After a long fruitless day, you finally get a solid point from your dog, who teeters on the brink of busting in. The jittery covey rockets into the sky long before you’re in gun range, right when you scream “whoa!” at him. It wasn’t a coincidence.
Or, do you ever wonder why your best covert is birdless when you and your friends get there? It might have been full of grouse until you slammed your tailgate shut. And do I have to mention whining dogs and banging crate doors?
Face it, you, your buddies, and your dog sound like a three-ring circus in the field, jangling, clanking, and shrieking toward your favorite field. It’s no wonder pheasants are squirting out the far end of the cornfield, black dots against a blue sky, all while you mutter and curse.
I got news for ya: “Tread lightly” is more than a bumper-sticker slogan. It should be a mantra for bird hunters who want to add a little more weight to their vest. But with all the other distractions and challenges we face, being stealthy often gets shoved aside. Here are some of the biggest offenders, and ways to neutralize them.
Hand signals can be an effective way of hunting while staying quiet. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) 1. Using Hand Signals to Stay Quite Let’s start in the yard, where you’ve drilled your long-suffering bird dog into submission on a plethora of commands from “whoa” to “here.” He’s doing stellar work, following direction, and performing like a champ. But hinky bobwhites won’t stand still for a handler yelling (or whistling) commands at a wayward dog. It’s time to shut your pie hole and let your hands do the talking.
A picture of your hands, so to speak, is worth a thousand words screamed at a bird dog. Besides giving you a few more steps toward a nervous ruffie, hand signals have another advantage: your dog can see them when your frantic screams won’t reach across a vast chukar-country canyon.
You’ll need to overlay verbal and physical signals first in the yard, then the field. Then, you might get just close enough to a trembling rooster to get a shot before he reaches the next time zone. And while you’re at it, if you’re of a certain age,you remember the ad slogan “Reach out and touch someone.” Well, it works for dogs too. Rick and Ronnie Smith have made a dog-training career of their “silent command system" for good reason. A subtle touch in the right place, and at the right time, might steady a dog when a hoarse voiced “whoa” just busts the flush. If your e-collar has vibrate and tone functions, add a few of those to your command lexicon, too.
Make sure to load and unload your gun quietly when in flushing situations. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) 2. Keep Your Gear Quite While You Hunt How well do pheasants hear? Opinions vary, and the science is unsettled, but all agree they hear better than we do. So,making like a whitetail hunter, minimizing the noise you can control, makes perfect sense.
Now, time to look inward. It’s not the dog’s fault. Like an old-time peddler’s rickety pony-drawn wagon, you’ve got junk hanging off your appendages and vest. Whistles, GPS, cell phone, water bottle, survival kit, and who knows what else,are clunking with every step you take. All that dangling stuff is like a burglar alarm to nervous Huns skylined on a ridge. Secure your gear in vest pockets (add some if you need to) and you might gain a couple steps on the birds. After all, your dog stuck ‘em, and he deserves a retrieve, doesn’t he?
Stealth shouldn’t end when you catch up to your pointing dog. Video and photo sessions should be silent. Watch your step, load and close your gun softly, and choose a route that minimizes brush-busting. Use those hand signals or touch to keep your dog steady. One other suggestion, learned the hard way: after the successful shot is not the time to go all Las Vegas bachelor-party, even if you shoot as poorly as I do. Your dog hasn’t finished his retrieving job yet, so your dancing, bragging, and high-fiving are like a party to him. He’d rather join in than complete his assignment. Save the celebration until you’ve slipped that bird into your vest.
That’s the time for a liver treat for your four-footed hunting buddy and maybe a whoop or two for you.
Your GPS handheld can be set to go off quietly to avoid scaring birds. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) 3. Dial Down the Talking There’s a reason pro guides seem low-key, cool, calm, collected, and soft-spoken. They get their clients closer to birds. So go ahead, channel your inner Clint Eastwood and get a few more shots over the course of a day in the field.
Save the Monday morning quarterbacking for later. While you’re griping about the game-winning pass dropped in the end zone, birds are skulking away from your pointing dog. Could be they’ve scuttled away from their favorite hiding place while you were unloading dogs, slamming doors, and shucking shells into your gun. Did I mention volume levels on your handheld GPS transmitter ?
Speaking of pro guides, I’ve only been in a few duck blinds, but have been shushed by the best. Nervous mallards flare at bad decoys, crappy camouflage, and blabbermouth hunters.
Beeper collars, bells, jingling dog tags, and whining or barking dogs can all alert birds to your presence. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) 4. Keep Your Hunting Dogs Quite Too Like a Boy Scout, he’s staunch, loyal, hardworking, courteous, kind, obedient, and cheerful. Then, you hang a beeper collar on the poor guy and all of a sudden birds are flushing too soon. Recent generations of ruffies are notorious for waddling away from a point—have they been unnerved by that tinkling (clanking, banging) collar bell?
Yeah, the stuff you put around your dog’s neck can help you stay in touch with him, but often, at the cost of your best shots. Ever wonder why Opening Day hunting is so exciting and productive? As the season progresses, birds have seen and heard it all. Later in the year, who doesn’t want an extra second, a few more steps into the flush, or a chance to get around that boulder-tree-ridgeline? We get them by being quieter than the last hunters who blundered through that field sounding like a marching band and cheering crowd. Even collar tags can make enough ruckus to turn a hunkering chukar into a blur fading away in the distance.
When hunting with friends, avoid being too loud during the hunt. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linden) 5. Be Like an Elk Hunter A good friend and hunting buddy lives for his elk hunts, then joins me chasing chukar after his freezer is full. I may be a slow learner, but I do learn, so when he walks slower or puts a finger to his lips—shhhh—I pay attention. He knows that wild animals—including game birds—will always beat us at the game of listening. It’s our job to even the odds as best we can.
