Bird Dog Season Opening

by Tim Smith

blog dogThere’s the old expression “That dog won’t hunt,” meaning that someone’s assertion lacks credibility. My dog Lizzie won’t be stopped from hunting. October has been a tough month for her because I bought a fall turkey permit. That allows me to hunt turkeys during the month of October, but Missouri regulations do not allow the use of dogs to hunt turkeys.

I tried to sneak out of the house a few times this month wearing camo and carrying a shotgun, but Lizzie always knows when I’m leaving to hunt. Once I took my shotgun to the truck the night before, so she wouldn’t see me carrying it early the next morning. That didn’t help. If I could wear camo to work, maybe I could confuse her. It’s not so hard on me to leave her behind but my family has to tolerate the barking and whining for thirty minutes after my early departure, at a time when they would prefer to be soundly sleeping.

Now that I’ve harvested a fall turkey and we are into the second half of October, I’m going to focus more on getting out with Lizzie so that she can get in shape for the quail and pheasant seasons  that open on November 1st. Dove season is open through November 9th and American woodcock  season opened on October 15th and runs through November 28th. Lizzie likes to retrieve doves for me but woodcock hunting is her first real opportunity this season to put all of her talents to good use in locating, pointing and retrieving birds.

 If you have a bird dog at home, you have no excuse for not heading to the fields soon. This cool weather should energize both hunter and canine companion. There’s a lot of opportunity for Missouri’s upland hunters in late October and early November. Besides the game birds, there are all sorts of seasonal natural events that should be observed first hand. Maybe Lizzie and I will see you there!

tags: , , , , ,

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 7:53 am and is filed under Outdoor Recreation, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

6 Responses to “Bird Dog Season Opening”

  1. Karen Says:

    October 27th, 2009 at 10:43 am

    Lizzie sounds like a great dog. I couldn’t get my dog, Katie, to hunt if her life depended on it.

  2. Kevin Says:

    October 27th, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    Woodcocks

    Where can I find these to hunt?

  3. Tim Smith Says:

    October 28th, 2009 at 7:51 am

    Kevin,

    In my experience, it’s more important when you go than where you go. There are spots that seem to be more reliable than others. In the Missouri riverbottom, grassy areas under young cottonwoods can be productive.I’ve had the most luck during the first week of November in mid-Missouri. Quail season is open as well after Nov. 1. The migrant woodcocks pass through and are more plentiful here at that time. They migrate at night and can drop out of the sky almost anywhere to rest. Good luck.

  4. Jhon Says:

    October 30th, 2009 at 6:07 am

    I tried to take my dog to hunt once with a friend of mine. can’t say it went too well… he was just interrupting

  5. NYC Condo Man Says:

    November 9th, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Tim,

    What kind of dog is Lizzie? I don’t want to take away from her ferociousness or “hunting” ability, but she looks absolutely adorable. Not only that, but she sounds like an extremely great companion, loyal friend, and really smart dog.

    Thanks for the post, great article.

  6. Tim Smith Says:

    November 9th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

    NYC Condo Man,

    We think Lizzie is part Brittany and the other part(s) we don’t know. We got her from the local animal shelter as a four-month-old puppy for a pet. She started pointing animals around the yard so she became my hunting dog. She is a very loyal companion.

    Glad you enjoyed the post.