I hunted partidge in the UP of Michigan until I was 35 yrds old. Owned 7 Spingers (one at a time) since I was 5 yrs old. Started hunting when I was 10. It's no good if your dog flushes a bird that is out of your shot range. What makes Springers particularly effective is their close loving bond with you. They will only hunt out so far ahead. If they got too far out, I would train them by ducking down in a hollow. Very quickly they realized that the visual bond between you and them had been broken. They litterally panic and backtrack until they find you (only takes a few seconds). When reunited they love the crap out of you and then endeavor to stay in closer, so that that visual bond won't be broken again. There is nothing more exciting then wing shooting. Hunting alone, partidge will usually out smart you because they know where you are before you know where they are. But, when your hunting with a high energy Springer, the bird doesn't notice you becasue of this CRAZY dog that's after them. When they flush, then they see you and very quickly put a tree between you and them. You only have a split second to shot. So the gun has to be on target as soon as it is raised to your shoulder. There is no time to aim. It has to be glandular! Takes lot of practice throwing the gun to your shoulder at home aiming at a knot on the wall.
She does great early season but when the leaves fall she starts to wander a little bit. They are special dogs that's for sure! She's got me a lot of birds and if I was a better shot we would have a lot more haha. Thanks for the comment
I hunted partidge in the UP of Michigan until I was 35 yrds old. Owned 7 Spingers (one at a time) since I was 5 yrs old. Started hunting when I was 10. It's no good if your dog flushes a bird that is out of your shot range. What makes Springers particularly effective is their close loving bond with you. They will only hunt out so far ahead. If they got too far out, I would train them by ducking down in a hollow. Very quickly they realized that the visual bond between you and them had been broken. They litterally panic and backtrack until they find you (only takes a few seconds). When reunited they love the crap out of you and then endeavor to stay in closer, so that that visual bond won't be broken again. There is nothing more exciting then wing shooting. Hunting alone, partidge will usually out smart you because they know where you are before you know where they are. But, when your hunting with a high energy Springer, the bird doesn't notice you becasue of this CRAZY dog that's after them. When they flush, then they see you and very quickly put a tree between you and them. You only have a split second to shot. So the gun has to be on target as soon as it is raised to your shoulder. There is no time to aim. It has to be glandular! Takes lot of practice throwing the gun to your shoulder at home aiming at a knot on the wall.
She does great early season but when the leaves fall she starts to wander a little bit. They are special dogs that's for sure! She's got me a lot of birds and if I was a better shot we would have a lot more haha. Thanks for the comment