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Project Upland, in our continued effort to serve our community in new and innovative ways while seeking to lower the barriers of entry into upland hunting, is pleased to publish PROJECTUPLAND.COM ON THE GO. In order to make our content easier to access in more diverse ways, we now publish audio versions of our growing library of online written content. It is our hope that, by creating a new pathway to access the materials we produce, we strengthen our community and bring it closer together.
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Project Upland Magazine
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The Irish Setter, like many dog breeds, has a history filled with complex twists and turns that have shaped the dog we love today. Irish Setters descend from the same rootstock that gave rise to all the setter breeds, but there is good reason to believe they may be the oldest of them all. The spaniels that became setting dogs were in Ireland since …
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When hunting in black duck country, a thermos full of coffee is mandatory—not for the caffeine or warmth but to keep your spirits up. On the marshes where black ducks live, they make up the bulk of every bird you see. The problem is, they want nothing to do with you. Of the over two dozen duck species that migrate along the Atlantic Flyway, the bla…
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Our modern hunting dog breeds have been around for roughly 150 years and, in that time, people have created countless divisions based on politics, preferences, and differing opinions on the best way to create the perfect hunting dog. These divisions yielded a broad spectrum of options when it comes to choosing a hunting dog that works best for you.…
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Project Upland Magazine
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Depending on how you choose to look at it, my very first day in the Maine grouse woods with Lincoln was either an embarrassment of riches, or just an embarrassment. I had only bagged one ruffed grouse before that trip, the precious end result of miles and miles of hiking in the rough West Virginia mountains a few hours from our home. While I took g…
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Most people associate American woodcock with the Northwoods. However, they are common throughout the entire eastern half of the United States over the course of their fall and spring migrations. During the woodcock migration, these plump, bug-eyed brown birds utilize very similar habitat types across each state, albeit habitat that is comprised of …
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Brittanies are the fulfillment of a French dream to build a better bird dog. I am sure that if those old braconniers from La Bretagne could see the breed today, they would be thrilled to know that Brittanies have conquered the world. I’ve seen Brittanies in European trials. I’ve shot roosters and ruffed grouse over Sporty, Bandit, and Buster, three…
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Field goldens typify these traits and more. For instance, field goldens have all the affection of a show golden, but with the sky-watching, duck-loving, cold-water-plunging nature of a lab. Field goldens don’t lumber. They glide like a German Shorthair. Their thick necks and brawny shoulders taper down into sleek frames like that of a cheetah. Unli…
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Have you ever returned to a quail hunting spot later in the season and failed to find the birds that provided such a great hunt just weeks before? Whether it’s a public wildlife area, a Walk-In Hunting Area (WIHA) in Kansas, or any other type of publicly accessible property in whatever state, there are definitely strategies that hunters should cons…
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Perhaps no upland game bird embodies the ruggedness of western hunting better than the chukar. They inhabit the wild, mountainous terrain that defines the vast wilderness of the Great Basin, the high desert, and the inland northwest—places where water is scarce and survival depends on adaptation to the harsh environment. Because of the physical cha…
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Thousands of hunters venture afield across the Midwest on the opening weekend of pheasant season. Opening weekend is a tradition, and regardless of the state agency’s pheasant population reports, hunters head out in pursuit of wily roosters. Although, in the case of opening weekend, plenty of roosters have yet to reach the status of “wily.” The fac…
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We sat on the tailgate of my pickup overlooking a cover we had just hunted on a late October day as the sunset. The whistling sound of woodcock wings began while the sky still held mute signs of the sun hidden behind the mountains. We counted the birds with excitement. One after another, a tangle of “there is another” and “here comes two” was compl…
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One of the most important things I have found while navigating the wilderness with a toddler in tow is involving them in the activity. No, this doesn’t mean having your toddler go and retrieve birds for you. Instead, it means something as simple as listening to different songbirds while hunting and asking, “Did you hear that?” or identifying differ…
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What makes an ideal grouse gun, or what Gene Hill would call “a gun of specialist function?” Does action type matter? What about gauge? How does the environment play into it? How has the modernization of gun-making changed grouse guns? How different is a grouse gun from a clays gun? How different is a gun built for ruffed grouse hunting versus shot…
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Birds primarily rely on sight and sound to evade predators. We know that ruffed grouse are far more jumpy in high winds because their hearing is impaired. Living in dense cover has heightened their dependence on sound. In my opinion, their sense of hearing is often greater than sight. When we factor in transgenerational stress inheritance, we gain …
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If I could smell a bird, walk effortlessly through thick brush, and cover ten times as much ground as the average human, Woodcock hunting would be a breeze. If I had a dog which could do all these things, Woodcock hunting would be even more of a breeze. Unfortunately I can’t smell birds, I’m a slow walker, and I don’t have a dog. The problem is tha…
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One of the most constantly changing topics in the field of veterinary medicine is flea and tick prevention for dogs. Hunting dogs are some of the most exposed and susceptible victims to ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas, mites and other insects. Every year, it is important to purchase preventative products for your dog and to ask your veterinarian…
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Generally speaking, grassland grouse are not the most adaptable critters. Both prairie chicken species need large expanses of grassland, while sage grouse must have large expanses of sagebrush to thrive. The one exception to this rule is the sharp-tailed grouse. While generally considered a grassland species, sharpies range from the shrub-scrub gra…
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During my childhood in southern New Hampshire, kids competed to shoot a limit of “pa’tridge,” my brother and myself included. I admit, I lost just about every time to my older brother. However, we thought shooting the limit was a good idea. After all, it was the 80s. These birds gave an air of boundless existence. Hunting the droves of ruffed grous…
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Sage-grouse need large, connected, and mostly treeless swaths of sagebrush to survive. Without this, sage-grouse cease to exist. It’s that simple. Sage-grouse are what scientists and biologists call a sagebrush obligate species. You can’t have sage-grouse without sage. Sage-grouse occupy western sagebrush (Artemisia sp.) prairies of California, Nev…
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Each September, an inexplicable reverence stirs within me as I patiently await the chance to roam Wyoming’s boundless public lands in pursuit of the bird that holds my heart—the iconic sage grouse. There’s something almost spiritual about stepping into the vast sea of sagebrush and feeling the landscape’s timeless pull. For many hunters, pursuing t…
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Recently, the states of Nebraska and South Dakota have been getting most of the attention from hunters seeking to pursue greater prairie-chickens. This makes a lot of sense, given the good population of birds in these states and the abundance of publicly accessible land available to hunt. However, Kansas has long been a leader in greater prairie-ch…
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It was late September, the Minnesotan air was cool, and Ruffed Grouse were on my mind. We had just thrown our hunting gear in the back of the pickup, ready to head out for a day of chasing dogs through grouse cover, when my cell phone began to vibrate. Normally, I would let it go to voicemail. However, having only just walked out of the camp, my fi…
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Spruce grouse are not often–if ever–regarded as the King of the Uplands. They suffer a perception forced upon them by those of us accustomed to pursuing ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, chukar, or any of the various quail species that inhabit our countrysides. They are renowned for their dim-wittedness, weak flush, and poo…
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Clapper rails don’t sing. They cackle. It’s a guttural call emanating from somewhere deep within each tiny bird that reverberates with enough force to trigger a cascade. Once one rail calls, every rail within earshot erupts into its own chorus. The cacophony sends a ripple through the salt marsh and shatters its peaceful silence like glass. Today, …
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To bird dog aficionados, names like Elhew Snakefoot, Count Noble, Shadowoaks Bo, and Manitoba Rap are well known. But to the average person, the names of dogs in our hall of fame mean absolutely nothing at all. But there are a few dogs from hunting breeds that have achieved fame beyond the bird dog world. Let’s have a look at some of the most celeb…
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September 1 is one of the most popular hunting dates in the United States. In many states, it’s the opening day of dove season, which is the start of upland hunting for many wing shooting enthusiasts. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) sets a range of dates, season lengths, and bag limits that states can choose from to harvest dove…
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Is it a fuzzy face infatuation that pulls at your heartstrings? Or is it that your dog is a bird-finding machine? For most, it’s probably a combination of the two. When deciding to breed or not to breed, be honest with your motivations. That adorable face comes with heavy liabilities and responsibilities. Unfortunately, the fact that you’re in love…
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A dog conditioned for big runs in the open prairie with relatively flat terrain may not fare as well in the mountains chasing chukar or the thick brambles of the north country chasing ruffed grouse and woodcock. When the training grounds don’t match the hunting conditions, it’s like training for a marathon but running a Tough Mudder instead. The bo…
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Getting a willful, prey-driven hunting dog to heel can be difficult at first. It is one of the most common reasons a handler loses their prize one in the NAVHDA testing system. It’s also one of the reasons owners avoid stimulating environments while walking their dog. The drive within our hunting dogs is the putty from which we play. Because heelin…
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Doves are the highest-harvested game bird in the United States, with over 10 million bagged annually. The high harvest rate isn’t surprising, considering dove hunting season is the first hunting season to open for most wing shooters. However, the dove’s widespread range no doubt contributes to the large harvest. They can be found in nearly every st…
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When acting selfishly while playing youth sports, the common phrase “there’s no I in team” was repeatedly thrown around. My coaches insisted I trust others with the ball to develop good teamwork. But giving up the ball didn’t come naturally. I often got “the eye” from my coaches, revealing their disappointment in my lack of team play. They’d use va…
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The recall is an extremely important ritual we have with our dogs. When called, the dog quickly and directly finds its position either in front or to our side. It happily and thoughtlessly finds its position, returning as excitedly as it went out and finishing with robotic consistency; something that has been groomed into it since the day it came h…
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Like most parents, I hope my children will share my interests so we can enjoy them together. As a passionate upland hunter, I dream of days spent in the field nurturing their curiosity, instilling a desire for conservation, and fostering a profound respect and appreciation for the game birds we pursue. There’s a special kind of magic and responsibi…
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Vintage shotguns can be particular with the kinds of shotgun shells you put through them. In a world filled with high-velocity, heavy payload shells, the difficulty of finding lighter loads can take away some of the allure of owning a classic. But it shouldn’t stop you. There’s something warm and cozy about hunting with a 50-, 75-, or even 100-year…
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“Suddenly into the middle of the coterie of breeders a bombshell was flung, so startling as to cause a violent upheaval of all the old theories, and a complete revolution in setter breeding, the effects of which have lasted to the present day.” —Walter Baxendale Walter Baxendale’s “bombshell” was a man named Edward Laverack, now universally regarde…
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In May of 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new rules governing dog imports into the United States. The rules are aimed at standardizing the process between countries and preventing the introduction of canine rabies into the U.S., but the broad-sweeping changes will have lasting impacts on breed clubs that de…
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I can’t help but stare through the conference room’s glass curtain wall, in awe of some of the world’s most productive wetlands on Earth. This morning, the frozen wetlands are blanketed in snow after this winter’s biggest storms pounded the area, which is great for recharging those wetlands later in the year. During spring, summer, and fall, these …
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My first-ever interaction with an English Springer Spaniel was when my wife, Emily, brought one home. When considering which dog breed our first hunting dog should be, we ultimately landed on the one with which Emily was most familiar. She grew up with Springers, and consequently, that is where we landed. At that time, we weren’t aware of the diffe…
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“Where were you last night?” These words strike fear in nearly all adolescent children. Is the parent simply curious? Was it an ambivalent conversation starter or a knowing and accusatory set up? The answer always lies within the subtle tones, expression, and body language of the parent. The same is true when thinking about the delivery of a comman…
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It’s not quite U.S. domestic politics or dog food, but raise the topic of “force fetch” or its euphemism, “trained retrieve,” and you’ll quickly discover that pointing dog folks have lots of feelings about it. You’ll generally find four camps: a camp of those who say they don’t need it because they don’t need their dog to retrieve but only help the…
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Having dealt with so-called “fine” firearms for decades, the question “What exactly is a ‘best gun?’” comes up a lot. Explaining what a best gun is can be challenging because it’s more of a concept or ethos to building a gun, not something that follows a set of rules or criteria. As such, the term is used quite liberally, especially when it comes t…
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As each year passes, some of us find enough time to raise and finish our dream upland dog. It is an amazing opportunity to have your dog at the ready, all day long, just begging to be educated. Extra time, whether due to retirement or working from home, has inspired many of us to get out there every day and mold our pup into the finest hunting mach…
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Depending on where in the world you’re hunting turkeys, you may be fortunate to see other remarkable wildlife while you sit and hammer on your box or slate call. You may even have one or two curious predatory critters come into your calls, hoping for an easy meal. For many modern turkey species, their main predators are owls, coyotes, and cougars. …
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If I were to ask you to honestly explain to me your expectations of whoa, what would your answer look like? Would you be okay with the three or four step California roll type whoa, utilizing more than a few commands while throwing in a few choice expletives? You know, the kind of whoa where you turn red while the dog sighs and rolls its eyes at you…
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Dogs that have been trained to hold point until the handler arrives will do so partly due to it being cooperative. However, this is mostly due to the dog fearing that if it moves, the bird will fly away. Steadiness comes into play once the dog realizes the presence of its handler. Before initiating the steadiness process, you would have hopefully p…
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You did your homework, picked the right hunting dog breed, and found the breeder who provided you with the genetic package you dreamt of. On the drive home it hits you. Have I prepared for this new puppy? Now what? How do I start? You own the equivalent of a Ferrari but are unsure how to take it for its first spin without scratching it. Too often, …
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Setters are incredible dogs that offer a wide diversity of type, hunting tendencies, and coat colors. Although some may be harder or softer than others, and some pups may be slightly more hesitant to retrieve, there are two constants that remain regardless of breed or strain: their beauty and amazing companionship in the field and at home. Llewelli…
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Sit and stay is a tall order. I don’t know about you, but this is no easy task for me or my bird dogs. Many of us are now quarantined in our homes. I’m sitting here writing this article with four very patient hunting dogs huddled up beside me awaiting anything remotely training related. And so place training is one of the things that can be accompl…
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