Seattle .. you are obviously a very knowledgable dog man, hunt with dogs more than most, and give great advice when asked on this board, but you are 1 helluva " Dog Snob" .
Waterfowl = Bird
Nicely put!
Labs not bird dogs because they hunt waterfowl? Please.... I would say that setters are not bird dogs because they don' t! Both statements are as stupid as they sound.
I have hunted over English Setters (from the BEST breeding available) and they can' t hold a candle to a well trained Lab in certain situations...nor could my Labs hold a candle to the setters in others.
I would, however, like to see an ES hunt the type of terrain (Water, Ice, Snow, -0 temps) that labs CONSISTANTLY hunt in before I would consider adding an ES or any other of pointer/setter to my family...have not seen one yet that could hold up under those conditions...they don' t have the stamina.
Now before you reply that my Labs could not handle the heat as well as your pointers/setters...I AGREE WITH YOU.
This thread asked for readers opinions on the best bird dog...all the responses given are just that...opinions.
If you can' t at least agree with that, then no point in trying to argue the point with you using logic...it is a lost cause.