Starting with the 2019 season, I have been logging all of my hunting trips. Things like location, who went, which dog, distances covered, bird counts, the weather and what clothes I was wearing. Starting in 2020, Kevin and I started making a point of trying to identify any lessons we learned that day. I recorded those lessons in the trip logs. This post is a recap of Over the course of several seasons we have been tracking our “Lessons Learned”. This post covers the 2022 Lessons Learned as well as previous years. Some are specific to me, some are for the group.
Updates:
2022
- Bring along a lightweight shirt in case it gets too warm. Mainly during the early season.
- Consider where the sun is and plan where we are going so we aren’t looking directly into it.
- Electronic hearing protection doesn’t work well in windy conditions.
- Have a spare e-collar if at all possible. It is a real pain if a collar fails or isn’t charged.
- We need to more aggressively “whoa’ Stella when she gets too far ahead. Same with Willow.
- It is important to make sure that everything is packed or put into a place where it won’t be forgotten. (I left my wallet at home because I didn’t put it with my keys.)
- The tube on my vest that I use to give water to the dogs will freeze but if I put it into my pocket it will continue to work. (Obviously for when temps are below freezing.)
- Need waterproof or at least water resistant gloves when there is snow.
- When hunting in heavy snow, carry more food and watch the dog for how tired they are and whether they are getting cold.
- Make a point of saving dog tracks at the end of the day. Lost a track because it was over written.
- Carry both pair of glasses. It clouded over near the end of the day and it was too dark for sun glasses.
- GoPro related:
- Turn on camera any time there might be birds.
- When snowing, wipe lens off occasionally.
- Be careful about angle of my hat.
- Swap batteries when taking a break.
2021
- Need to get out more in the preseason. Legs getting tired in tall cover.
- Work on heeling. Dogs tend to creep out. May need to put on leash.
- Drink more. Use electrolytes.
- Watch spacing, especially when windy. Don’t get too far apart. We walk past birds and makes the dogs work too hard.
- Sparse cover means running birds. Running birds means Willow is out of control.
- Taking both dogs isn’t a good idea. Willow poaches Stella’s birds and pushes them to flush out of range.
- Finding good cover in a drought year is tough.
- When Stella takes off it is usually something like a deer so nick her sooner.
- Very high winds make for difficult hunting. Find locations with some kind of shelter.
- Shooting birds flushing over water, ice or water logged cattails is a waste. Let them go.
- When hunting both dogs, make sure handheld is on correct dog before using “Continuous”.
- Make sure dog first aid kit is stocked.
- Late season birds are tough, Switch to number 2s.
- Everyone needs to call birds.
- When hunting in Iowa on a weekend, get to desired hunting spot early.
2020
- Need to start trip on handheld at the truck or part of the dog track will be lost.
- Double check handheld buttons. Make sure right dog is selected and that the settings are correct.
- Make sure everyone is ready and in position before approaching where a bird is being pointed or where a bird is selected.
- Print and attach a checklist to a kennel.
- Make sure there are dog towels in truck to dry off dogs.
- When winds are strong, hunt sheltered areas like heavier cover or in the lee of a hill.
- Check shells for misshapen shells. This is a problem with Hevi_metal. Occasionally a pellet ends up outside of the wad and it won’t load.
- Need to carry tape that will work with vet wrap.
- In heavy snow, wear gaiters.
- In heavy winds, with cover knocked down by snow, look for birds in trees.
- Especially in the early season, pay attention to temperature forecasts. In can get too hot for teh dogs.
- In drought years look for water.
- When shooting, need to make sure that the gun is being mounted correctly.
- Just because cover is blown down, sparse or snow flattened doesn’t mean there won’t still be birds in it.
- When dog is working a bird pay attention to position of the sun, wind direction and where the bird will likely flush so it can be identified. Birds flushing into the sun are hard to identify.
- Willow sometimes needs a continuous nick to get her attention.
- Be very careful around ice.
- Tuck my drinking tube behind a chest strap when not in use. Otherwise may interfere with mounting the gun.
Summary
In summary, the lessons learned over the years have helped improve our hunting experience and success. This post contains what we have learned over the years starting with the 2022 Lessons Learned.
