Dann Jacobus

Dann Jacobus' Fence Line Flush made the cover of the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of the PDJ. I enjoyed the picture so much! It reminded me of chasing wily roughneck-roosters while I was in veterinary school in Eastern Washington with my very first crazy pointing dog...Jibbers! To find out more about Dann and his outstanding art work click here!

These prints were borrowed from Dann's website with his permission.

The Wordsmith...Julian and his Lovelies

My friend and fellow contributor to Upland Equations recently sent me these photographs from his last weeks upland adventure. Julian and his significant other Emma spend a great deal of their spare time training bird dogs...a couple after my own heart. Below are Julian's words of the weekend...




Hi Shawn,



Hopes all's going well, and sorry to read about the death of William Tapply. I hope he's in that great covert in the sky.

Had a great day out working the dogs for a party of 8 guns on saturday. We finished with 76 pheasants, 1 woodcock, and a pigeon.

The labs are really finding their feet, (paws?) now, retrieving to hand both pheasants and duck from water.

Here are a few pics from saturday's shoot:


I'm very proud of Julian as he has been on a publishing roll...and will have an article out in Gray's Sporting Journal in the very near future! Julian most certainly has a way with words and the pen! I hope that some day he'll come out West and help this Pilgrim skin a Griz or perhaps a sage or blue grouse!

William G. Tapply 1940-2009: Loss of a Great Outdoor Writer!

I read with great sadness last night of the loss of one of my favorite outdoors writers of all times, William G. Tapply. I hadn't heard the news until yesterday when I picked up the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of American Angler and read the news on the Editor's Page.

Bill's writing touched many outdoor sports-peoples lives. He was one of the last links to bird hunting legends like H. G. ("Tap") Tapply, Gorham L. Cross (aka Grandpa Grouse) and Grouse Poet Laureate himself Burton Spiller. More information can be read about the life of Bill by going to his website (CLICK HERE).

Emile and Remy: Training with Gary Ruppel

My good friend and hunting partner Mark Thompson recently acquired a new member of the family...a French Brittany from the author of "A Hunter's Road" Jim Fergus. Here are some photos of Remy and Emile with gun dog trainer extraordinaire Gary Ruppel. I can hardly wait to get in the field with Mark and his bird dogs!

Here are the words of Mr. Thompson as he sent them to me in an email:

Emile and Remy got a trip over to our friend and well-known gun dog trainer, Gary Ruppel, for some bird dog training today. Gary worked with Emile on quail, though he was a bit weasy after being car sick during the hour ride out to Kiowa. He is only around 12 weeks old, so he has lots of birds ahead of him, so we didn’t push him too hard. Emile is being carried around by Lauren as I write this note, as she loves her puppies, and they are very tolerant of her games. And he loves retrieving a frozen quail in the driveway at home. has been very keen on birds hunting this year, at least the few that we found as we have had a tough year with grouse, even in our honey holes. Anyway, he is now a year old and coming into his terrible twos year and needs a lot of whoa put back into him, as he enjoys chasing the birds too much for a pointing pup. It was amazing, as Gary had him steady to the flush in about 15 minutes of training. He was steady to the flush on several birds the rest of the session. Just when I thought I had learned all of Gary’s training after 15 years now, apparently I am still only performing at 75%, as his consistency and posturing did the trick in short order. I can’t wait for pheasant and quail season, which opens in another week.

Mark Thompson photographs:

Wingshooting Jacket...Gearing Up for the Quail Season

I'm patiently awaiting the Kansas quail season! Can't hardly wait...like a kid for Christmas. I plan to be there every week chasing coveys of BIRDS. I ordered Filson's new Wingshooting Jacket and it should arrive just in time! I'll give an update on it once I've put it through the ringer!








Wingshooting Jacket
Style Number 10110
$295.00

Features

Fully sealed seams.
Waterproof front zipper.
Interior zipper security pocket.
Detachable hood.
Interior shoulder pockets accept recoil pad.
Adjustable cuffs with brass snaps.
Handwarmer pockets and bellows front pockets.
Fabric
100% 6-oz. 3 layer nylon twill
Sizes
S, M, L, XL, 2XL
Care
Machine wash cold. Line dry or dry flat.
Country Of Origin
Imported

Star Tribune Blog Contributor: Congrats to My Good Friend and Hunting Partner-in-crime...Walter Bruning, PhD

In 1992 my wife and I moved to California. I had spent 17 years pursuing ruffed grouse and woodcock in Minnesota preceded by a decade of pheasants and quail in Nebraska. California seemed right for us then; I'm not so sure now. More of that as the blog unfolds in the weeks to come. (Click here to go to website)

I am back, sort of, in a "virtual" way. The blog is the vehicle. I never really got the Minnesota woods out of my system. I made several trips back for grouse/woodcock hunting during the 90s but eventually a series of severe problems with my eyes brought shooting to an end. Through the efforts of some super-skilled surgeons in Alabama during 2004-2006, I regained sharp vision once more. Three years ago a Marine pal took me to the skeet and trap field at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA to try a few clay targets. I was hooked again. Now, with four shotguns, reloaders for three gauges, a passel of new hunting gear and a wonderful English Pointer bitch named Pride, I am back in business. The only thing lacking is a set of 30-something legs to make me go! Nearing 71, I don't roam the fields quite the way I did way back when. But, I persevere!

What can I bring to Minnesota bird hunters and shotgunners from the Left Coast? Remains to be seen, but maybe I can put a little perspective on bird hunting from my experience, sound a few alarm bells regarding the steady erosion of gun rights out here--they are coming after all of you too-don't be mistaken. And, share a little thinking about the beauty of our outdoor heritage.

Some of you may remember me from the skeet/trap clubs around the TC area, my early days on the board of Pheasants Forever--I was present at the start--and the early Ruffed Grouse Society banquets. I remember the first ever in the TC area at the Lafayette Club many moons ago. I also remember when clear-cutting and controlled burning to improve habitat weren't dirty words and there were really good populations of grouse and woodcock. We'll recall some of those days.

Stay tuned. I hope to hear from some of you as I toss out a few bones to gnaw on.

Thanks, Dennis, for the opportunity to be here.

Upland Idaho Dreamin'