That will work; looks like I'm going to be out of town for sure (G-burg). So, we'll plan on next Saturday; I'm looking forward to it too.

We got one today; great point and retrieve. We walked A LOT of miles though in some of best looking areas you could dream of and nothing. We finally found one in some autumn olives toward the end of the day.

yeah, i definately cant go saturday...i think we may have found a dog for me. we get to go check it out and shoot some birds over it on saturday (me and my grandpaw).

one twist....its an english pointer. when my pap told me that last night i looked at him with a half cautious eye, because i know that these are quail dogs for the most part, and most have a pretty wide range. but he said the reason he thinks he was able to get this dog was because she has a lot closer range than a typical english pointer. i guess we'll see just how much "closer" means on saturday. he said she was 4-5 years old and had a lot of hunting experience on both quail and grouse, both pen raised and wild but mostly wild. hopefully i can take her home weekend after this one, if she hunts the way im hoping she will. guess we'll see.

another thing thats keeping my mind busy is trying to find a good O/U shotgun at an affordable price. so far the only ones ive really found are a o/u mossberg and a stoeger o/u, both at a pretty modest 500 bucks. everything else ive looked at (benelli, franchi, berreta, browning, etc etc etc) have been in the 1700-4000 range. im trying to find something for a grand or less. i dont know about buying a used one, well just because. i guess i dont know what to really watch out for when buying a used gun. any advice?

I would pay real close attention to the dog and its range as you mentioned; it will range farther in a field then it will in the woods. If it isn't whistle broke and/or has a wide range, I would stay away from it. You'll never kill a grouse with a fast, wide-ranging dog.

Let's see, I'm not much of an O/U guy; I have two Benelli Auto's: Super Black Eagle 12 ga., Montefeltro 20 ga. I use the 12 w/IC choke for grouse and the 20 for quail. I like having three fast rounds to throw at the grouse! If you decided to go the direction of an auto, any used Benelli, Beretta or Franchi is going to be an incredible gun. Oh, you can't go wrong with one of the old Browning Auto 5's or even a Rem. 1100. IF you don't want to spend a lot of money, the Stoeger 2000 with about a 26" barrell would be a great grouse gun. It has the same Interia system as the Benelli and can be used for turkey as well. Hmmmmm, if it were me and I had $1000 to spend, I would w/out a doubt go for a Benelli 12 ga. They have the perfect fit and feel... The best deals I have found have been at Todd's Guns in London and at Evan's Firearms in Lexington. Todd's will meet or beat any price you find.

yeah im going to watch her real close. hickory said that for an english pointer she has an incredibly close range. another thing ive heard about this breed is that they are hard, hard hunting dogs. as soon as they get out of the vehicle they go straight to work. i know she is whistle broke too. i cant wait for saturday. hick said shes had many grouse shot over her, so keep your fingers crossed

you mentioned stoeger on the gun question. my buddy brought his new mossberg O/U up last night and i loved it. and for the price (around 500) you cant beat it. i was looking at a stoeger though, a condor supreme combo. it came with 2 sets of barrels, a 12 gauge barrel and a 20 gauge that are interchangeable. are they usually pretty reliable guns? i think the condor supreme combo was only like 650 bucks. im debating on getting it, will probably stop at dave and rexs today here in corbin (they are a dealer) to see how it feels.

If I had to pick between the two; I'd probably pick the lightest one as they are going to be pretty similar in quality IMHO. I'll be at the Bass Pro this weekend and will take a look at them.

Hey, I'm looking for a Belgium Browning Sweet Sixteen auto. I want it to be in good-great shape with no cracks in the wood or major scratches. Normal blueing wear is fine. Let me know if you see or hear of any.

yeah i reckon we're going to BP on sunday. only 16 gauge i own is an LC smith side by side 16. love it though, its probably what ill be hunting with til i can get an o/u. ill keep my ears and eyes open for ya

im gonna try to decide between a mossberg and stoeger O/U. have a good weekend!

pace

the dog handled wonderful man. i was beyond impressed. it was close like the man had said, and worked no more than 60-70 yards in the field. i remember the first point, she was zig-zagging back and forth and almost tripped over herself to go on point. tail straight up, wagging back and forth occasionally. but her body was statue like, face turned in the direction of the bird. the quail were hiding low and very hard to see. wayne (owner of white rock kennels where im getting her) showed me how to tap her on the back and say 'aight' to make her move closer. at one point she was right on top of a quail and still didnt grab it. wayne is a heck of a dog trainer. this dog is perfect for me. she is completely woah broke. she knows what 'leave it' means, and as soon as i missed the first quail and it flew out of sight she knew to leave it alone. she is trained on whistle. he said she will back another dog and has had a few grouse shot over her this season, and was a 3-time field trial champion (forgot which trails he said, but one was a shoot to retrieve trial). and she had a super soft mouth. the second quail i clipped and brought it down but it was still alive, and she brought it to my hand as gentle as can be. i paid half down, paying the rest saturday and taking her home saturday. hunting sunday...all day. i think benny collins is taking me to a 'sweet spot', so hopefully we'll get some birds in the bag!

man between that dog and the new ATV i have had one heck of a weekend.

CONGRATS!! It sounds like you've ended up with a heck of a dog for sure!

Hey I was at the BassPro Sunday too...it was crowded! It's big, but I don't like how it's laid out really; the one in Cincy is easier to get around in and locate the different departments. Have you been to the Gander Mtn. in Knoxville? My buddies have been and said they have a ton of guns and upland stuff. I think I'm going to go for a visit after Christmas.

Oh, I moved three and killed one yesterday. Good luck on your hunt this weekend.

yeah...i didnt know there was a gander mtn in knoxville? awesome man...i gotta go check that out.

im getting an upland jacket for xmas that has the stretchy stuff around the armpits for increased motion and flexability. gotta get a beeper collar for sure...and soon! and a shock collar as well. although im iffy about it....while i know some i dont know a ton about exactly when and how much to use a shock collar, and my pap says that a lot of good dogs have been ruined by people who dont know how to properly use one. i may wait a while on it.

yeah we're definately gonna have to get after some birds. i think me and my friend cobb are gonna go christmas eve and try to check out some of the spots ive seen. you and me will definately have to get a trip in before season is over though!

Moved five today; four points and killed one. Man, I was in some thick stuff..... The young dog made a super retrieve and the bird was flapping his head the whole way! That's exactly what he needs!

sounds awesome...man i cant wait for the weekend so i can finally go