Upland Nation

Bird hunting podcast: Pro trainer on pups, clicker training, and positivity ... how you’ll save hunting

Todd Agnew, pro spaniel trainer at Craney Hill Kennel, shares his decades of hunting and training experience, starting with "why spaniels?" and going through a litany of tips and tactics to help us train virtually any dog breed.
It gets down to rewards, he says. But how? We'll explore.
Plus, the last point of the season, an Upland Nation Puzzler question and prize, and your survey responses on favorite dog breeds and how to ensure there's hunting for the next generation brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.

Bird hunting podcast: shoot better - an instructor’s advice from gun selection to approaching a pointing dog

Hunter and chief instructor for the National Sporting Clays Association, Don Currie teaches schlubs like us all year. He offers valuable advice on unboxing your gun, checking for straight barrels (seriously, it's a thing), and choke selection. He schools us on terminology, gun fit, how to fit in at the range, and then we go to the field.
From patterning your gun to foot position on pointed birds, Don has real-life advice, some history lessons on gun making, and how to mount your gun. You will be a better shooter - and shooting teacher - after this podcast!
You share your new year's resolutions, and you could win a Scott Linden Signature Series Real Bird Bumper in our Upland Nation Puzzler question, all brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.

Bird hunting podcast: Wild Huns, wilder country - how’d it go? Your DOG’s new year’s resolutions

Friendship, adventure, and some pretty good dog work punctuate this adventure into the wild, public ground where Hungarian partridge dwell. You'll get a tour of some less-typical habitat, shoot a few and miss a lot, and hear about some cool finds and dazzling retrieves.
Huns are on the rise in the west, so if you're intrigued by this "bonus bird," we'll offer some tips and tactics as well.
And if you think your new year's resolutions are creative, wait until you find out what your dogs are saying!
You'll have a chance to win a Scott Linden Signature Series Real Bird Bumper in our Upland Nation Puzzler question, all brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.

Bird hunting the ”New West” ... we crack the code in this primer, plus your biggest public-access challenges

For many, their bucket list includes a trip west ... for adventure, fun, and that bird specie you can't find near home. But just as in the old days, there is a "code" in the New West as well. From preparation to where to find them, how to approach the habitat and hunting strategies, we'll touch on all of it. (Want more details? Go here.)
Listeners share their challenges when finding new ground to hunt, and we'll offer up a Scott Linden Signature Series Jaeger lead in our Upland Nation Puzzler question, all brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.

Bird hunting podcast: chasing wild quail and pheasants, the upside of social media friendship

Wild valley quail hunting ... with a few pheasants thrown in too. Facebook - and now, personal - friend Mark Avolio shares his experience, strategy and tactics as we debrief our recent hunt in Northeast Oregon. Mark runs setters all over the west, and a chance meeting a couple years ago in a faraway chukar spot led to our becoming regular hunting partners.
In this hunt, lush creek bottoms, bunchgrass swales, great weather and wonderful dog work were the standouts. Versatile dog work was on display, working "wrong" wind and tough retrieves in tight quarters. 
Shotgun ammo and choke recommendations for mixed-bag hunts, dog care tips and a few high points from the dogs' work are all covered in this wide-ranging talk between friends. We explore the reasons for singles without a covey rise, where shot birds go, and how to mark downed birds a little better. There's also a little nostalgia ending at an historical sheep ranch.
We'll find out how your last hunt went, and there's a chance to win a Scott Linden Signature Series Jaeger lead, all brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.

Bird hunting questions from you, and some hopefully-helpful answers from me!

You ask some fantastic questions on my websites, social media and my weekly newsletter. I've compiled some of the best - relevant to almost everyone - and pulled together some suggestions. With any luck, they're close to correct, and helpful to you.
From buying started dogs to marking downed birds, neutering and eye care, to best first dog breed to using frozen birds, you'll find something that applies to you or your dog.
Plus, a chance to win a Scott Linden Signature Series Jaeger lead, and it's all brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.
And if you're so inclined to support the podcast and get in on some marvelous perks, investigate our Patreon page.

Chukar hunting tips from a big-game hunter ... public-access, wild-bird strategies, stories of adventure & hard damn work!

ENJOY OUR NEW FORMAT! More fun and easy to listen to ... but you can decide that for yourself.
My good friend and hunting buddy Tom Jenkins knows his way around the woods, pursuing elk and deer when he's not chasing his bird dog in the chukar hills. I've learned so much from him about wild bird hunting, public access, good habitat, and how to approach a bird hunt as more than a walk behind a dog.
So I made him come on and share some of his wisdom with YOU. We talk about our  shared hunt adventures, solo hunt stories, and I even relate a couple valley quail tips from last week's hunt.
There's also your own hunting stories from last week, and a chance to win a Chief Upland vest, all brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School, your online shotgun shopping resource; Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.
And if you're so inclined to support the podcast and get in on some marvelous perks, investigate our Patreon page.

Bird hunting podcast: ex-guide shares the joys of hunting ”for fun,” Mearns quail tips and tricks, picking a new dog, your regrets

Fascinating Mearn’s quail strategies from a former Arizona pro guide are the starting point, and from there we cover the waterfront!
Phil Wechsler shares why he left the pro guiding world ... the joys of hunting “for fun.” From the benefits to young dogs, to finding new places, there is a freedom to not guiding. Time of year to hunt, habitat and terrain, bird behavior … Gambel’s, scaled, Mearn’s. Why he loves Mearns the best. Hint: it involves bird dogs. In fact, they may be the perfect quail for steady pointing dogs.
Phil offers tips on developing young dogs, and the value of their bumping a covey, and how without paying guests every day is a training day. We discuss finding the “good spots,” how to take care of a kennel full of dogs, picking dogs, why he likes smaller dogs, the value of hunting each area just once, with a caveat.
Phil describes his “best year” of hunting … last season … not for the birds or dogs but for the friends he shared a hunt with. And, the best tip he ever got from a guide client.
You share how far you drive for a hunt, share your “regrets” and how we can all learn from them, a chance to win a Chief Upland hunting vest, and it's brought to you by:
Sage & Braker Mercantile, Dr. Tim's performance dog food, Pointer shotguns, RuffLand performance Kennels, Mid Valley Clays and Shooting School; UplandNationDeals.com, Happy Jack, FindBirdHuntingSpots.com.