Recent content by pgidley

Wife and I were in the Western half of the state Nov 25th to 30th with our 6 year old drahthaar. Hunted mostly private land - birds were spotty. One property which is usually good for us, we would only kick up 1 rooster after covering most of the CRP. Cut corn adjacent, so they may have been in...

This will be our sixth year coming out to ND, and I've observed loss of some great habitat in the little area that we haunt. Last year was definitely sad to see the low numbers. We're lucky to be invited back to a property with some great cover year after year, but we have to work hard even...

A5 standard weight ?

We usually see them in shorter cover. Cut fields, more sparse native vegetation, as opposed to the long CRP grass and cattails that will hold pheasants.

Yea, things do vary day to day. We hunted a PLOT right beside our old private honey hole, and did quite well. Lots of hens, and we found rooters. Hunted it again a few days later, and no birds at all. Scouting is the key though, and finding new areas. Those are always the best hunts. Less...

Just got back from the same area. Echoing what you observed. One of the great properties we could always count on has been hayed, so that cut down our hunting area a bit for the first few days. We did some scouting and door knocking, and got permission on a new, great looking property. It'll...

For Pheasants Me:: Browning Auto-5 Sweet Sixteen, mod choke My better half: Browning Superposed 20ga, IC/Mod chokes For grouse and woodcock, or if the pheasants are holding tight Me: Browning BSS 20ga Sporter with Skt1/Skt2 chokes or Browning Auto-5 Light Twenty with Briley chokes My better...

Sorry to hear about the bummed dog, that's a real drag. I'm dealing with a busted toe, but thats not as major. I mountain bike throughout the summer, usually with my dog, in order to keep us both in shape. I do use my bike to access one of my deer hunting spots - I found that I kept bumping...

I do a lot of hiking and walking, as well as bird hunting in the fall. I tend to use two pairs of boots, depending on the terrain and weather: LL Bean Maine Hunting Shoes for most of my grouse hunting. If I've got a lot of miles to put on, I usually go with the Red Wing Moc Toe boots, which are...

I'm with this fella. I'm only 30, but most of my guns are from my father's era. Anything newer I've bought, I've been disappointed with and eventually sold, except for my old reliable Winchester 1300 which I use for non-toxic shot. For grouse and woodcock, I usually grab the 20ga browning BSS...

Yep, we do need another dog. I got Wilma when my wife and I had first moved out on our own. Next summer we plan on building a garage and kennel, and then we'll look into a second dog. Willy won't like it though! I'm kind of looking forward to a late november hunt though. I'll be spending the...

On Sunday my 5 year old Drahthaar, Wilma, was playing in the yard, burning up some steam. She took a bit of a spill and injured her back foot. I hoped it was a small sprain or something, but after two days she was still holding it up and it was swollen, so we made a trip to the vet. After some...

The burrs are the worst, eh? Try rubbing some coconut oil into his beard before heading out, it seems to make them easier to pull out, or at least a bit less painful.

WGP's I've met have been adequately beardy. Most GWP's aren't quite as long-bearded as mine. Don't think I'll ever have another quite so "unique" Here's some more of the little meathead:

Yup, she's a Drahthaar from Ken Dinn at Vom Willow Rock. She's from his S litter, she gets the beard from her father Diesel lol.