Goose Shooting at Loch Leven

[Jimbo57]

Here is a good video I found on YouTube that has some good shot of shooting greylag geese at Loch Leven and some nice dog work.

 

 

Jim

 

:unsure:

[v-max]

Here is a good video I found on YouTube that has some good shot of shooting greylag geese at Loch Leven and some nice dog work.

 

 

Jim

 

:unsure:

Hi very good vid & sorry to burst your bubble but as far as good dog work it was standard stuff & as far as a dog spitting out dead stuff to pick a wounded goose 20ft from the hide is poor. Go watch at retriever field trial & you will see some good dog work/handling.

[Pinkfooty]

Interesting point about the dogs v-max. I agree there is nothing special about the dogwork in that video but you are wrong about spitting the goose out. Or I should say that the trials boys get that totally wrong. I know that it is instant elimination in a trial for a dog to lay down one bird to pick another - but in the real world it is highly desirable for a dog to lay down a dead bird in order to pick a wounded one. That's one of the areas where field trials fail to reflect what real shooters want their dogs to do.

 

Two reasons for that - firstly, a dead bird cannot run away while a wounded one can.

 

Secondly, only the most depraved shooter would leave a wounded bird to suffer for a moment longer than necessary.

 

I stopped picking-up on one large estate near Stirling a number of years ago when the idiot of a gamekeeper "reprimanded" me for sending my dogs for wounded birds before a drive had ended. With "friends" like that we don't need enemies.

Edited October 17, 2009 by Pinkfooty

[Malc]

Good video. Good dog work. I enjoyed watching it twice.

[lewis]

Or I should say that the trials boys get that totally wrong. I know that it is instant elimination in a trial for a dog to lay down one bird to pick another - but in the real world it is highly desirable for a dog to lay down a dead bird in order to pick a wounded one. That's one of the areas where field trials fail to reflect what real shooters want their dogs to do.

 

Pinky,

In the "real world" if you have a trialing dog, you will send the dog and handle the dog onto the runner. The dog's are trained not to drop the bird once picked because when the dog has picked a runner it will come straight back and not look at another bird-Which will bring the runner to you quicker and will be able to get dispatched faster.

[Pinkfooty]

Your point about handling the dog on to the runner first is a good one, Lewis, so long as (a) you know there is a runner to be picked and ( you have a dog that you can handle.

 

In a situation where geese are being decoyed and several are down at once, it is more usual for the guys to send their dogs out without checking visually for runners first (in order that the birds are retrieved and the dogs hidden before the next skein appears). In that situation, you want a dog that acts intelligently rather than one that requires handling.

 

Don't get me wrong - I think that field trials do a lot of good in identifying dogs that are then used for breeding and, in general terms, improve the gene pool of our main gundog breeds. But, particularly in retriever trials, there is often an over-emphasis on handling and an under-emphasis on allowing the dog to use its natural abilities.

 

Every shooting man knows that, in real life, there are many occasions when you think the bird lies in one place and the dog thinks it is somewhere else. 9 times out of 10 the dog is right.

 

I think that the daftest thing is when retrieving from water (and this is far worse in American trials than in British events) and a dog is marked down if it does not take the straightest route to the bird, even when that means a longer swim. An intelligent dog will take the fastest route - which may often mean running down the bank as far as possible and then taking the shortest swim to the bird. I even had a labrador years ago that seemed able to calculate the optimum point at which to enter a river so as to intercept a bird being carried down in the current - but I hasten to add that she would never have won any prizes in trials!!

 

It's nice to watch dogs that have been trained to do circus tricks, but it is not always what the shooting man wants or needs.

 

Having said all that, I don't know the guys in the video, so don't know what category their dogs fall into.

[v-max]

Interesting point about the dogs v-max. I agree there is nothing special about the dogwork in that video but you are wrong about spitting the goose out. Or I should say that the trials boys get that totally wrong. I know that it is instant elimination in a trial for a dog to lay down one bird to pick another - but in the real world it is highly desirable for a dog to lay down a dead bird in order to pick a wounded one. That's one of the areas where field trials fail to reflect what real shooters want their dogs to do.

 

Two reasons for that - firstly, a dead bird cannot run away while a wounded one can.

 

Secondly, only the most depraved shooter would leave a wounded bird to suffer for a moment longer than necessary.

 

I stopped picking-up on one large estate near Stirling a number of years ago when the idiot of a gamekeeper "reprimanded" me for sending my dogs for wounded birds before a drive had ended. With "friends" like that we don't need enemies.

As i stated pinkfooty the bird was no more than 20ft from hide & i know a bit about picking up & dog work. I agree totally with you no point picking dead stuff when there is wounded game to pick. The dog in that video ran past it & then walked onto it then spat the goose out to get the other goose at its feet. the dog was lucky that it was a wounded goose as i bet it would have done what it did even if the gooose was dead.

I have a bit knowledge of shooting from wildfowling/game/walked up/ferreting etc & i know what 32g No.6 means on a cartridge & its use & the diffrence in choke from full to cylinder un like some on these site's & im getting very worryed to the knowledge of some gun owners bring on a test of some sort.

[Pinkfooty]

Talking of goose shooting videos, here's one I did earlier (as they say on Blue Peter!). Same guide as the other one, as it happens.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcZ2JS747A0

Edited October 21, 2009 by Pinkfooty

[marlin vs]

I like the videos, but I always wonder why do they put music to them, as it ruins them i'd rather hear whats being said among the hunters and also hear the shooting.

[Pinkfooty]

I like the videos, but I always wonder why do they put music to them, as it ruins them i'd rather hear whats being said among the hunters and also hear the shooting.

 

I understand what you are saying, Marlin. Problem is that, with a cheapo amateur camcorder, wind noise tends to be a major problem when filming in wildfowling conditions and music helps to mask that. It can also cover up some of the language which might be unsuitable for general consumption!!