doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The Excietment of an English Springer Spaniel !

Just take a look at the cover of the Sept./Oct. Shooting Sportsman for a great picture of one of the most excieting hunting expierences. A flushing rooster with an English Springer in the air. I have been hunting and field trialing springers for almost 15 years. They are one of the most thrilling dogs you can hunt over.

Just imagine that it is a cold and windy November morning in South Dakota. You and your dog have just trailed that rooster 100 yards down a hedge row. You had to hup him down two or three times along the way. Then finally at the end of the hedge row you see the grass moving like a tornado and all of a sudden you hear the cackaling of a rooster the pounding of wings and then silence. Your heart is pounding and time seems to stand still. When your dog finally lands back on the ground he sits steady as you snap your gun to your shoulder. Your heart starts to race faster and faster as if it is trying to catch up with that rooster. The silence is broken by the crack of the shot. As you swing thru the bird you see the puff of feathers in the corner of your eye as the rooster tumbles to the ground. Your springer is rock steady but trembling, waiting for the command to retreive the bird. You break open the gun as you give the command and the smell of gun powder fills your nose. Your dog and a beautiful rooster are quickly on their way back. The dog sits proudly in front of you and places the rooster in your hand. You and your dog look at each other with that mutual look of praise. You both know that you have just lived one of the most excieting hunting expierences. You will play this moment over in you head for the rest of you life.

I wish the season was starting tomorrow.

Bill G.

Bill,

Third bird, fifth series. Not a lot can compare.

Peter A.

A hot field-bred springer under control on a running rooster is an adrenaline-charged experience. They are not for everyone. Following one of more deliberate pace offers another kind of more accessible, satisfying charm.

My board name is the name of my first springer, a dog full of heart, driven by birdiness to the very edge of control.

Jay Gramith

By coincidence, my brother was just gifted a year old reg. springer. He's been playing with it at the owners house for a week and brought it home yesterday to meet his new house mates and get used to the farm and his 3 hunting goldens. All things good to go at this time. Folks who owned him didn't like him because he didn't bark like a watchdog. It's our first venture into anything besides labs and goldens. Running him in the field is a kick. He's one busy boy, and works well in tandum with a golden thrown in. We're in woodcock/grouse country and the habitat is thick. Do try and make one pheasant hunt out west a year, so "Lincoln" ala Lincoln Jeffries, brothers wifes gun, will hit pheasant fields at least once. Anyone have a springer for grouse? and how does it work?? Thanks for your timely post. Randy

Great Photo Bill,

As it happens, my Springer won the New Jersey all-age open last October. Springers are good on Grouse, especially running Grouse. They will generally push through thicker cover than labs.

Labs hold up better on Waterfowl amid the ice.

They are great dogs. Both for hunting and for the family. Good luck with your dogs, Bill.

I have two and they are both getting on in years. I will most likely be getting a third next spring. No they are not for everybody, they push the birds hard and fast, but what a thrill. A good springer on wild roosters and an English SxS, things just do not get better than that for me.

I'm just short of 3 yrs into my very first dog and could only be more satisfied if I had started with dogs from a young age. I can't believe I missed out on these experiences all these yrs. Just going to the local park with my dog yesterday afternoon was a satisfying and enjoyable break in the day. I don't have a springer, but can see how each breed offers something different for their owner. My dog and I are nearly inseparable. She's laying next to me while I type this and talking in her sleep, no doubt it's about the next hunt.

Bill, thanks for that snapshot. Hey, and I wanna know if you've learned to play that Gibson.

I am on my second Springer; offical name Hawthorne Jhenn Knott Schpott. While she has developed her faults ( being away on three deployments doesnt help, she got spoiled)
she is a very motivated little sh*t! She is from English stock, a field spaniel and was the runt. A real pisser in the field. I hunt partridge (ruffed grouse)99% of the time. She loves to hunt, runs rabbits and loves the water. you beeter be moving when she is making game. Besides her tail going 100 MPH she whimpers when she is on a bird. Funny as all get out.

You will find that they typically ( from my experience) dont stop behvaing like pups for about 10-11 years. Loads of fun.
A little side note: dont know about the rest of you Springer owners but mine likes to "smile'. looks ferocious as hell but whenever she sees one of the family, her mouth opens and she curls her lips up, exposing her teeth as she sits there wagging her tail, quivering with excitement.

Anyone had any experience with the phenomenom called 'Springer Rage'???...Geo