Do you feel it's OK to use your quail dogs on Pheasant?

Do you think it will be ok to take English Pointers (that have been used exclusively on quail) to hunt pheasant? I'm going to TX panhandle in Dec to hunt pheasant. Supposedly lots of quail in area as well. Any downside to using your pointers on Pheasant? Thanks

As long as you can control your pointer you'll be fine; I do it all the time. They come in very handy on quail in the corners, and they'll point a pheasant in the grass every now and then.

I have seen some that could not control them and blow through the territory flushing out most if not all the birds.

I have seen this also unfortunately.

I was just glad it wasn't my dogs. I have only brought labs and 1 red setter that I knew would only work 20 yds or so out front and go from one end of the line to the other. I would not take my pointers unless it was just a few people and then I would try and slow them down before we started.

Pretty sure any of mine would have come unwound first time one of those 747's would have got up in front of them.

Why would you not? They will point the hell out of a pheasant. Mine have pointed quail, pheasant, chucker, and Huns sometimes all in the same day up on the prairies. They all pretty much smell the same. They should point them. That ol' rooster pheasant may even teach them a trick or two. I would not leave home without my dogs to go pheasant hunting. I don't like hunting my dogs in front of those 20 man drive hunts that you hear about in the panhandle.

You found chukar on the praires

Yes pointers hunt pheasants

you could hunt pheasant with a boxer, would it work. some dogs can figure out how, others wont or can't, few years ago, went to Dumas for a hunt (outfitter, if you could call him that) turned his GSH"s
loose the second cay, they would run the cut milo rows all the way to the end of the field, I packed up and left.

If you are talking a driven shoot thru cut grain with blockers etc. I wouldn't let your dog out. You would be putting it on a lot of running birds that won't hold.

If you can run him thru crp or set aside near cut grain or thru ditches and arroyos, the birds are much more likely to hold for dogs and you should run the dogs.

Driven shoots with blockers and LOTS of shooting can really be very stressful for young dogs. I know of some that had to be worked thru gun shyness after being run in one of these hunts.

I agree totally with what you have stated, I have only hunted pheasants in drives and it was pretty much no place for a dog besides a retriever. I would like to go and hunt pheasants with dogs sometime, but not on a line/block hunt. If I get drawn for elk in Montana I will be taking my dogs for Huns, sharpies, and sage grouse. I have hunted Montana two years ago and would like to go back with my dogs.

TXPanhandler nailed it! It's all about how well you can control your dogs. I've had guys show up with dogs that are very well behaved and been a real pleasure, and I've had them show up when as soon as you let them out of the truck they were off for the horizon. A pointer running 1/4 mile ahead of you blowing birds out the end of a field is no fun for anyone. Guys with those kind of dogs don't get invited back. I don't care how honest your dog is if he points a pheasant 500 yards away, first off in the cover I hunt, you're going to have a hard time even knowing he's on point, and secondly that bird isn't going to be there when you get to him.

Pointers on pheasant work well if you
1. have a limited number of hunters
2. can control your dog
3. always work into the wind
4. Are hunting good cover where the birds will hold
Older well trained dogs always seem to do best for me.
We never had much luck in maize or corn stubble as the birds would run down the rows.

Mine would've never worked then.

Dogs have pointed a lot of chuckers in the past, but not on the prairies. I should have said prairie chickens. If it is an upland game bird, bird dog should point it. Heck, I have had them point turkeys several times here in Texas.

Best ditch chicken dog I ever hunted over was my red Heeler! She would always stay in close working with her nose and didn't have to use voice commands. If you hunt pheasant and you can get out of truck and talk and close doors and get situated then you're not hunting wild birds! If dog will work close and you can sneak in silently then one person can hunt ditches and brush patches alone with a dog. I will not stomp stubble for a glorified fighting chicken. Love hunting roosters after opening weekend...gets all the dumb birds out of way and newbs have given up.

We used to go every year. We just took one dog. Always took the Shorthair. She was a seasoned blue quail dog and did very well with the pheasant. She would point them no differently than the quail. Took right to it. Most of our pointers needed to drag the chains for half a day if you were going to slow them down. I took a young brittany once and he did good too. I would take your old dog and leave the pups at home.

Take the pups too. Never miss a training opportunity. The hunt is always about the dog, especially the older pups.

I know you asked about English pointers, but i would not go without my Brittany's.



this past weekend

What budpointer said. We hunt mainly irrigation circle corners and we usually have 1 pointer on the ground and two labs, works for us. If the birds are in there, the pointer gets on the foot trail and the line shifts a bit when you see which way the birds are running. Never had a quail dog that wouldn't point pheasants. The catwalk/creepers can hurt you some on late season birds of pushing them too hard