Aug 30, 2019
For many of us, upland bird hunting often brings to mind vivid images of years past, of handsome English setters and German shorthairs—paw up, tail straight—poised behind a pheasant or grouse holding tight, waiting for the flush. At least that’s what I always envisioned upland bird hunting to be. That is, until I brought home my first gundog, a field-bred golden retriever. Have you considered a flushing dog as your next hunting buddy? Walking the fields behind a flushing dog is an exciting experience, although quite different than that of a pointing dog.
The decision was easy for me: I was lucky. I grew up with beagles—great hunting dogs in their own right, although ours never hunted (except for the stray rabbits that wandered too far into the yard) and knew that I wanted a dog that could hunt, but birds instead of rabbits. Nobody in my family hunted the uplands, but the romance of it always intrigued me. I did, however, grow up with a friend who had a large, majestic golden retriever, and the allure of the retriever always got to me.