Story by Luke Moore, GUNNER Content & Partnerships Strategist
I’m used to being around duck dogs who sit in the blind until it’s time to retrieve a fallen bird. This hunt was a complete 180 from that.
I’m used to waterfowl hunting, where my dog Dex sits right next to me until a bird is shot and I send him on the retrieve. This upland hunt was a completely different experience—it almost seemed “backward” to me compared to a waterfowl hunt. Instead of waiting for a bird to fall to do their job, the dogs moved ahead of us in the field, running free for the majority of the hunt.
We hunted over a German Shorthaired Pointer and an English Cocker Spaniel. The GSP would run ahead to find and point at a bird, and then we’d call for the Cocker to flush them out so we could shoot. Instead of watching the dogs focus on the retrieve like in duck hunting, we watched them focus on the hunt itself as they searched for birds. They worked together seamlessly as a team, which I loved seeing. They each knew exactly what their job was and when to honor the other dog taking the lead.
It definitely took some getting used to. I’m certainly used to relying on dogs in waterfowl hunts, but upland hunts require relying on dogs in a completely different way. You’re trusting their instincts and abilities to lead to the success of your hunt. The dogs knew they wouldn’t get a bird right away and that they would have to work for every single retrieve. It was really cool to see how much of an innate instinct the entire experience was for the dogs; it was evident they were doing exactly what they were built for.
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