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To back up a little, a query for the perfect barrel length for ring-necked pheasant shares the same answer as a similar question, “What is the best shotgun for (insert upland bird here)?” The answer to both is simple – whatever shotgun you shoot the most and shoot best, which in an ideal world would be one and the same. Nearly any shotgun will do the job, but none will do it as well as the gun you know and shoot well.

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Dogs with black-and-tan and black-white-and-tan coats predate the various setter breeds. They occurred in the root stock of dogs imported from the continent that gave rise to the setters, so naturally they would appear from time to time as British breeders developed various strains of setters. At some point in the late 1700s and early 1800s some breeders began to select dogs specifically for a black-and-tan coat.

Now is the time to break in your boots for the season ahead. Learn more at IrishSetter.com, or try on a pair of Irish Setter's Wingshooters at your favorite retailer today.

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Often when purchasing a pup from a breeder within the contract is a list of commitments the owner is agreeing to. These can range anywhere from what kind of fencing used at your home to completing hunt tests. If your pup came from a North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) breeder, chances are good you’re asked to run your dog in a Natural Ability Test.

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Forgetting to replace the plug is a dilemma many hunters face after a long off-season of upland hunting where there are no restrictions to the use of a plug. Well, almost. Upland hunting has a weird way of throwing bird hunters a curve ball when it comes to hunting those species on the fringe. For waterfowling it’s a given. And we all know dove hunting requires a plug, but so does snipe, rail, sora, and yes, even woodcock. These are all classified as migratory birds and under federal law it limits shotguns to three shells.

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The idea of scouting with modern game cameras started one fall during college when an unexpected event triggered a need for a change of tactics. Earlier that same year, a heavy hailstorm had ravaged our prime opening morning pheasant field. The thick golden CRP grasses we were accustomed to hunting had been mowed to golf-course height by the storm. As we walked the field opening morning later that fall, there was no cover in sight, and the grim discovery of scattered feathers was all that remained of a once thriving pheasant population. We had obviously lost our main honey hole for the season. I suddenly found myself wishing I had done some pre-season scouting.

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To break down the cost of a hunting dog, for the sake of discussion, let’s assume a scenario with a single dog living in a household as part of the family and hunting regularly throughout the season. Our sample dog, “Cash,” will live for twelve years and be mostly healthy over the course of his lifespan. This is of course a generic picture for the purposes of estimates – please pardon the many assumptions made.

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“What do you have in a good, used, lightweight, nice shotgun for quail?”

If I heard that question from a customer once I heard it a thousand times over the four years I worked in a gun shop during college. The follow-up was usually more of a statement than a question and it went something like, “ . . . and cheap.”

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Whoa has not always been an important part of training, but a quick historical peek at how bird dogs developed helps give it perspective. As far back as the 16th century, we as hunters have been teaching dogs to whoa to signal the presence of game. Dogs were trained to circle, point, or circle and point game. For dogs required to hold point they were taught whoa. Dogs had to be well trained as hunters used crossbows prior to the invention of the shotgun. 

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Autumn has long passed in Alaska. Like many upland hunters, I live for the golden leaves and crisp air of fall and mourn its passing as the snow and cold usher in winter's edict that yet another season has passed. Depending on where you live, fall could spark a plethora of potential upland pursuits, but for me the crisp fall air means it’s grouse season above all things.

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When I cross a border, knock on a farmer’s door, visit a gun shop or meet another hunter in the field, I feel no angst. Because as a white man, I’m exempt. My gender and skin colour give me an exemption from the anxieties that people of colour deal with every day. They immunize me to the effects of a virus that infects much of our world, the virus of discrimination.

But my nephew’s not exempt. He’s not immune. Because his skin is of a different colour.

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