I am hosting a NSTRA trial on the 18th and 19th in Priddy Texas which is just south of comanche texas. We have room for a few more dogs. This is open/open format for both days. Please call 325-451-0003 or email kris@sparksia.com with any questions. Hope to hear from you guys!! Thanks for your support.

Kris

I simply don't understand why everyone within 2 to 3 hours would not choose to run in this trial. Just look at all the threads on this forum crying about the lack of wild birds. They're laying their dogs up when they could spend $80 and hunt them for an hour. I got my first pointer pup and fell in with a bunch of AA guys. She fit right in, but I didn't have a horse, and hunted her. I like if I was at a formal in blue jeans. Thirty years later I went to my first NSTRA trial. I knew I could do that. You hunting guys could also do it.

Some folks just don't want to hack their dogs after teaching them to go to cover and stay out front. Some folks like the NSTRA format others don't. Maybe you would have more luck if you pushed as hard as you do on some sort of a field trial forum rather than an upland hunting forum?

What movie has the annoying reoccuring phrase "Once, at band camp..."?

Take out band camp and insert NSTRA.

You come off as begging.

My dog stays out front and doesn't require me to hack on her at all. The funny thing is she finds plenty of birds in NSTRA and wild bird hunting (when there are wild birds). A good quality bird dog adapts to where the birds are. Cover and conditions are never the same!

Bill is passionate for what he believes in. You can't fault him for that! Thanks bill for your support.

Like I said some like it some don't. I have dogs that I'm guessing run bigger than yours and I've never had a 30 acre lease.

"A good quality bird dog adapts to where the birds are"

I'm sure you have good quality dogs but until you hunt behind mine I'm sure your not saying mine aren't.............

My dogs will run with the best of them wild bird hunting. They know the difference between the two which keeps me from hacking on them. I would rather take my dogs hunting when there are wild birds, but there aren't. You can take your dogs to that 10000 acre ranch and run all day to find 2 coveys (maybe). I will have more fun running my 40 acre field and watching my dogs find birds for me to shoot. They love it!! To each is their own!

Well than I guess we're where we started, some like it and some don't. Wasn't that the point. And I found 5 coveys and enjoyed every minute. To each his own. And by the way good dogs adjust to cover, but they find birds wherever they are.

Don't get mad at me for saying this & I'm not trying to down talk NSTRA because I am definitely interested in getting into it, but in saying that, I would rather find two coveys on 10,000 acres than be stuck with 40 acres covered up in pen raised Quail, the two don't compare in my eyes. I would like to get into NSTRA for some EXTRA dog work, but I will still be hunting wild birds as long as I know there is at least one out there somewhere to be found. JMO

I see NSTRA and Field Trials as fun, hunting, and competition - what more could a man ask for?

20 Coveys a day of wild birds with free access to the land that they are on. I don't ask for much do I?

Everyone loves to hunt wild birds. There is no question about that. I love seeing my dogs stretch out and cover a lot of ground hunting birds but NSTRA can be fun too. You get to see dogs of all different levels and styles run. The people are nice and my dog doesn't care how big the pasture is as long as it holds birds.

amen kindall!!

I'll be hunting both mornings this weekend, with other hunting dogs which have never done NSTRA. Cracker is my last bird dog. At the end of the weekend, the Garmin will show that she ran faster, and farther than the other hunting dogs. She'll find her share of birds, and have more limb finds. She does not find her share of birds in NSTRA. The drive is a little out of my range. I don't drive at night anymore.

But it's always worth asking

"The people are nice and my dog doesn't care how big the pasture is along as it holds birds"

And that's all that counts

Chet, I am more in line with your way of thinking. I like to go across the country. Lest not forget about the walking trials like NBHA,ABHA, US COMPLETE. We just need to get ours STS while others are force fetching.

I'm with CC wish list. Like to cover ground and and plenty covies. Years of fence row hunting in soybean fields years back Plenty of fun, but love to cover ground wide open spaces.

I believe last time you came to a trial your dog was in the gallery for almost the full 10 minutes, did you plant birds in the cab of your truck?! LoL! Just messing with you! You have a great looking pup!

Right you are, she ran across both bird fields to a hedge row that had the only cover in the area. Just what I would have wanted her to do if we were hunting. In fact if my memory is correct, and it may not, that trial had little piles of branches as the only cover in the bird field. One more reason why I'm not a big fan of NSTRA. But for those with a tight handle on their dogs or naturally close working dogs it's a fine way to get some bird work.

It did have no cover that year. Wish you had come out last fall. That place looked completely different. The grass was nice and tall this year. I planted the birds in a couple trials there and there was more tha enough cover out there. But to each his own and if your dogs have bloodlines that naturally make them range further out, then by all means run in a venue that suits your strengths.

The funny thing is, so would th members of NSTRA. We all agree with you. On a year when there are a huntable population of wild quail, you won't find a trial because most of the members are out hunting wild birds.

One of the points I made in my first post was that the NSTRA trial was within a 2 to 3 hour drive for lots of people. Try to find any of the AF trials you mentioned here, or AKC trials. They are not available in Texas in the numbers, of NSTRA. They had one ABHA trial near my house several years ago. I called and was told that judgment ended at flush. I entered my setter and my pointer. My pointer took second place in the derby. The course consisted of a field about 300 yards wide and a half mile long. You ran the dogs down to a bird field hunted around there for awhile, and then ran them back to the gallery. The handlers who stayed in the bird field the longest got most of the placements.

You shouldn't judge all AF trials by the one I attended, just as you should not judge all NSTRA field by the Anna field. I assure you that you'll have to hustle to make it around in the Priddy trial.

1) Almost everyone would rather hunt wild birds.
2)NSTRA is for fun and any bird dog would rather be running around a field with ANY kind of birds in it than stuck in the backyard or on the couch.
3)You don't have to hack your don't if you don't want to. I didn't.
4)If you've ever planted birds to train your dog, did it ruin the dog? No. Did you run 10,000 acres to get to those planted birds? No. Consider a NSTRA field trial a competitive training session.
5)If my dog could talk he would probably say "You better take me to ANY field trial, hunt test, wild bird hunt, or training session than leave me stuck at home."

I agree with all of the above, my statement was in response to Vislaguy saying he would have more fun hunting pen raised birds on 40 acres than finding two coveys while hunting 10,000 acres. To each his own, but I disagree with that. The only thing that has held me back from NSTRA is deciding which dog to run, because I can't afford to enter all 6. That's why we usually end up on preserves, so I can run all of them. I do think NSTRA is a great thing & will absolutely run a dog or two at some point.

Judging is a lot of fun. We need more judges. It is great to judge one day and run the other day. You can take your dogs and clean the field after you judge. Judge off your own vehicle and you can run two dogs free the second day.