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Sage-grouse need large, connected, and mostly treeless swaths of sagebrush to survive. Without this, sage-grouse cease to exist. It’s that simple. Sage-grouse are what scientists and biologists call a sagebrush obligate species. You can’t have sage-grouse without sage.
Sage-grouse occupy western sagebrush (Artemisia sp.) prairies of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and into the province of Saskatchewan. Although sage-grouse still live in all these places, their populations have shrunk. The largest core populations still thrive in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon. Uncoincidentally, these are the same states with the most intact and healthy sagebrush landscapes.
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Each September, an inexplicable reverence stirs within me as I patiently await the chance to roam Wyoming’s boundless public lands in pursuit of the bird that holds my heart—the iconic sage grouse. There’s something almost spiritual about stepping into the vast sea of sagebrush and feeling the landscape’s timeless pull.
For many hunters, pursuing these majestic birds is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime adventure, often meticulously planned months or years ahead. Preparation and knowledge are key in order to appreciate and succeed in this journey.
Sage grouse populations stretch across eleven western states—Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Yet only seven states still permit sage grouse hunting, and season lengths and bag limits are carefully controlled.
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Recently, the states of Nebraska and South Dakota have been getting most of the attention from hunters seeking to pursue greater prairie-chickens. This makes a lot of sense, given the good population of birds in these states and the abundance of publicly accessible land available to hunt. However, Kansas has long been a leader in greater prairie-chicken harvest and continues to provide excellent hunting. With a long season and the ability to harvest other species while chasing chickens, you should consider Kansas for your next prairie-chicken hunt.
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It was late September, the Minnesotan air was cool, and Ruffed Grouse were on my mind. We had just thrown our hunting gear in the back of the pickup, ready to head out for a day of chasing dogs through grouse cover, when my cell phone began to vibrate. Normally, I would let it go to voicemail. However, having only just walked out of the camp, my fiancée calling would have meaning.
“A grouse just flew through the window and landed on the bed,” Sabrina said with a mix of shock and nervous laughter.
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Spruce grouse are not often–if ever–regarded as the King of the Uplands. They suffer a perception forced upon them by those of us accustomed to pursuing ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, chukar, or any of the various quail species that inhabit our countrysides. They are renowned for their dim-wittedness, weak flush, and poor culinary experience. They’ve even earned the nickname “Fool Hen,” a moniker that is both well-earned and undeserved.
Spruce grouse are so prevalent in Alaska that it can be easy to assume a person can simply go out and shoot one. I know because I’ve set out with that mindset and returned with empty game bags. They may not be the greatest challenge presented to an upland hunter, but if you don’t give them their due diligence, they can easily have you leaving the woods with spent shells and unanswered questions.
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Clapper rails don’t sing. They cackle. It’s a guttural call emanating from somewhere deep within each tiny bird that reverberates with enough force to trigger a cascade. Once one rail calls, every rail within earshot erupts into its own chorus. The cacophony sends a ripple through the salt marsh and shatters its peaceful silence like glass.
Today, however, there is no peace, and there is no silence. It’s already been shattered. A violent collision of arctic air and Gulf Stream winds just smacked the mid-Atlantic shore. Now, the rails and I are caught knee-deep in the chaos.
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To bird dog aficionados, names like Elhew Snakefoot, Count Noble, Shadowoaks Bo, and Manitoba Rap are well known. But to the average person, the names of dogs in our hall of fame mean absolutely nothing at all.
But there are a few dogs from hunting breeds that have achieved fame beyond the bird dog world. Let’s have a look at some of the most celebrated among them. -
September 1 is one of the most popular hunting dates in the United States. In many states, it’s the opening day of dove season, which is the start of upland hunting for many wing shooting enthusiasts.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) sets a range of dates, season lengths, and bag limits that states can choose from to harvest doves. Depending on each state’s latitude, there are advantages to selecting early dates, later dates, or even split dates. September 1 is the earliest the USFWS allows any state to open the season for native doves. The list of native doves includes mourning and white-winged doves, although mourning doves are by far the most commonly harvested dove in the country.
Nearly every state selects September 1 or the first Saturday in September as its opening day. This begs the question: Why would southern states want to open as early as northern states when mourning doves are migratory?
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Is it a fuzzy face infatuation that pulls at your heartstrings? Or is it that your dog is a bird-finding machine? For most, it’s probably a combination of the two. When deciding to breed or not to breed, be honest with your motivations. That adorable face comes with heavy liabilities and responsibilities. Unfortunately, the fact that you’re in love with your dog doesn’t necessarily mean it has the genetic traits to better its breed and produce a good hunting dog.
There are temperamental, health, and emotional risks when it comes to breeding your dog. Potentially, your dog could pass along temperment issues that could put the owners of your dog’s puppies at risk. You could pass along skeletal or muscular issues that would limit the dog’s ability as a hunter or even to live a life without suffering. Never let your feelings interfere with you making the right choice. Your choice to breed has the potential to impact a large group of buyers and their families. The impacts of poor breeding is a heavy weight to bear.
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A dog conditioned for big runs in the open prairie with relatively flat terrain may not fare as well in the mountains chasing chukar or the thick brambles of the north country chasing ruffed grouse and woodcock. When the training grounds don’t match the hunting conditions, it’s like training for a marathon but running a Tough Mudder instead. The body will eventually adjust, but not before shortened or lost days in the field due to fatigue or injury.
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Getting a willful, prey-driven hunting dog to heel can be difficult at first. It is one of the most common reasons a handler loses their prize one in the NAVHDA testing system. It’s also one of the reasons owners avoid stimulating environments while walking their dog.
The drive within our hunting dogs is the putty from which we play. Because heeling is a drive-based activity, drive can be a benefit or a detriment when it comes to heeling. If done properly, the dog is driven to find its position and its focus is entirely on you. When underdeveloped, the dog prioritizes its natural instincts to lead, protect, and search, resulting in an unsafe and uncontrollable heeling experience.
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Doves are the highest-harvested game bird in the United States, with over 10 million bagged annually.
The high harvest rate isn’t surprising, considering dove hunting season is the first hunting season to open for most wing shooters. However, the dove’s widespread range no doubt contributes to the large harvest. They can be found in nearly every state and much of Canada. They breed from the west coast to the east coast, as far north as southeast Alaska and south into Mexico. Such a massive range and the ability to live in urban and rural landscapes have kept the dove population robust.
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When acting selfishly while playing youth sports, the common phrase “there’s no I in team” was repeatedly thrown around. My coaches insisted I trust others with the ball to develop good teamwork. But giving up the ball didn’t come naturally. I often got “the eye” from my coaches, revealing their disappointment in my lack of team play. They’d use various positive and punitive techniques to get their points across, though eventually, “the eye” was all it took for me to know what needed to be done.
Young pups naturally follow a similar journey to learn to obtain items they cherish and identify gestures that lead to things they don’t like. As a good coach, your job is to teach your dog how to be a good teammate through eye contact.
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The recall is an extremely important ritual we have with our dogs. When called, the dog quickly and directly finds its position either in front or to our side. It happily and thoughtlessly finds its position, returning as excitedly as it went out and finishing with robotic consistency; something that has been groomed into it since the day it came home.
READ: Understanding Timing in Dog Training
When properly developed, a dog can’t wait to get to its owner’s side. Even after capturing its most prized possession, a dog with a good recall is laser-focused on getting back to its spot. It does so out of habit and anticipation of the party that will ensue on its return. The cooperative attitude developed from a good recall is everything for developing a consistent retrieve and having good field manners. A dog that is thinking about coming to you doesn’t crunch birds, parade about, or pass you by; it religiously finishes the same way every time.
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Like most parents, I hope my children will share my interests so we can enjoy them together. As a passionate upland hunter, I dream of days spent in the field nurturing their curiosity, instilling a desire for conservation, and fostering a profound respect and appreciation for the game birds we pursue. There’s a special kind of magic and responsibility involved with welcoming young children into the world of upland hunting.
I often get asked, “When is the right time?” I believe it depends on many factors, primarily age and maturity, but it’s important to understand there’s no one-size-fits-all introduction to the uplands.
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Vintage shotguns can be particular with the kinds of shotgun shells you put through them. In a world filled with high-velocity, heavy payload shells, the difficulty of finding lighter loads can take away some of the allure of owning a classic. But it shouldn’t stop you. There’s something warm and cozy about hunting with a 50-, 75-, or even 100-year-old shotgun.
Only a handful of ammunition manufacturers really make loads like they used to. With the right load, classic guns can work just as well, if not better, than some modern guns today. Whether you’re considering buying one or you’ve inherited an old shotgun from a family member, it’s important to shoot the right shells through it so it will keep working for the next generation.
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“Suddenly into the middle of the coterie of breeders a bombshell was flung, so startling as to cause a violent upheaval of all the old theories, and a complete revolution in setter breeding, the effects of which have lasted to the present day.” —Walter Baxendale
Walter Baxendale’s “bombshell” was a man named Edward Laverack, now universally regarded as the father of the modern English Setter. Little is known about his early life, but as a young man, Laverack was apparently a shoemaker’s apprentice, but where he worked and for whom is not clear. According to Robert Armstrong in All Setters, Laverack “spent his youth in Hawick, a town in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, but at the age of 17, not liking it after he had been there some time, he ran away.”
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In May of 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new rules governing dog imports into the United States. The rules are aimed at standardizing the process between countries and preventing the introduction of canine rabies into the U.S., but the broad-sweeping changes will have lasting impacts on breed clubs that depend on imported puppies for genetic diversity as well as dog owners who regularly cross international borders—including Canada.
The CDC differentiates between countries considered to be high-risk for rabies and those that are low-risk or rabies-free. Currently, the rules and requirements for importing dogs from high-risk countries are much stricter than they are for dogs coming from low-risk or rabies-free countries. Starting August 1, however, the rules will be broadened to essentially apply the high-risk protocols to every foreign country regardless of their rabies risk status.
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I can’t help but stare through the conference room’s glass curtain wall, in awe of some of the world’s most productive wetlands on Earth. This morning, the frozen wetlands are blanketed in snow after this winter’s biggest storms pounded the area, which is great for recharging those wetlands later in the year. During spring, summer, and fall, these Great Salt Lake wetlands are so valuable, that they’ve been recognized as being globally important and critical habitat for millions of waterfowl and shorebirds.
But we aren’t here to talk about wetlands or shorebirds. It’s the sagebrush landscapes beyond the Bear River Delta that this group of researchers, biologists, and ecologists are discussing. As I watch a meadowlark hide under snow-laden cattails, my attention snaps back to the conference room when I hear, “Pinyon jays are where greater sage-grouse were 30 years ago.”
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My first-ever interaction with an English Springer Spaniel was when my wife, Emily, brought one home. When considering which dog breed our first hunting dog should be, we ultimately landed on the one with which Emily was most familiar. She grew up with Springers, and consequently, that is where we landed. At that time, we weren’t aware of the differences between bench and field bred dogs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as our involvement in bird hunting deepened, so did our knowledge of the breed.
Our first dog, Dixie, was most likely a bench bred dog. Bench bred dogs are those who are bred with the goal of placing in the show ring. I say most likely because she came from an inconspicuous farm litter but was physically more similar to a bench dog (we’ll get into that in a bit).
As Dixie got older, we got on a list for a field bred Springer Spaniel. These dogs are bred with the rigors of field trials and hunt tests in mind; hence the term field bred. Our first field bred dog, Timber, died from a gastrointestinal fungal infection before her second birthday. At that point, we got Fern. Then, roughly a year later, Wild, who has the same mother as Timber, joined our family.
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