DROP THE PROCESS ONE STEP DOWN
Now what I’m going to say here may not be digested by most of you out there. But hey, it’s just me and my moron thinking.
I got into petting a spaniel recently. There were many reasons for doing that but deep down inside, I kind of started feeling sorry for the sad state of gamebirds in Pakistan. The case is worse in north western frontiers. And so connecting the dots, I wanted to reduce my chances of bagging the birds while still out there taming the itch pursuing them.
And in thinking so, one possible initiative I could take was drop the process one step down. You know what I mean right? Well if not, let’s first dive into a field comparison of the two dog breeds i.e. Pointers and Spaniels, again just a general comparison to make a point here.
Pointers are probably the best gundog to date with many crowns. It’s a great companion, friendly, remarkable retriever, excellent tracking and above all the trade mark ’point’ ability. If you are following a dog that’s a pointer, you have a 100% chance of bird flushing out. Bagging or not goes out of the dog’s domain. But what it’s bred for, will make sure to deliver as it means business when in field.
Spaniels also carry a glorious history of beating the fields. Like pointers, they are great companions, very agile in the field, amazing retriever, remarkably sniffy and continuously checking back on the handler to maintain the desired distance. However, with lesser or no pointing abilities. And that’s where dropping the process one step down comes in.
I started to firmly believe that if any given field has a reduced number of gamebirds, whether due to climate change or excessive hunting pressures, a pointer will still ensure to drop them down. For a pointer’s job is to track and stop the bird from flushing unless told. That increases the chance of bagging a bird since the gunner comes prepared, focused and positioned before taking an informed shot.
With spaniels, that game drops down since they bypass the process of pointing and stopping the bird from flush. It will quarter the field, track and straight away poke the bird to flush out. There is no time for the gunner to get ready, stroke the dog gently, take his position and bang. No, a gunner has to be ready for a flush any given time. And that’s the point I’m trying to make. Reduce the chances of bagging a bird. Make an extempore attempt at an extempore flush. And chances are that the bird has a way out.
How hard does bagging a bird matter anyway? I know we all go out in the field for bagging a few wild birds but what if we reduce our chances of shooting every one of those that flush out in front of us? There are many elements to outdoors and hunting apart from shooting the bird. Friends, food, landscapes, sunsets and of course a few shots make it worthwhile. That total focus on shooting the birds is disastrous, the impact of which we are witnessing around us.
However, having a spaniel instead of pointer is a tough call these days. Our people have developed an obsession for pointers. And business in this niche has flourished at lot. Too many kennels and way too many huntomers. None wants to reduce the chance of bagging the bird. They want the last bird flushing down on earth. We all know empty bag once a while is part of the game anyway. It won’t matter much if we put a deliberate effort in making that happen in our hunting lives.
I seriously wish I make some sense here and I do appreciate your thoughts on this as well. Do drop by in the comments and give me a way of self-correction.