My friend and i Ricky Moore, had a wonderful time wild bird hunting in west tx. we learned alot of things about our dogs and how to hunt in tx. I had always heard stories of the terrain and weather conditions in the panhandle but i was not prepared for what i found. the weather was dry, the terrain, with its sandspurs, cactus, and small pinoaks, was awful on the dogs. I did find out that my website is not completely accurate. It says that a dog that can hunt in the south can hunt anywhere, well they cannot hunt anywhere. The conditions in the panhandle are so much different, that only three of my dogs out of seven maybe four could master the terrain in the panhandle. My friend and I took 15 dogs between us by the end of the third day all but 1 was completely wasted, I suggest that anyone going hunting out west spend alot of time getting your dogs in shape before you leave, carry plenty of water for you and your dogs, especially your dogs. The biggest mistake we made was leaving dogs on the ground to long, and not watering them enough. When we arrived after a 16 hr. trip my two older dogs and one young dog was sick, it was the second day before we could use these dogs. When I returned home I took them to the vet, he couldn't find anything wrong with them, he blamed it on the stress of the ride.
For anyone hunting in the panhandle, do your homework because you need to hunt where you can use an atv, to ride and carry extra dogs, you will need it. I did learn that no matter how many pups you have in a litter, there will not be many that can hunt in the panhandle.
P.S. I WILL BE GOING BACK OUT WEST FOR IN TWO DAYS I FOUND MORE BIRDS THAT I DID THE WHOLE SEASON IN ALABAMA.
Welcome to my world. I live in Lubbock and hunt the Rolling Plains. You are correct that dogs that aren't from around here don't know how to handle it. I am lucky in the fact that my dogs don't know any better. By the way, where exactly were yall hunting? Did you find many birds? We have been having a very strong year so far. Let's just hope it carries over into the new year.
We were hunting in the area around paducah, tx we hunted 1and 1/2 hr the first day and then we hunted for 2 full days we found around 25 coveys. I would like to here more about your country leave me your phone number.
Feel free to give me a call anytime. Just e-mail me and I'll get you my number.
I hunt the area around Paducah 3-4 times per year. We typically find quite a few birds up there. I am on a lease about 50 miles Southwest of there that has been quite productive this year. A late night last night is the only reason I am writing this message instead of out chasing birds right now.
Peter
This message has been edited by Okie-Logan on Jan 4, 2005 4:40 PM