Last Saturday, this writer and French Brittany Laney got off to an early start (by upland hunting standards) to try to get in some hunting before the temperatures rose and made conditions unfavorable.
There was a little internal debate as to which local cover we would head to first. In fact, this October’s unseasonable heat has really put a crimp in my bird hunting. Thrashing through thick briars, brambles, alders and glossy buckthorn is not easy under ideal conditions but the extraordinarily lush understory, produced by the abundant rainfall this summer, has really impacted my desire to get out.
We chose a small cover that usually holds woodcock and the occasional grouse, and set out into the cover. The first hundred yards or so were hardwoods and then came the place where the birds have been, one of gnarliest thickets in the Mount Grace Region!
Complicating things is the presence of massive 100-foot pines that were toppled three years ago in the October storm. Sure enough, Laney quickly went on point, as was indicated by her SportDOG beeper collar sending out steady sounds emanating from the thicket. The cover required me to get down on my hands and knees to get to her and it took some time. Only rabbits and birds could have gone where I did and finally there she was. Able to stand up, my eyes searched for an easy path to the dog. Of course, the woodcock got up and away without a shot due to the understory, but Laney was undaunted and quickly pointed again. This was close but still a challenge and all that was visible from that flush was some fluttering leaves, but it was right on the edge of an overgrown field. If only my approach had been from that direction! Laney went back to hunting and pointed again within 30 yards and this time the unmistakable sound of ruffed grouse wings made it clear what she had pointed as it flew away unseen.
Then, a sinking feeling swept over me as I realized that the SportDOG transmitter was no longer on the end of the lanyard around my neck! Damn! Why didn’t I replace the lanyard as the extra one was right there in the gear box? The transmitter is orange and would be visible, right? All that was required was to backtrack until it was located, right? Just retrace my path through an impenetrable thicket, right?
First, though, Laney would need to be returned to the truck as she was not about to stop ranging around in her search for birds. Once that was accomplished, the search began, foot by foot on my hands and knees. Why is the controller so important? Well, it allows me to control the SportDOG 1875 Upland Collar and access the tone and stimulation in the collar remotely. Most important, the controller allows the beeper to be turned on and off and that causes the beeper to make two different tones. That is how I locate the dogs when they are in thick cover or move a distance ahead of me. They have learned that when the on/off tones are used, I am looking for them and they usually circle back.
The search did not go well, however, and the thought of having to spend the significant amount to replace the collar was troubling, but more was the fact that my upcoming trip to New York could be impacted. Then, a thought occurred to me. A second set of eyes and a more organized search might be more successful. My recently retired brother, Chris, has always been there when needed and the poor guy got the call. He quickly responded and was there as quickly as he could get out of the house after taking his new pug, Mika, out “to do her business.”
When Chris arrived, we went to the starting point to try to take the same path followed earlier, a challenge due to the similarity of the cover and the fact that my attention was on the dog. The controller had been used early in the hunt but, in my mind, the crawl through the thickest cover was where the device would have caught and been pulled off. Visibility was good and the orange should have shown up. During my third crawl through, Chris called out, “Look what I found!” and he had the transmitter! It was where the last point had occurred and, in my mind, a place where it should not have been but “all’s well that ends well!”
Younger brothers are so many things and Chris certainly came to my rescue! In return, I promise to never again make fun of pugs and from this day forward I will pretend that they are really dogs!
Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor for over 40 years and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.