Hunting Fort Riley in Kansas from left were Conner Greening, Nicholas Dombrowski, SGM Mark Dombrowski (active duty, Nicholas’s father), Tom Greening (PF member and Tom’s father), Alan Hynek, (PF member; Fort Riley Conservation Branch Chief ) and Shawn Carlson, (PF member).

Three gun dogs struck point, hard, not 10 feet before me. I pulled up my 20 ga. just before a bobwhite broke right. My first shot was behind, but the second put him down.

It was an exciting moment at the Fort Riley Army Base with the Fort Riley Pheasants Forever chapter in south central Kansas. I was also hunting last Friday with members of

Alas, the author with the last bird of the 2011-12 hunting season. Farewell, it was a good one. Let's hope 2012-13 is as good.

the Flint Hills Quail Forever chapter. Both chapters work hard to improve habitat for quail at the 100,656-acre Fort Riley Army Base, most of which is open to public hunting for a small fee.

For you history buffs, the fort was founded in 1853 and was named after Major General Bennett C. Riley, who ran interference against understandably upset Native Americans on the besieged Santa Fe Trail. The base, home to about 25,000 people on any given day, was also once home to the late General George Armstrong Custer.

Not only was the quail hunting exciting at times, but the live fire too. Yes, at one point we were directly beneath the flight path of 105mm artillery shells flying overhead. We also heard 50 cal. machine gunfire off in the distance. Of course, we were hunting far from any firing or impact zones. It was fascinating, though. I always wondered what real artillery fire sounded like. My thanks to our armed forces at Fort Riley and elsewhere, especially overseas, for their service!

As we hunted the expansive prairie and wood lots, civilian Alan Hynek, Fort Riley PF chapter leader and base conservation branch chief, explained the many things the chapter is doing to improve habitat for quail, but also for pheasants, prairie chickens, elk, deer and endangered Topeka shiners, piping plovers, least terns and much more. The chapter’s work includes controlled burns, native plant restoration, food plots, tree control, base youth hunts and much more.

Read more about this interesting adventure in coming issues of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever magazines. If you can’t wait to learn more about Kansas, attend our National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic Feb. 17-19 in Kansas City.

The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever
Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

I'd like to see a pink bow-wearing Pembroke Welsh corgi (#11) fish five quacks out of the Platte River on a cold fall day like this springer recently did in Nebraska -- then sit there looking for more!

Stanley Coren wrote a book “The Intelligence of Dogs,” where he describes three types of dog intelligence:

• Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability). This is specific to the individual animal and is measured by canine IQ tests.
• Instinctive Intelligence. This is specific to the individual animal and is measured by canine IQ tests.
• Working/Obedience Intelligence. This is breed-dependent.

Coren is a neuropsychologist and professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia who has published articles in medical journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Public Health and Sleep. He has appeared on numerous television programs including Good Morning America, CNN, The Osgood Files and The Today Show. (Maybe we should get him on PF TV!)

Here is where bird dogs checked in at in his Top 25 ranking:

2. Poodle

4. Golden retriever

7. Labrador retriever

13. English springer spaniel

17. German shorthaired pointer

18. Tie: Flat-coated retriever, English cocker spaniel

19. Brittany

20. Cocker spaniel

21. Weimaraner

24. Irish water spaniel

25. Vizsla

Other gun dog rankings were Chesapeake Bay retriever #27, Gordon setter #34, Irish setter #35, English setter and Clumber spaniel #37, German wirehaired pointer and American water spaniel #44, wirehaired pointing griffon #46, and beagle #72.

What do you think dog guys? I mean, is a Shetland sheepdog (#6) smarter than a Lab; the English setter really down there at #37 and the griffon 47? Setters rock in my world.

My beloved springer a 12? A lot of the hounds on the list I’d never heard of! I mean, what the heck is a Pembroke Welsh corgi (#11) and a Schipperke Belgian sheepdog (#15)? I’ve watched sheep afield and at shows many times and they are easy to herd. They are dumb as rocks. I wonder if Coren has ever hunted with a good gun dog? Brits #19 and Vizsla #25? Hmmmmmmmmmm? I’m thinking not.

The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever
Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

Note the different black bar width on these two rooster tales. What does it mean?

PF Pheasant Blog reader David Stengel posted a question on my last  post (December 2, Aging
Your Roosters & Tail Tidbits) about rooster tail bars, you know, those black stripes. “Does the thickness of the black bars on the tail feathers have any meaning?”

Here’s a response from Todd Bogenschutz, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Upland
Wildlife Research Biologist:

“The barring does not mean anything.  There is a lot of variability in barring width, number, whether barring lines up or is offset, etc.  The photo shows feathers from two different young of the year roosters.  Notice the variability in bar width, number, spacing etc. Tail feather length is a function of genetics and nutrition, much as in deer antlers.  Certainly older deer generally have bigger racks, and two or three year-old-roosters generally have longer tails and, thus, likely more bars.  The barring does not provide any indication of age.”

The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever
Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

Here in Minnesota (I work at PF’s national office in  the Twin Cities), hunting late season in Iowa used to be as big a tradition as  the Vikings losing the Super Bowl. Iowa’s pheasant season once extended well  after Minnesota’s closed. Since those days, however, Iowa pheasant habitat and hunting has generally declined in most areas – like many other states.

Northwest Iowa’s Three Rivers Chapter has worked hard to preserve quality habitat and they’ve still got quality pheasant hunting because of it. Here is some of the chapter gents after a hunt last week with Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Herwig. Kneeling from left are Larry Wibben, Dustin Timmerman and Craig Van Otterloo; standing from left are Sean Grotewold, Tim Dammann and Jeff Schram.

But, let’s not dwell on the negative just now. Rather, I’d like to report the folks at the Three Rivers chapter have worked hard to improve their public lands and the birds have survived. We hit only one public site where we saw no roosters, but there were hens. We probably bagged half our 11 birds on public land and the other half at two private sites. We missed some birds and saw more roosters flushing long along with numerous hens.

Our hunting conditions were great: a few inches of snow to tamp down the grasses, but not enough to bog down your feet; temps in the 20s so both hunters and dogs could walk long and hard and remain comfortable; and the habitat was great…diverse and tall in places for the birds to hide and stay warm, while other areas were more open for easier walking. It
was also great to see beaver sign along the creeks, deer, Hun tracks, short-eared owls, bald eagles and many fur-bearer sign.

We also hunted through a unique and thriving oak and walnut planting done by agency partners with chapter help to benefit deer, turkey, waterfowl and non-game species alike. I can see why this chapter is successful. At a get-acquainted dinner the night before our hunt, 25 folks showed up to meet the PF editor. This chapter is organized and motivated. Thanks to Pheasants Forever’s Western Iowa Regional Representative, John Linquist, for arranging my visit with the Three Rivers Chapter.

Lastly, I  visited an impressive and growing project taking place on either side of the northwest Iowa-South Dakota border where about 700 acres have been protected so far. The interesting thing is both states are pushing for the area, which includes a very large and ancient native American site, to be expanded and protected as either a national monument or park. Thanks to Craig Van Otterloo, chapter habitat chair and Lyon County Conservation Board director, for giving me a tour. Stay tuned to Pheasants Forever Journal next year for more details on this exciting project.

The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and
Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, with a favorite dog and bird.

In a year when overall pheasant numbers are down, one would presume that of the roosters still out there, a few old birds would be in the mix. But how can you tell if you’ve bagged one of these field veterans?

Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said there are no field methods of determining the exact age of a rooster other than its general hatch year (HY – less than a year old) or after hatch year (AHY – more than 1 year old). 

One method to determine HY or AHY is by field testing beak hardness, or in the words of a biologist, “lower mandible ossification.” Here’s how: Lift the bird by its lower beak. An adult rooster’s beak will support its weight bounced once or twice, while juveniles will bend or break.

 Exception to the rule: Past about Thanksgiving, the accuracy of these field tests falls off substantially, as early hatched birds will have spurs over half an inch and their lower bills will have ossified.

 Also, Bogenschutz said, in any given fall, approximately 80 percent of the rooster population is HY birds. 

 Spur length is another way to determine if it’s a HY or AHY bird. Spurs vary in length from just a small nub on very young birds to more than ¾ of an inch (including leg bone) on adult birds. As a guide, if the spur is less than a ¾-inch in length, including the leg bone, the bird is a young-of-the-year. If the spur is more than ¾-inch long, including the leg bone, the bird is an adult. As a last resort measurement, of sorts, if the spur is black, shiny and sharply pointed, the bird is an adult.

 For those of you who wonder how a rooster comes by its magnificent or miserly tail, Bogenschutz said tail length is determined by a combination of genetics, nutrition, age and habitat where the bird lives. Moral of the story: Get out there and help establish more quality pheasant habitat by volunteering with your local Pheasants Forever chapter.

 Thanks for the heads up Boggie!

 Bogenschutz joined Iowa’s Boone County Pheasants Forever Chapter committee right after attending his first banquet in 1995. He was president for six years and banquet coordinator for another 12 years. 

 The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

This chukar was bagged in its native land of Turkey by PF enthusiast Mehmet Ekizoglu.

In 2008, Turkish citizen Mehmet Ekizoglu traveled to Illinois to visit the Champaign County Chapter of Pheasants Forever and learn about how they do upland bird habitat conservation. I did a story on Mehmet’s visit in PF’s Fall Preview 2008 issue. Since then, Mehmet and I have stayed in touch via email. This week Mehmet emailed (Turkish time is 8 hours later than Central Time) me some photos from a chukar hunt he did the other day in Cankiri county in the Central Anatolia portion of Turkey. Unlike the United States, the chukar is native from Israel and Turkey through Afghanistan to India and along the inner ranges of the Western Himalayas to Nepal. I’ve hunted chukar in Utah, and was thrilled to hear about a hunt in this very challenging bird’s native land. You can see from the landscape photo that Turkish chukars live in the same dry short grass, high country habitat they inhabit here in the states. From here, I’ll let Mehmet tell the story. You can tell from several comments that he is a caring wildlife conservationist:

“Our hunt was in very rugged and beautiful country. The Hungarian partridge is under protection in this area, so we didn’t shoot them. I killed chukars and did fairly well in shooting. I used a Beretta 12-gauge semi-auto.

At the end of the day, I was fully covered with the seeds of native herbs, flowers and thorns all over my clothing. I didn’t clean myself until I get to a (bare soil) roadside and there I left the most of those seeds. I guess I was a good transfer agent for those native wild flowers.

This chukar country in the bird's native Turkey isn't all that different than where the bird is found in the American west.

I hunted with an elderly friend who owns a shotgun shell company here. He can’t walk very much, but I tried to flush the birds for him. We didn’t use bird dogs this time. I tried to guess the whereabouts of chukars. The birds were in good shape, which means that there was little hunting pressure. Dressing the killed birds, I found out that they’d eaten the crops from the neighboring wheat fields and native grass seeds. Chukar is one of the wild birds that can adapt to farming. The bird still needs a place for nesting and cover, though.

I prepared the meat in the evening. I sauteed the vegetables first and roasted the chukar. I then put them altogether in a heated oven and waited for the meat to get brown. I served the birds with rice on a plate with bread and an olive oil dip.”

I’d love to hunt with Mehmet someday in Turkey. Who knows, perhaps someday he’ll start and chapter there and I can go! Thanks Mehmet for a great story and photos.

 The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

I define a Royal Flush as bagging three wild, fair chase roosters without moving your feet. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it is one of the biggest thrills in the pheasant hunting world.

My last Royal Flush happened on a piece of CRP habitat managed by the chapter near Oshkosh. It was sunny, 60-degrees and a decent wind was blowing in from our right – not ideal for the dogs. We were pushing the field and had flushed a single rooster about halfway. I didn’t shoot since the bird flew low near a dog.

Thanks to the hard work of these Antelope Valley PF Chapter members, from left Youth Coordinator Larry Schwartzkopf, Treasurer Terry McCord and Habitat Chair Dave Cook, we had a great hunt near Oshkosh, Nebraska.

As we continued, several dogs, including my springer, Hunter, were tacking toward the far right corner. It held thick, high grass next to a similarly dense shelterbelt of tall cedars – not something roosters like to fly into. I knew this looked good and was ready. I was not disappointed. Field ends often provide hot action, but usually not like this.

As we got within about 20 yards of the belt, the birds started to flush in rapid succession. About 10 birds broke, mostly roosters, literally at my feet, with some a few yards out. First, I dropped one to my left, then a bit right of center and then straight away behind me! One, two, three….a Nebraska limit in about 10 seconds. Wow, what a thrill.

My first Royal Flush happened about 12 years ago when my hunting buddies pushed a sorghum strip to me as I posted – perhaps not a true Royal, but close. The second Royal occurred when my late springer, Wolf, led me to a similar flock in another CRP field in 2002.

Have you ever scored a rooster Royal Flush? If so, when and where and how long did it take for your heart rate to slow?  What are your other incredible rooster shooting memories?

The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.

I proceeded to get my springer, Hunter, all wound up and in a fight’en mood for those tricky, hard running roosters. I used all those words that really get Hunter going: “Where’re the birds Hunter?” “Want to go hunting?” “What’s that?” I’ll also scruff up his head with my hand, lift him up some by the chest and rustle my foot in the brush.

How do you get your gun dog pumped for the hunt?

I’d even pull up my gun in a mock swing on a bird. That really gets him leaping in the air, twirling around, standing out looking for a bird, barking and generally whipped into a bird hunting frenzy.

One fellow hunter asked “whaz up?”

“I’m inciting the Hunter,” I exclaimed.

I want my dog to know I’m very excited for the hunt and that he should be excited too…….more excited than he usually is. I want to imbue my enthusiasm into him. I think this ritual gets my dogs more excited to hunt, more intense and preps them more for the hunting rigors to come.

“Inciting” helps get my dogs to the top of their game, and me too. Springers are energetic to begin with, but I really think inciting them gets them to the next level of enthusiasm.

What do you do to get your dog pumped up for the hunt or do you think such a ritual will get your dog too wound up and out of control?

North Dakota's Knife River PF Chapter has the birds thanks to their hard work for habitat. From left is the author and Hunter, Kurt Swenson, Jim Bonderud and longtime chapter President Bill Wagner.

I just returned from a visit with the Knife River Pheasants Forever chapter in west central North Dakota (north of Bismarck). I visit some of our top chapters every fall to do stories on their hard work for conservation and to hunt some of their wildlife habitat projects.

         Despite all the talk about low bird numbers, five of us bagged our limits (three birds each) in about a half day. I must say, our group was all good shots and all had good dogs. I’ll add here that my new springer, Hunter, had a break out hunt, performing as good as my late, great springer, Wolf, ever did at his peak. I think my hard work training him all summer paid off, but it also seems to take until a gun dog’s fourth year before they really put it all together.

         We hunted CRP, big and small; food plots big and small; river ways; public and private land. It was the kind of hunt I really love: hard dog work between spread out flushes. On one drive, Hunter was hot on the trail. The bird got way out and Hunter went after him. I reluctantly called him back with the tone on his e-collar. I worried it would discourage him. We kept walking toward the bird. We soon passed over a shallow, thistle-choked waterway in a big CRP field. Hunter immediately worked back into the waterway. I knew he had the goods on the runnin’ rooster. Sure enough, after some fast tracking work, Hunter pushed the rooster up and then made a great retrieve.

         Instead of the tone discouraging Hunter, he self-corrected on the next hard running bird and held off until I caught up. That’s a veteran move. That rooster ended up in the bag too.

An Illinois pheasant hunt, circa 1960.

Ed Alepra of Kewanee, Illinois, shared this photo of a November 1960 pheasant hunt near Dwight, Illinois. From left are Ed’s cousin Dick, his younger brother Ken with a nice side-by-side blunderbuss, his late father, the old family setter (13) and Ed.

Can you name this classic shotgun? (Hint: Collectors consider early versions from this company to be among the best shotguns every made in the U.S.A.)

Answer: The gun is a LeFever Nitro Special 12 ga. LeFever started working on guns in New York in 1850s as an apprentice. He then started making his own muzzleloaders, and in 1862, made long-range rifles for the U.S. Army during the Civil War. He started making breech loading side-by-side shotguns in 1870. In 1883 D. M. LeFever patented the first truly automatic hammerless shotgun.

 In the early 1920s, after LeFever was purchased by the Ithaca Gun Company, they used the LeFever name to market an inexpensive gun, the “LeFever Nitro Special,” that was of their own design and having nothing to do with D. M. LeFever except to exploit his name. These were manufactured until the early 1940s. Today, many collectors consider original “D.M. LeFever” guns to be the finest ever produced in America.

The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.