Forums46
Topics543,232
Posts9,796,004
Members87,448
|
Most Online25,604 Feb 12th, 2024
|
|
|
The King of the Uplands
#9068381
06/27/24 06:44 PM
|
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 5,558
RayB
OP
red bone Bob
|
OP
red bone Bob
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 5,558 |
On another board there's a discussion going on what bird is the king of the uplands; most are saying that illegal immigrant the pheasant is King, one poor soul is saying the grouse. I and others have educated those poor souls that the Bob White Quail is obviously the King of the uplands. Opinions?
There is time, and you must take it, to lay your hand on your dog's head as you walk past him lying on the floor or on his settle, time to talk with him, to remember with him, time to please him, time you can't buy back once he's gone" GBE
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9068714
06/28/24 03:53 AM
|
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 13,318
CCBIRDDOGMAN
Bird Herder
|
Bird Herder
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 13,318 |
Haven't had it in years but never spit any out. I am a sucker for happy endings and strapped cowboys.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9068830
06/28/24 02:06 PM
|
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,432
Smokey Bear
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,432 |
It depends on the metric you measure by. In the the south it is Gentleman Bob. My personal pick is Pheasant. Better dog work the way they run and the flush is unmatched.
Smokey Bear---Lone Star State.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9069296
06/29/24 04:15 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 21,251
Sniper John
gumshoe
|
gumshoe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 21,251 |
Old books call it the Ruffed Grouse, but most Texans have never seen one. To the hunter, the king of the upland birds would be regional depending on what is most sought after in the region you hunt. Texas for sure the Bobwhite. Louisiana would be the Woodcock, Kansas I assume the Pheasant and so on.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9073980
07/10/24 09:14 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 821
danceswithquail
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 821 |
For me, its all about the dog work, followed by an explosive group flush and so that means bobs. My close second is huns, they aren't as gentlemanly as bobs as far as walking right into them (bobs in a good year give you some of that anyway), but then you have the scenery of northern Wyoming, Montana, or North Dakota. All of those locales are a tad prettier than Guthrie or Big Spring etc. ![grin grin](/forum/images/graemlins/default/grin.gif)
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9077896
07/17/24 10:20 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,993
blanked
Pro Tracker
|
Pro Tracker
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,993 |
Chukars. You work your arse off for them.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9078174
07/18/24 03:02 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 85
KKS
Outdoorsman
|
Outdoorsman
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 85 |
i will put sage grouse in the mix. That flush is unmatched
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9078286
07/18/24 06:41 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 277
Kelulu
Bird Dog
|
Bird Dog
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 277 |
Such a wonderful, and regular, off-season discussion. Which bird is the King? The question posed has caused me, in a good way, to examine my feelings about the upland species I've been blessed to hunt down through the years. Here's my take.
My primary measure of the perfect gamebird is behavior before the dog. I prefer a bird that will stand, most of the time, before the dog. Others prefer a bird that is more "sporty" before setting. Of the species I've hunted I'd rank, in pertinent part, the following in order of "gentlemanliness (is that even a word?)"; Mearn's quail, Hungarian partridge, Bobwhite quail and early-season Sharptail grouse. Of the "sportier" species my experiences would rank, in pertinent part, the following in order of challenging; Pheasant, Scaled quail and Ruffed grouse. Again, I prefer a standing bird.
In my opinion the next most important factor to determine the perfect gamebird is beauty in the hand. For me the general beauty of gamebirds is one of the most important reasons I hunt. Overall the aesthetics of the sport are a big draw for me. Of the species I've hunted I would subjectively rank the following, in pertinent part, for beauty in the hand; Pheasant, Scaled quail, Mearn's quail, Hungarian partridge, Bobwhite quail and Ruffed grouse.
A parallel factor to the above is the beauty of the habitat in which each species is found. This factor is supremely subjective. Of the species I've hunted ranked, in pertinent part, for habitat beauty as follows: Mearn's quail, Ruffed grouse, Bobwhite quail, Hungarian partridge and Pheasant.
Another factor that is so hard to quantify outside of each individual hunter's experience is that of tradition. Even defining what constitutes tradition in this context would make for a complete other string of posts. My experiences have exposed me to the traditions primarily surrounding Bobwhite quail and Pheasant. Most recently I've had significant exposure to the traditions surrounding Rufffed grouse, Woodcock, Sharptail grouse and Hungarian partridge. For me the Ruffed grouse has the most heritage with the Bobwhite quail a close second.
Another factor is the different flight/flush characteristics of each species. This is, again, subjectively hard to quantify. I prefer a covey bird to solo flushers. Of the covey birds I've hunted I'd rank the following as providing the sportiest flushes; Mearn's quail, Bobwhite quail and Hungarian partridge. Of the solo species I've hunted the I'd rank the following for sportiest flushes; Ruffed Grouse, Pheasant and Woodcock.
From the above list one would think that I view the Mearn's quail as the perfect gamebird. Perhaps it is. However, my favorite gamebird to hunt is the Scaled quail even though that's not the question OP posed.
And why, today, remember misses?
--Ernest Hemingway--
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9081265
07/25/24 02:00 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,735
colt45-90
Texas colt45
|
Texas colt45
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,735 |
depends on what area, state and ect
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9090052
08/12/24 01:01 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,735
colt45-90
Texas colt45
|
Texas colt45
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,735 |
I told my wife I would rather hunt bobs than fish, and I do like to fish, well used to.
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9090054
08/12/24 01:10 AM
|
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,385
scalebuster
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,385 |
The king of all bird hunting is the Bob. Why is it even a question. I had to put down two great bird dogs this summer. If anyone has a 6 month old pup they don’t need I’d be interested. I just got off the phone with an old man I used to hunt with. He has some 6 MO pointer/shorthair drop pups he wants 1000K for. How crazy is that?
Acouple of years ago people were giving away dogs like this.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9090283
08/12/24 04:29 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 201
Hunter307
Woodsman
|
Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 201 |
Chukar or Hungarian Partridge. Wild of course.
Last edited by Hunter307; 08/12/24 04:30 PM.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9090350
08/12/24 05:38 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,849
nak
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,849 |
Bob's...but I'll hunt anything the dogs will point.
We all need to practice Whoa more.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9090367
08/12/24 06:06 PM
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 61,554
BOBO the Clown
kind of a big deal
|
kind of a big deal
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 61,554 |
Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals.-Sen Joni Ernst
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9091186
08/13/24 10:39 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 646
ErnestTBass
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 646 |
Turkey?
(*runs and hides*)
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: ErnestTBass]
#9091201
08/13/24 11:00 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,623
68rustbucket
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,623 |
Turkey?
(*runs and hides*) Not an upland bird.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: 68rustbucket]
#9091333
08/14/24 01:20 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 646
ErnestTBass
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 646 |
Turkey?
(*runs and hides*) Not an upland bird. Lots of sources, including Tpwd and the national wild turkey federation, would disagree with you.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9091366
08/14/24 02:05 AM
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,623
68rustbucket
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,623 |
If it’s hunted with a pointing dog, I consider it an upland game bird. That’s also why it’s called wing shooting. Shoot a flying Turkey lately?
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9093422
08/17/24 06:29 PM
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 61,554
BOBO the Clown
kind of a big deal
|
kind of a big deal
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 61,554 |
Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals.-Sen Joni Ernst
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9093449
08/17/24 07:23 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 21,251
Sniper John
gumshoe
|
gumshoe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 21,251 |
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: RayB]
#9093486
08/17/24 08:18 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,623
68rustbucket
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,623 |
Well what do know, learn something new everyday.
|
|
|
Re: The King of the Uplands
[Re: Sniper John]
#9094471
08/19/24 05:42 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 646
ErnestTBass
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 646 |
I've heard of people using dogs to turkey hunt back east, but I've never done it.
How do you use your dog on a turkey hunt?
Same "breaking" or flushing maneuver described in the video?
Last edited by ErnestTBass; 08/19/24 06:00 PM.
|
|
|
Moderated by bigbob_ftw, CCBIRDDOGMAN, Chickenman, Derek, DeRico, Duck_Hunter, hetman, jeh7mmmag, JustWingem, kmon11, kry226, kwrhuntinglab, Payne, pertnear, rifleman, sig226fan (Rguns.com), Superduty, TreeBass, txcornhusker
|