LAST EDITED ON Mar-28-12 AT 11:50PM (MST)[p]My Brittney was named George. I took him deer hunting with me, here in Northern Cali. one dog is legal, from a young pup and worked him with visual, talking to him about the deer he'd see, saying if they were a buck or doe, and on the blood, by taking him to every deer kill that i knew of that year. When i'd be dressing out a deer, again with the "buck" and i'd grab his horns and open the bucks legs so my pup was sure to know what was on the ground was a "buck". I also aways discounted the sightings of Does, as if they weren't important, and that paid off down the road some.
His third year, it was known through-out our local hunting fraternity that George was one buck hunting SOB. Guys with bucks that couldn't be found came and got me and my dog. I can't recall ever not finding a buck that we set out on blood. I was even offered good money to change my plans so as we'd do the service for others. One Buck that was shot thru the side of the neck was trailed by george hours later. Over three miles the bloodless trail took George until he jumped the buck up, the buck came my way with the fear of fire in his eyes and George squeal yapping on his tail, made for a easy finishing shot and a happy hunter who'd thought that buck lost for sure.
George loved jumping bucks out of tight cover too. Some good sized manzinita patches around here hold lots of deer that stage before heading on down to the winter ranges and refuge. A man or two on foot alone might see a few deer but with George working ahead of us like a good bird dog, every deer on a hillside would be very concerned and we'd likely see them all. I also can't count the times that George would run bucks back my way. He always knew where i was, never ranged off more than a couple hundred yards if that and he seemed to automatically know how he could help me in the best way.
One more thing and i care less if you believe it or not, George never once, that i remember, barked while jumping up a doe but he'd squeal-bark like the dickens when he was pushing a buck.
He was my hunting Pard for seven years and got to be pretty famous in these parts. I don't know who ran over him, didn't really want to know. He'd climb his 8 foot fence like a monkey if there was a girl dog in heat nearby and sometimes there was just no keeping him in.
Now, i was awful partial to that Brit and i've done my share of bragging on him but i swear to God himself, everything i've said here and more is a true deal! That dog could hunt!
Joey
"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"