After running my first client string of bird dogs in Montana for nearly 2 weeks I have had time to reflect on the adventure and think about ways to get better.
I'm no stranger to traveling long distances with dogs. My time as a Military Working K9 handler had me all over the country with trailers full of dangerous dogs. With that came certain precautions to protect civilians, ourselves, and the dogs. Some of those experiences I applied to our trip and I learned some new things along the way.
We will break this down in to sustains and improves just because that's how my brain is wired.
Sustains
Shade
On my travel trailer I have a 270° awning for shade and protection from the rain. This awning paid for itself and then some on this trip. We were able to initially park, shoot an azimuth on our OnX compass and determine the maximum amount of shade for the day. This azimuth was generally 330°. Between the truck and the awning we could stake out our chain gang and keep all the dogs cool and out of the kennels. This awning was so useful I will be adding a second one to my vehicle.
Navigation
OnX maps is an absolute essential item to have. Coming from the eastern side of the country generally WMAs are smaller and isolated, you know where it is and isn't. Out west there are vast expanses of publicly accessible land that intermingle with private property. Using OnX gave us the ability to find large chunks of land to camp and hunt in complete solitude. (Sign up for OnX with code GDIY20 to save 20% https://2ly.link/1vThs)
Portable AC
One of the biggest, yet most vital, investments I made to my setup was an ECO Flow Wave 2 Portable AC unit. I built a bulk head through the pass through window between my truck and camper shell. I then pipe the air from the unit, through the bulk head, in to the bed of the truck. This system is setup to 400w of flexible solar panels on the roof of the truck. This allowed me to keep the dogs cool the entire trip. I would routinely check my Waggle Pet Thermometer and see that it was 65-70° in the truck bed while being 80-90° outside.
Cable Gangz
We're all familiar with this system of chain gangs and I can't mention this trip without giving them some recognition. It's a great system and I highly recommend them!
Improves.
Equipment
We had several small issues throughout the trip and some of the Equipment that totally stands out are as follows:
Jack stands, you don't need them until you need them but you'll be glad you have them when you do.
Portable tire inflator, again you'll be glad to have it if you need it. I definitely will not take a trip without those two items again.
Ironman 4x4 water tanks, we carried 26 gallons of water. This allowed us to stay out on the prairie for several days at a time.
Geyser Shower System, worth its weight in gold. Being able to clean up every few days made the trip so much more enjoyable.
Improves
Solar charging
Even as sunny as Montana can be chasing sun light was still a top priority. A lot goes in to a good solar setup. Light angle, temperature, terrain, visibility, panel size, panel type, draw, etc. Our setup for the trailer was a 175w rigid panel. 90% of the time you will only achieve 70-75% of the capability of this panel for reasons listed above. Knowing this I will incorporate a 300w suitcase panel to add to the system on our next trip.
Power Station
The capacity of my setup is 1152wh. Between lights for camping and cooking as well as running a 20qt refrigerator we would use between 35-55% of the battery each night. That's fine until you run in to a cloudy day. Adding a battery expansion pack will greatly reduce that issue. Most power stations offer a battery expansion of some sort. I would shoot for a total system setup of 2000-3000wh to stay comfortable. Of course do your power draw analysis and see what you actually need to run everything and what you will have to manage as wants.
recommend it.
Shot size selection
I shot 20ga 2 3/4" 7/8oz #6s for the bulk of the trip. I shot well but still felt like there were birds I should have hit. I swapped to #7 1/2s towards the end and shot lights out, often doubling with ease. This is a lesson I learned hunting bobwhites and ruffed grouse, smaller shot is usually better and play with choke constriction from there. Next year I will only have one box of #6 for sage grouse.
Snakes
Snake avoidance training and snake gaiters are 100% a must in my opinion. I encountered 4 snakes total and 4 different dogs as well as myself were seriously at risk of being bitten. If you pay attention to anything in this AAR pay attention to this one!
In closing
This was a phenomenal trip and experience. We could routinely move double digit coveys on a walk, that's a big deal for a southern bird dog person. I would say with that, manage expectations.
This being our first time chasing these species we were a bit trigger happy in the beginning. This led to a little bit of teaching bad habits to some dogs. The benefit is there are so many birds it was an easy fix by just letting some birds fly. Know your expectations with each doh. The puppies got hunts that were very different from my finished dogs. For the puppies this trip was about being the first Master Coach from Daniel Coyle's "The Talent Code". It was just helping them love the game of hunting, watching their range open up, and seeing them become predators. I shot anything they put in the air. Teaching them stop is easy but teaching them love the game was the goal for this trip.
For the big boys we did require proper dog work. This is fine but you have to be ok with watching wild birds fly away if they make a mistake.
Hunting is a different game from training and the dogs know that. Our cues, body language, attitude, equipment, and simply our aura all change when we're playing for real. My best advice is create a ritual routine that signals to the dog what you expect and prepares them mentally. I always heel my dog to the field, I'll whoa him, down him, put him back to a heel, and then release him. This ritual provides more context to the dog of what I expect, the environment changed but the rules stay the same. I used this same theory a ton as a working K9 handler with great success, especially when switching the dog from one drive to another.
Get out there and give it a shot. Don't be so firm with your dogs that hunting isn't fun but also hold them to your trained standards. Good luck in your adventures to come this season!
Comments