My Dog Hunts - Upland Birds
Where-to, how-to and when-to bird hunting advice on pheasant, partridge, ruffed grouse, sharptails, prairie chickens and quail, Host Randy Shepard has bird hunted from Oregon to Wisconsin to New Mexico and Arizona. He's taken 15 different combination limits and four different double limits of upland birds across the mid-west. He's never hired a guide, leased land, hunted as a guest or engaged in a swap hunt, while in pursuit of dual limits. All self-made, self-planned hunts, on public (and a little bit of private) land.
My Dog Hunts, isn’t your typical upland bird hunting podcast. You won’t find 20, or even one minute of advertising in my episodes. I’m not trying to convince you that if you buy this gun and that ammunition you’ll become a better shot. That if your dog comes from this line and travels in that crate, he’ll be a better hunter. And if you “Friend” me, you’ll be hunting all these wonderful covers and shooting birds in numbers you’ve only dreamed of. Nope, that ain’t My Dog Hunts.
My goal in presenting the My Dog Hunts podcast, is to encourage each of you to hunt - more birds - in more states – more often. And to buy more hunting licenses! I believe that the most important investment that each of us can make for the future of bird hunting, is in the purchase of multiple, bird hunting licenses. Lots and lots of licenses.
Hopefully, my stories will convince you to do just that. After listening to my successes, you’ll realize that taking a daily bag limit of birds, even as a non-resident, can be a realistic goal for you.
I’m as close to a trophy hunter as an upland bird hunter can be. I’ve been pursuing combination and double limits of upland birds for more than 40 years. My hunts have never been about amassing large numbers of birds in a season. I believe that season numbers are more a reflection of time, access and money. Enablers that I’ve never had in abundance.
In the beginning, my interest in taking dual limits was a private matter. Dual limits have never been a recognized activity, and there’s no one out there keeping score. In fact, I don’t even have pictures of many of the dual limits I’ve taken. Those hunts were always between myself and my dogs.
Then my intent changed. I continued in protest of the commercialization of upland bird hunting. All of the attempts to convince recreational hunters, that they have to spend thousands of dollars on gear, guns, dogs and access, to be successful. My stories will convince you that you don’t need to buy expensive crap to be successful. Dollars don’t make you a better hunter. Planning and practice are what it takes to be successful.
You’ll find that I adhere to very strict rules in pursuing dual limits. All of my bird hunts are self-made, self-planned hunts on public and a little bit of private land. Every trip and hunt that I share is available to any of you willing to travel and walk the miles I have.
Give My Dog Hunts a listen, and start planning for your best bird season ever.
My Dog Hunts - Upland Birds
Getting On - How to Gain FREE Access to Private Land Hunting
If you're not knocking on doors, you're missing out on most of the best upland bird hunting opportunities in the country. As good as public lands are, they don't compare to the acreage and underhunted habitat that you can gain access to for FREE, with just a short conversation!
I'll share everything that I've learned in more than 50 years of knocking on doors from Wisconsin to Oregon and North Dakota to New Mexico. And you won't hear the same tired advice that most writers recommend. I'll tell you how to approach the landowner and initiate the conversations that have allowed me to hunt hundreds of thousands of private acres without ever paying a fee or offering to do chores.
Many times I've cold called on a farmer or rancher and in just a few minutes gained access to land that no one but family members hunt for free, and in some cases, land that had never been hunted during their ownership.