking and finding shot game.

Read more at projectupland.com.

Boreal forests of Europe are not very fertile places and, until recently, people who settled there found it hard to support themselves with either hunting-gathering or agriculture alone. They learned to combine the two, plowing in the summer and hunting in the winter. Hunting yielded not only meat but furs as well, which became more and more important as civilization progressed. Sable pelts fueled the expansion of Moscow’s reach to the East, engaging one indigenous people after another in fur trade and hunting. Everywhere from the Okhotsk Sea coast to the fjords of Scandinavia, hunters found an invaluable assistant in a medium-sized dog with pointed ears and a bushy curled tail that helped them harvest anything from grouse to bear to moose to marten: the Laika.

Read more at projectupland.com.

It’s never too early to start planning for the next hunting season. You’ve heard the old adage that people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan. So here are a few of the tricks I use to prepare for the next bird season in a strategic and organized manner.

Read more at projectupland.com.

Treating the shotgun with reverence, I gently placed it onto the long kitchen table. A moment of silence seemed appropriate. History stared back, whispering to unravel a quiet mystery. What I would come to learn was far beyond my expectations. My journey to understand the history of this heirloom taught me about a type of concealment so well-formed that it would eventually become outlawed in America.

Whether you’re chasing birds through the woods, across the prairies and grasslands, up and down mountains, or sitting behind a blind, it’s important to have a gun that fits so that you can use it feeling comfortable and confident.

Read more at projectupland.com.

Adhering to the etiquette of the turkey woods will give you an experience that is safer, more enriching, and still rewarding by behaving as a good neighbor. Considering the fact that turkey hunting carries more risk of hunter-to-hunter conflict, setting a good example and following good practices will help everyone to share the woods appropriately. You will most likely experience some people not following these principles of etiquette, but taking the high road can go a long way in many things in life.

Read more at projectupland.com.