A Tale of Two Points
Like most middle aged grouse hunters with their own dogs, I've witnessed many different points from all of my dogs over the years. While we all think of a point on a grouse or woodcock as being solidly staunch (tail up, dog leaning forward as if it could fall over, preferably with a front leg raised), I have learned through time that this is not always the case. Sometimes the birds that they are pointing (whether grouse or woodcock) will dictate what kind of "pose" they will take, while scenting conditions often determine the intensity of the point.
Every time that I move in on a point, I'm looking for some kind of a cue as to where the bird is and what kind of bird it might be. Sometimes the cover that we're hunting makes it more likely that the point is on a grouse or woodcock, but many of the covers that we hunt are preferable for either bird, thus why I look at the point.
This was illustrated to me during one of our scouting sessions a few days ago - different covers, with different dogs on the ground, but I think that switching the dogs around would have produced much the same results.
The first point is from Monty, as he worked up ahead of me. Now, you won't see the bird (it was a grouse), but you will hear the whirr of its wings when it flushes, and the shot of my starter's pistol to simulate a hunting scenario. Then you'll see Monty eventually as he comes in to my camera's screen. Tail up, head high, and pretty staunch - his classic grouse point, and it appears as though he had a good nose full of that grouse's scent.
I have noticed with him that his posture, head position, and therefore nose are usually lower when he's pointing a woodcock, while he has a higher point on his grouse points. Woodcock tend to not move around as much as grouse, so a woodcock's scent is not being spread out nearly as much as that of a grouse. A grouse that is beginning to walk away or run is spreading scent that begins to drift in the air currents, resulting in a higher postured point.
The second example is a little while later in the same morning with Rosie, my youngest GSP. At nearly two years old, she's still in the learning stages of this game, but she is advancing well through her lessons.
In this example, Rosie's on point, but you'll notice a couple of things. Her head is high but her tail is flagging, an indication of the presence of scent, and possibly a bird. I have seen flagging points at times from all of my dogs - usually an indication that the bird scent is not strong enough to produce an intense point, but still a tip off that a bird was there at some point, and still could be in the area. The reasons for this are typically difficult scenting conditions for the dogs - i.e. too warm, too dry, and sometimes even too wet if we're currently getting poured on.
In this specific case, the reason becomes apparent when looking at the wind that is whipping all around us. The scent from the grouse was getting dispersed by all of that wind, making it tough for Rosie to establish a solid, staunch point. When the grouse finally flew (no, you didn't see that one either, but I had spotted it on the ground just before flushing), my starter's pistol shot was barely audible because of the wind. High wind, like what we were in that morning is not only difficult on the dog, but also makes grouse extremely skittish.
Later on in the session, Rosie went on point and her tail was flagging again. After walking in to the area and not having flushed anything, I released her from that point and she followed her nose deeper in to the cover when she went on point again about twenty yards away from me. This time, she was staunch, looking intently in to some thick stuff. When I started moving in that direction, a trio of woodcock flushed.
These are just a few things I notice about the points of my dogs, and I'm sure that it is much the same for everyone that uses pointing dogs for upland birds. Try to notice your dog's points this fall as you're hunting - perhaps it will make you a more successful hunter this season.
monty-grouse-point-480 from Tall Timber on Vimeo.
This was illustrated to me during one of our scouting sessions a few days ago - different covers, with different dogs on the ground, but I think that switching the dogs around would have produced much the same results.
The first point is from Monty, as he worked up ahead of me. Now, you won't see the bird (it was a grouse), but you will hear the whirr of its wings when it flushes, and the shot of my starter's pistol to simulate a hunting scenario. Then you'll see Monty eventually as he comes in to my camera's screen. Tail up, head high, and pretty staunch - his classic grouse point, and it appears as though he had a good nose full of that grouse's scent.
I have noticed with him that his posture, head position, and therefore nose are usually lower when he's pointing a woodcock, while he has a higher point on his grouse points. Woodcock tend to not move around as much as grouse, so a woodcock's scent is not being spread out nearly as much as that of a grouse. A grouse that is beginning to walk away or run is spreading scent that begins to drift in the air currents, resulting in a higher postured point.
rosie-grouse-point-480 from Tall Timber on Vimeo.
In this example, Rosie's on point, but you'll notice a couple of things. Her head is high but her tail is flagging, an indication of the presence of scent, and possibly a bird. I have seen flagging points at times from all of my dogs - usually an indication that the bird scent is not strong enough to produce an intense point, but still a tip off that a bird was there at some point, and still could be in the area. The reasons for this are typically difficult scenting conditions for the dogs - i.e. too warm, too dry, and sometimes even too wet if we're currently getting poured on.
In this specific case, the reason becomes apparent when looking at the wind that is whipping all around us. The scent from the grouse was getting dispersed by all of that wind, making it tough for Rosie to establish a solid, staunch point. When the grouse finally flew (no, you didn't see that one either, but I had spotted it on the ground just before flushing), my starter's pistol shot was barely audible because of the wind. High wind, like what we were in that morning is not only difficult on the dog, but also makes grouse extremely skittish.
Later on in the session, Rosie went on point and her tail was flagging again. After walking in to the area and not having flushed anything, I released her from that point and she followed her nose deeper in to the cover when she went on point again about twenty yards away from me. This time, she was staunch, looking intently in to some thick stuff. When I started moving in that direction, a trio of woodcock flushed.
These are just a few things I notice about the points of my dogs, and I'm sure that it is much the same for everyone that uses pointing dogs for upland birds. Try to notice your dog's points this fall as you're hunting - perhaps it will make you a more successful hunter this season.
