projectupland.com On The Go

Ben Jones walked to the front of the conference room of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association’s (NAVHDA) 50th anniversary annual meeting. To my delight, I had the unique opportunity to introduce him. “I believe in Ben Jones.” It’s a sentence I have found myself saying more and more about the new president and CEO of the Ruffed Grouse Society. Believing in the people who steer the ship of conservation is more important than ever as we face the future of our planet. And with hunting we face a moment of stark change in public opinion, industry divide, and troubling waters. Decline is, in fact, the best word to describe just about everything in our community.

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There are a few reasons the passenger pigeon was brought to the point of extinction. Market hunting and over-exploitation were the primary culprits. Because their flocks were so gigantic, firearms, nets, clubs, and poles were used to quickly harvest thousands of pigeons at a time. The invention of the telegraph and railroad transportation across the country allowed humans to quickly locate roosting areas for harvesting squab (i.e., young pigeons), and trees were often cut down to gather them easily. Railcars literally full of pigeons would leave for larger markets daily (PA Game Commission 2010). Forests full of food sources were replaced by agriculture and other developments. After decades of diminished reproductive success (called recruitment), loss of habitat, and direct mortality, the population reached a tipping point from which it couldn’t recover.

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In an effort to better understand the development and prevalence of our current achievements in the contemporary world of bird dog breeds, it is imperative that we reach back into the complex history of what is recognized as a foundation breed to our most beloved wingshooting lifestyle and field trial sport. Historians recognize the English setter and English pointer as the most effective points of entry into the modern pursuit of wild and liberated game birds...

A “start with the end in mind” approach may help in better understanding the rise of the English pointer. The pointers of England at the time were a manifestation of successful efforts of their pioneer breeders who capitalized on the very few shortcomings of the English setter, which during the 1800s, dominated the rapidly growing field trial scene.

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Bobwhite quail are just as likely to be out in the middle of a native grassland system or in plum thickets as they are in tree lines along crop rows, thus raising the bar of difficulty and making them harder to find. The challenge for quail hunters is that rather than working “quail-friendly” cover in picture-perfect fence lines along grain fields, you have to walk those larger grass ranges.

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“It’s just an old Stevens, nothing special,” I said, when asked about the gun. I have to admit, the metal two-gun Americase I was traveling with was likely worth more than its contents. But then again, humans have a penchant for assigning value to inanimate objects, not based on outright cash price, but rather based on sentiment, history, or perception. I was at Grouse Camp in Minnesota, with folks who were sporting Parkers, Foxes, AYAs, and I remember defending the gun, while feeling a bit ashamed. It was no fault of theirs by any stretch, and it was certainly not the first time I felt like I needed to defend my little 20-gauge. 

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When one thinks of the state of Connecticut and bird hunting, it's tough to see through its reputation as a Mecca for suburban deer hunting. And for those that try to fill the high of pheasant hunting with stocked birds across the state, the program gives ample opportunities. But hidden past those stocked birds lies the spectacle of the great migrations of the upland hunting gem, the American woodcock. Despite not allowing small game hunting on Sundays, over the past few years I've found myself wandering down from New Hampshire at regular intervals to pursue this “wandering soul.” In fact it became the final chapter in the film First Season I did some years back.

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With the need for brush pant innovation obvious, it may come as a surprise that First Lite, a company known for creating high quality gear for big game pursuits, were the ones to seize the opportunity to reinvent this upland classic. While there isn’t actually an ‘upland’ category on their online store (one can dream) they are clearly made for busting through thick brush in pursuit of game.

I’ve had the opportunity to test their new brush pants since the summer, putting in a lot of miles through training, scouting, hiking and hunting. Since opener, I have followed my German wirehaired pointer in five states and bagged Himalayan snowcock, chukar, valley quail, mountain quail, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, white-tailed ptarmigan, blue grouse and sage grouse in them. The fact that I’ve not once had to think about them is a very good sign.

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CZ has a long history of quality and reliability for the price, not to mention the original Bobwhite was produced prior and discontinued in 2015, yet reintroduced in 2019 as the G2 model based on the popularity of the original version. Designed with a trim English-style, Turkish walnut stock, these babies are crafted on gauge-specific frames, providing a sleek profile and cutting weight. At 7.3 pounds, the Bobwhite G2 feels virtually weightless in comparison to lesser quality or vintage side-by-side shotguns.

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