Post by: AspenBud on April 02, 2013, 02:00:40 PM
The dog has limber tail, but she can still point birds. If you look closely you can see the bird running.
Lady on a Spring Woodcock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUARsE4PxYY#ws)
Post by: Stilly bay on April 02, 2013, 02:07:18 PM
woodcock are my bucket list... for now I make do with snipe. :'(
Post by: 10Key on April 02, 2013, 02:45:41 PM
Post by: NW-GSP on April 02, 2013, 03:46:15 PM
I have not had much luck with grouse here
Post by: jetjockey on April 03, 2013, 04:29:10 AM
Post by: Stilly bay on April 03, 2013, 09:33:16 AM
Cool video. Woodcock might be fun to hunt, but they taste like cardboard.
they couldn't be any worse than a resident Skagit bay duck.
woodcock is a delicacy to some people, they cook up their intestines to make pate' and serve it on toast points :puke:
of course there is no accounting for taste.
Post by: AspenBud on April 03, 2013, 10:03:54 AM
That said, there is some amount of controversy surrounding that practice and some will tell you that woodcock allow too much crowding by the dog, which is a bad thing if you're grouse hunting out there. The dog in that video has had it's share of grouse killed over it though. ;)
They are a culinary challenge. I'm told there are some techniques one can use to keep them from tasting like liver gone bad.
Never heard of anyone eating their intestines before. :chuckle:
Post by: Stilly bay on April 03, 2013, 10:28:44 AM
A lot of guys like to work young dogs on them in the Spring out there. They're forgiving enough to let a dog makes some mistakes and still point them, but not so much that they won't fly when pushed. They also run more in the Spring than they do in the Fall. All of those hormones get them moving.
That said, there is some amount of controversy surrounding that practice and some will tell you that woodcock allow too much crowding by the dog, which is a bad thing if you're grouse hunting out there. The dog in that video has had it's share of grouse killed over it though. ;)
you would think a dog with half a brain could figure out the difference between grouse and woodcock with enough exposure.
fascinating birds with their eyes positioned on the back of their heads and ears placed closer to their beak. one of these days I will make it out there after them, my dogs probably won't be able to figure out what in the heck they are.
Post by: AspenBud on April 03, 2013, 10:53:14 AM
you would think a dog with half a brain could figure out the difference between grouse and woodcock with enough exposure.
I think that's true. I think the concern however is that focusing too much on woodcock hunting can be detrimental to a dog that is ultimately expected to hunt great lakes grouse. Another example would be quail dogs. A lot of great quail dogs go north and aren't so great on grouse. But midwest grouse dogs almost always do a good job on quail. Something about the hunting pressure out there makes the birds spooky and forces a dog to be more cautious. A dog that hasn't been exposed to that enough will be less successful.