ORIGINAL: RustyD02359
A Pointer.
My reasoning and why I fell in love and now breed them. Setters are just as nice but I no longer like the long hair mess in the house and after a days hunt. Labs were first love but long hair and don't cover the ground like a pointer and large. GSP are nice but is a big dog in the house too.
I have 3 pointers and at 45 lbs is a nice in between size. The Elhew line is all I know and was bred as a family mans foot hunting dog with a nose & desire second to none. You can tell how much they want to make you happy. My dogs handle with ease and for me or ANYBODY. I have let many men with dogs shoot birds over my Points because my limit has long been filled and their dogs just ain' cutting it. Of course these are on Points that come on my long walk back to the truck. I have had guys in the field shake my hand and thank me for the magnificent show put on by my dogs working, finding, pinning, pointing and backing and waiting for me to hoof the hundred yards to the point. Have (2) 3 mo old males in Classifieds. Good luck in your search.
birds we are hunting now in WILD,wild pheasants and my hardest,is GROUSE here in pa..AFTER leaves come off,the real hunters and dogs shine..
before that, any dog or hunter can be a grouse hunter..
what i have seen over 50 years hunting grouse,they are more pressured today than ever before..
no GROUSE is going to hold with dog pointing 100 yards from you,the grouse will FLUSH before you get there..
the BEST dog is dog that hunts CLOSE, 30 YARDS IN FRONT OF YOU MAX..if not, you are going to see a football flying away into the wild blue yonder..
dogs that hunt way out covering territory are nice for FINDING grouse but ,your chances of getting there IN TIME before they flush, are not good..
when leaves are on trees in oct, different story ..any dog or hunter can get close..
so, dogs i like are LAB,LLEWELLIN SETTER,BEAGLE MIX.. the lab with long legs and skinny waist is one i like a lot but they seem to tire out in about 2 hrs or so..
llewellin setters ,boy, they go all day..
all around dog, no doubt in my mind is LONG LEGGED LAB..and if they can hold a point, oh my, that would be something to see..
hunting pressure has affected birds more than ever..they are REAL SPOOKY after being hunted and NO LEAVES on trees..
this is why i like to hunt grouse in the afternoon when wind is blowing here in pa..it gives you chance to get CLOSE to spooky grouse..
when leaves are dry,its impossible to get close to spooky grouse,dog or no dog..
this is fun of hunting and why i show anyone who asks where to hunt grouse in my area..
any dog is good dog as long as you are happy with results..kiling grouse is not fun, shooting at them and having dog get excited is fun..
i went thru box of shells this year shooting over heads of grouse/woodcock..i only kill a couple a year and carry a dead grouse in my coat..then after i shoot , i throw the grouse in brush and my dog thinks i shot it and retrieves it back to me..
fun is hunting ,not killing..