398 



INFLUENCE OF MAN 



However, even though dogs cannot be relied upon as a tool for painstaking field work, the 

 authors are, nevertheless, firm in their belief that the individual hunter can learn a great deal 

 about the habits of grouse during the fall season by the close observation of a good grouse 

 dog. Man, as a grouse hunter, is handicapped because he can' only see and hear and does 

 not have a nose tuned for bird scent. Thus, most hunters who "walk them up" can only learn 

 by observing and, to a lesser extent, by hearing. This reveals little about the bird's move- 

 ments up to the point it explodes from the ground or a tree. A keen hunter, especially if he 

 raises and trains his own pup, can learn more from his dog than he can teach it. 



One of the first and most important lessons has to do with that critical period between 

 the time a bird senses your approach and the moment he actually flushes. It is no accident 

 that a grouse usually flushes from the other side of a piece of brush, a tree, a stone wall or 

 whatever kind of cover is available. He has maneuvered himself into that position. A pup 

 will often come to a staunch point and hold it expectantly only to have a partridge get up a 

 long ways ahead and, usually, beyond a screen of cover. The pup and his master soon 

 learn that she was pointing where a bird had been when first approached. In the meantime 

 the bird had quietly sneaked ahead until able to fly safely away. As a dog gains in expe- 

 rience, the first point is often momentary, followed by a series of starts and stops along a 

 partridge's trail until the final point is made, indicating that the bird has reached his jumping 

 off place. By fixing one's eyes on a point well ahead of the dog it is often possible to guess 

 where that jumping off place is and then for the hunter to approach from a converging angle 

 in such a way as to disorganize the bird's strategy and force him to jump so that he will offer 

 a fair shot. It is usually a mistake, if the cover is at all heavy, to walk directly ahead of a 

 dog on a line with its nose. To do so means that you are flushing the bird from the angle he 

 expects, thus leaving him master of the situation. 



This sort of team play between man and dog is, to many hunters, the most exciting part 

 of grouse hunting and, gradually, both members of the team learn more and more about the 

 tricks a modern partridge has in his bag, all of which adds to the enjoyment of grouse hunt- 

 ing and contributes to the hunter's success. 



A hunter without a dog can still apply such lessons in a general way. If you are in a 

 covert, where you believe grouse to be, size it up before you walk through it: try to anticipate 

 the likely places for a bird to run to before flushing; and try to handle yourself and your 

 comj)anions in such a way that you will disorganize the bird and get a fair shot when it 

 flushes. The authors have observed several old time market hunters, individuals who always 

 hunt without a dog, who can do this to perfection. They are. in a sense, bird dogs them- 

 selves. 



Finally, from the conser\ation ])oint of view, it should be emphasized that many dead 

 and wounded birds left in the field could be recovered by the more general employment of 





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