Running Roosters??

[germanshorthairs]

On opening day (saturday) we ran into a lot of roosters that would run. The dogs would get super birdy and then it was like the chase was on. My shorthairs point and hold the point great, but when the birds run I am at a loss what to do. Do I heel the dogs for a minute when I know the bird is running and let the bird slow down? Or do I let the dog range and hope it can point and hold the bird down until I get there. Also, any idea as to why the birds would run?? Thanks in advance.

Also-we hunted in SW MN and ran into 3 skunks and many other hunters in area saw them as well-seemed unusual.

[daylate]

I hunt SW minnesota as well, near marshall. I did not see any skunks(Thankfully!)

In my experiences roosters almost always run. When my dog is really hot on a scent I will jog behind and only call the dog off if it is getting out of range.

I have tried just walking and calling the dog back everytime she gets out too far, but I have had much better shooting when I double time it. plus I get a little extra excersize.

It will be interesting to see how other hunters approach the elusive running roosters.

Has anyone tried a hawk call? I've heard that they stop roosters in their tracks.

[creepworm]

Jogging behind the dog is what I usually do. Calling the dog off can sometimes make the bird flush out of range, especially later in the season.

[Jameson]

When they really start running is when I pull out my second dog. She doesn't go into the nasty stuff, but circles the edge waiting for the lab to push something out. She's even got a couple of rabbits this way.

[MDD]

I don't like to pull my dogs off of any scent or running birds unless I feel that double-timing behing the dogs will reck the field. In my experience if you don't try to keep up with the dog you will usually not have a good shot at the bird if it does flush. I have tried hawk calls and it has work occasionally so it is always an option to try. Trust you dog (never leave your wing man) and hope that you don't double time too long and you can get a flush in range. Pheasants would rather run than fly if they can so you'll have to judge each each time you experience the running bird and make your best guess as to follow your do and see if you can get a shot or save the fied for more potential flushes.

Good Luck.

[tybo]

The last thing most upland birds want to do is fly. Grouse run and woodcock will do it at times as well but not as often as grouse and roosters. They will generally run or sit as still as possible and hope you go by them. If they fly they alert raptors where they are and raptors kill lots of birds.

My older setter is very adept at working a running bird. He did it Sunday morning on a big ol' rooster. He pointed it and soon he was flagging his tail. I knew he was losing the scent. He tracked the bird very cautiously and never crowded the bird too much so the bird didn't feel it needed to fly. The bird was circling back behind where we just walked through and my dog hadn't been that far over the field in our initial pass. About 30 yards or so from where he first pointed the bird he nailed it. I walked in and flushed it.

My dog has done this many times over the years. I allowed him to relocate on birds as a pup and worked him on lots of wild birds since where I live I have plenty of access to them (roosters). It's not a veyr good thing in the grouse woods but as long as the dog is cautious and doesn't crowd the bird too much they usually won't fly (roosters alow this more than grouse). This is just somehting I allowed him to do and he has learned over the years how close he can get. He still bumps an occasional rooster and a few grouse but he also has backtarcked on lots of roosters I may not have got if he hadn't. I won't let my younger setter do this as I want him to be more of a grouse dog and re-locating on a grouse is much more difficult.

[fivebucks]

For me it depends on the situation. If I am with other people I will almost always call the dog off figuring we'll work up to the area the bird is in. Now if it is only going ahead by 30-40 yards I'll do that but I won't run ahead a hundred yards like I used to in my younger days. When I am by myself I will let how many birds I'm seeing decide my fate. If my dog is rarely getting birdy I would probably go with the dog but if I'm into more birds I would tend to call the dog off.

[CaptainMusky]

The last several years it seems that pheasants are getting more apt to run. It used to be opening weekend and for the first couple weeks you could get all the roosters you wanted to stay close, but by late in the year the wiley roosters were running.

We had 2 roosters that ran and flushed out of range WELL ahead of the dog both times. One time we were going with the wind, so that is expected, the other directly into it. My dog was locked up on point and the one bird flushed about 50 yards out in front of him. Bird must have been sitting there, but took off running.

its frustrating for sure, but one thing we do is double time it to try and keep with the dog. I wont run, because that isnt safe.

[pureinsanity]

Keep in mind that opening weekend was rather windy, so the birds are/were more likely to keep it on the ground. My favorite technique for running birds is; Posters, nothing stops a running bird like someone posting the other side where they will run out of.

I always make sure I look on maps, google earth, and even drive around the land im going to hunt and look at the options and determine which way to start the hunt and where the birds are most likely to run out or fly out of.

[tybo]

Having a plan before you hunt a field is a good idea. If you expect birds to run you can try to push them toward something that will make them hold. Since the birds don't want to fly you can generally use a road or cut field edge to stop them. They don't want to be out in an open field unless they have to so they won't generally run across open fields or roads until they are really pushed to do so. The only time you usually see them in an open field is during feeding or moving back into cover. Get a plan and work them to some cover where you expect them to hold better and you should get better results, that is, if the birds are there and they go along with the plan. They don't always paly nice but that's part of what makes this fun in the first place. it's not supposed to be too easy.

[brittman]

Pheasants also run behind you to the side - just depends on the experience of the birds, direction and experience of the hunters and dogs.

I have seen pheasants run out of a slough and cross a road as hunters pushed away from the road. I have seen a flock of pheasants run across a harvested soybean field perpendicular to hunters waking a ditch.

Now the dog.

My older (retired) Brit would actually get in front of running birds and pin them. She would do this on a consistent basis. My current Britt has less experience on pheasants (tend to hunt ducks with her and grouse past couple years). She will nail a point on the the sitters, but the runners get her so amped up she will chase them until they are bumped. With a few more hunts and some training she will adjust away from this behavior.

So if the dog is repositioning and moving with the birds at their normal pace I say let them keep hunting. If they get all worked up and are charging through cover at a high pace (like looking for a wounded bird that is running), then call them in and "restart" them to get them in better self control.

Wind usually sucks. Not only is the scent messed up, but the pointing dog uses your scent and their hearing to keep their range with you and to check back with you. They lose this tracking ability in windy conditions and dogs "behvaior" can become more difficult.

[Darrell Larson]

I have never hunted with a pointer, years ago I used to hunt pheasants with my Lab and Chessie, double time was not an option for me, I used the word "Whoa" when they started to move faster than I wanted to. I probaly missed harvesting some birds but running at port arms for a bird, not me. I now hunt with a Chessie for Grouse and the same word is applied when she gets a little to excited, I am now 60 years old and Jessie is 2 years old, even if I wanted to keep up with her on scent I could not for an extended period of time.

My brain says go go go, and my legs and lungs say no no no.

[jparrucci]

Brittman- My 6 year old brittany picked up the same trick a couple of seasons ago. I only have public land to hunt, so we are usually hunting solo with wiley roosters that run and run. My britt has figured out to get in front of the running bird and cut it off. Many of his points in recent years have been with him facing me, and the bird is between us.

[reddog]

I'm in the same field as fivebucks.

Running to keep up with your dogs only incites the dog to think this is OK to chase a running bird. You all know that the hotter the scent gets, the faster the dog is going to go to put up the bird, especially if your trying to keep up with the dog. When you do the "labrador shuffle" for a 100 or 150 yds, there is a good chance that you are running by a different bird that may have held.

Youre not going to get every bird in the field and the sooner you learn that, the better off youre going to be.

[gspman]

I would not recommend running or jogging with a loaded gun. That is a recipe for disaster. Running birds is something a dog will need to learn how to deal with. Some figure it out and some never get it. Running behind your dog, on top of being very unsafe, will also be a signal to your dog to push harder too. That'll almost always result in a wild flush. Instead of doing that let the dog trail and then you break away from the trail at a 90 degree angle and then head up to try to help the dog work the bird into an area where it might be more inclined to sit (like a fence row or a distinct change in cover). Sometimes that'll work and sometimes not. Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of running birds. Keep hunting; some day the birds will sit like they are velcroed to the ground. Then you'll be grinning from ear to ear.

[Dave S]

Excellent point about running with a loaded gun gspman. It's never a good idea and instills bad habits in the dog.

The hunting shows that show hunters running hell bent for election trying to keep up with their dog or after shooting a turkey really frustrates me.

Running through CRP grass, you never know what's hidden like fallen trees or fox or badger dens.

[gspman]

Running through CRP grass, you never know what's hidden like fallen trees or fox or badger dens.

I have on multiple occasions stuck my leg in a hole and went in deep. Had I been running I am sure I would have blown out a knee or broke my leg.

I was in a mammoth public area at Lac Qui Parle once at least 1.5 miles from the truck walking through some knee high grass and put my foot in the wire frame of a perfectly concealed car seat. Somehow my foot went in so I didn't feel any part of the frame and when I stepped forward I almost broke my leg. After I extricated myself I sat for about 10 minutes until the pain went away. I had a dent in my shin and a bruise on it for a couple weeks. It would have been a very long crawl to the truck.

Safety first. Birds second.

[germanshorthairs]

Thanks for all the thoughts-I have tried the hawk call several times now and I really don't know if it works or not. Like stated earlier-sometimes they stick tight like velcro other times they run like rabbits!!