mustad click on the link below to read this post made by a breeder in Montana in the""" Best dog for pheasant hunting thread"""
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/spor...hunting-2.html
would guess the preferred breed for hunting pheasants varies with geographic location.I have a kennel here in the Milk River Valley of Montana. We get bombarded by pheasant hunters from all over the U.S. every fall, so I see a lot of hunters and the dogs they use (many know me or know of me and stop by to visit). I see more flushing breeds than pointing breeds here.I see a few German Shorthairs, a few Brittneys, and a few English Setters. Other than that I'll see an occassional German Wirehair, a Viszla once in a while, etc. The most popular breed is the Lab...hands down. I see a lot of Springers also. A few people hunt Goldens. I'm seeing a few more Chessies each year...as a matter of fact, one of the outfitters here has used nothing but Chessies for at least the last 20 years.
I also participate in a couple of fundraiser hunts (for scholarship programs) where we divide up into teams and hunt. It's usually 4 to 6 people to a team with a pair of dogs per team. The most popular breed is the Lab by far followed by Springers. The only pointing dog that was used last year was a Brittney....did a real nice job too.
I've had two English Setters and a Gordon Setter in the past....from solid field lines. Maybe I'm just a lousy trainer or had duds, but they never could really handle wild pheasants. We got our birds opening weekend, of course (who doesn't?), but after that it was almost impossible. The birds just run too much. A good flushing dog will zero in and put the bird into the air before it gets a chance to run very far.
The other thing with pheasants is the retrieving end.... You have to have a dog that is an outstanding retriever as pheasants are a tough bird and if you dont kill them in the air they'll hit the ground running.. You just have to have a dog that will trail a cripple and won't give up. Some of the pointing bree would guess the preferred breed for hunting pheasants varies with geographic location.I have a kennel here in the Milk River Valley of Montana. We get bombarded by pheasant hunters from all over the U.S. every fall, so I see a lot of hunters and the dogs they use (many know me or know of me and stop by to visit). I see more flushing breeds than pointing breeds here.I see a few German Shorthairs, a few Brittneys, and a few English Setters. Other than that I'll see an occassional German Wirehair, a Viszla once in a while, etc. The most popular breed is the Lab...hands down. I see a lot of Springers also. A few people hunt Goldens. I'm seeing a few more Chessies each year...as a matter of fact, one of the outfitters here has used nothing but Chessies for at least the last 20 years.
I also participate in a couple of fundraiser hunts (for scholarship programs) where we divide up into teams and hunt. It's usually 4 to 6 people to a team with a pair of dogs per team. The most popular breed is the Lab by far followed by Springers. The only pointing dog that was used last year was a Brittney....did a real nice job too.
I've had two English Setters and a Gordon Setter in the past....from solid field lines. Maybe I'm just a lousy trainer or had duds, but they never could really handle wild pheasants. We got our birds opening weekend, of course (who doesn't?), but after that it was almost impossible. The birds just run too much. A good flushing dog will zero in and put the bird into the air before it gets a chance to run very far.
The other thing with pheasants is the retrieving end.... You have to have a dog that is an outstanding retriever as pheasants are a tough bird and if you dont kill them in the air they'll hit the ground running.. You just have to have a dog that will trail a cripple and won't give up. Some of the pointing breeds are outstanding retrievers, but generally speaking your flushing breeds tend to be quite a bit better.
ds are outstanding retrievers, but generally speaking your flushing breeds tend to be quite a bit better.