Gun Dog Magazine is the best magazine for hunting enthusiasts who are owners of retrieving breeds. Each issue is guaranteed to be filled with useful information devoted to you, your dog and the sport of upland bird and waterfowl hunters.
IT'S FUNNY what bird dogs do to our souls. Lincoln paved the way for me—my first bird dog. He was an unexpected hunter, but how thankful I am for his natural instincts to have come alive. He made me an upland hunter, and our adventures together led me to Jones, my sweet, faithful setter. Jones was my first pointing breed, and the next leg of my upland and bird dog journey. He has taught me more than I could ever teach him. Together, I had my pack, my boys. I ended last season with both highs and lows. The low: It would be Lincoln’s last season, his bird hunting journey coming to an early retirement. That was harder than I could have ever imagined. Thinking of “replacing” him was difficult to…
When September rolls around, upland bird hunters can count on the dove and sharp-tailed grouse openers to get them primed for the fall months. Sharptail are a great species to cut your teeth on before other upland seasons open up, and perfect for young dogs to get early reps in. Here’s how to find more sharpies this September. UTILIZE HYBRID/TOPO LAYERS Sharp-tailed grouse cover consists of rolling prairies covered in short, thick grass and wildflowers. If you’re in habitat you think you’ll find a pheasant, such as cattails, you won’t find sharptail. To locate contours in the landscape and ridgelines on the map, utilize the topography feature of onX. Avoid flat terrain. Locate high and low contour lines to find sharptail. Low areas tend to be greener, as water is…
KENT UPLAND FASTEEL With more states banning lead shotshells, the cry for effective steel upland loads has increased, and Kent’s Upland Fasteel has answered the call. This load is fast and deadly. Loaded with Kent’s Precision Steel, the 12-gauge version of this load packs a punch at 1,400 fps, while the 20-gauge shells push 1,500 fps. These high velocities will hold a tight pattern to hit hard and put birds in the bag as you head into early-season hunts. Available in 5, 6, and 7 size shot. $26 per 25; kentcartridge.com GARMIN PRO 550 PLUS Streamline: The one word to describe this all-in-one system. The Pro 550 Plus is a classic, and gives you both GPS and stim capabilities on one sleek handheld unit. With a convenient GPS display, you…
THIS RECIPE is a celebration of the coming fall season—ravioli filled with September grouse, golden squash, sage, and brownw butter will get you excited for the flavors of autumn. I also like this recipe because from just one bird, you can make an elegant dish that can easily feed four people with the addition of other courses. Making ravioli is always a process, but I’ve found a way to cut down on the work. Instead of making pasta from scratch, I use wonton wrappers—a trick I learned while cooking for myself in college. Now, I won’t say that wonton wrappers will taste just as good as freshly-made pasta—because it won’t—but it’s a reasonable substitute, especially for those who don’t have the luxury of spending two days in the kitchen. A…
THIS YEAR marks Fabarm’s 100th year in business. Or maybe not. Born in Italy’s Val Trompia, the company that would become Fabarm was started by the Galesi family in the early 1900s, at a time when gun making was transforming from a specialized craft to an industrial operation. It isn’t until 1924 that there is clear evidence that the Galesi’s family gun business—which would become Fabbrica Bresciana di Armi—was established. Translated from the original Italian, the name means Arms Manufacturer from Brescia. The company would become universally known as Fabarm. In its early days, Fabarm manufactured pistols and side-by-side shotguns. However, in the years following World War II, the brand added compressed air rifles and over/under shotguns to their catalog. By the 1960s, the company added their GOLDENMATIC long recoil-operated…
AS BIRD DOG owners, we spend so much time and energy searching for the right puppy, developing that dog, and then progressing through the initial training, all so that we can at last get into the hunting field alongside them. Often, though, once we consider the dog “trained,” we tend to kick into cruise control; after all, once we can actively get out hunting with our bird dog, the work of training is complete, right? In reality, training should be an ongoing part of the dog’s life. We love dogs, and working with them, because they are not programmable like robots. They are living, breathing, changing individuals, creatures that are, like all living things, imperfect. As such, they get rusty and out of shape when skills and activities aren’t practiced. Any…
