Completed the Nebraska Upland Slam Today!

[huntineveryday]

I completed the slam the first year they had it, shooting my first sharptail on private ground to finish it off. This year it's been dry and the duck hunting was slow, so I put some time into trying to figure out how to find grouse on public land. I had great luck with prairie chickens early, and the pheasants and quail weren't a problem. But I'm apparently not as good at hunting sharptails yet! The problem hasn't been finding them, rather getting close enough for a shot! After a failed attempt back in October, I headed back up to Halsey to try and find some again today. After a full day of walking I was able to complete my slam! All four species were shot on public ground and pointed and retrieved by my wirehair.

 

[thehuntingkid]

Quail?

 

[hobbes]

Cool. Sharpies are pretty difficult to get close to this late in the season.

 

[Montero]

Well done. Good looking birds and wirehair! How does your wirehair do retrieving birds in the marsh. My lab is in her last years hunting and the wirehairs have my interest.

 

[huntineveryday]

Well done. Good looking birds and wirehair! How does your wirehair do retrieving birds in the marsh. My lab is in her last years hunting and the wirehairs have my interest.

He loves the water and was a natural retriever. That said, he's better working upland birds than waterfowl retrieving. I have to keep a close eye on him to keep from breaking, as he gets pretty excited when birds start working the decoys. He retrieves 100% using his nose and not his eyes. He'll find birds in flooded grass and vegetation great, but he'll turn around and stand downwind of a duck bobbing in the water beside him oblivious to it. He doesn't mark birds nearly as well as the labs I've hunted with, but will cast to the right area and "hunt dead" once there. Better training with more focus on steadiness and marking retrieves would probably help though, I trained for upland primarily and waterfowl as an afterthought. If you're looking for a wirehair make sure the breeder is breeding for waterwork, as there can be some variability in coat type. I need a good dog for upland hunting and it's nice to have a dog to take duck hunting in the marsh as well, so he works for me.

 

[huntineveryday]

Quail?

Yep, to complete the Upland Slam you have to take each of the upland species found in Nebraska: Ringneck Pheasant, Bobwhite Quail, Greater Prairie Chicken, and Sharptail Grouse. Everyone that completes it gets a pin and certificate, as well as having thier name thrown into a drawing for some prizes at the end of the season. It's not much, but being born and raised in Nebraska hunting pheasants and quail, it got me interested in learning about our grouse species and where to find them. I probably had more fun chasing grouse this season than anything else, largely because it was just trying to learn and get proficient at hunting a different species.

 

[huntineveryday]

Cool. Sharpies are pretty difficult to get close to this late in the season.

Tell me about it! And the way they "chuckle" when they fly feels like they are laughing at you everytime they take off out of range!

 

[Montero]

Your Wirehair looks like "Old Man of the Marsh".....he is right at home....great pics and thanks for the feedback.

 

[Mt Al]

Yep, to complete the Upland Slam you have to take each of the upland species found in Nebraska: Ringneck Pheasant, Bobwhite Quail, Greater Prairie Chicken, and Sharptail Grouse. Everyone that completes it gets a pin and certificate, as well as having thier name thrown into a drawing for some prizes at the end of the season. It's not much, but being born and raised in Nebraska hunting pheasants and quail, it got me interested in learning about our grouse species and where to find them. I probably had more fun chasing grouse this season than anything else, largely because it was just trying to learn and get proficient at hunting a different species.

Are bobwhite possible on public ground or publicly accessible private ground, like each state seems to have with farmers and ranchers? Before 2020/covid/blah I'd looked into a week long bird hunt in Nebraska, might try it out next fall. Congrats on your slam!

 

[Fowler530]

Great birds and dog!! Nicely done, congrats!

 

[huntineveryday]

Are bobwhite possible on public ground or publicly accessible private ground, like each state seems to have with farmers and ranchers? Before 2020/covid/blah I'd looked into a week long bird hunt in Nebraska, might try it out next fall. Congrats on your slam!

Absolutely! The last 2-3 years have been pretty good for quail numbers, especially in the southern part of the state. I have found quail on about 3/4 of the public land I hunt, although I'd say finding a limit of quail is harder than finding a limit of pheasants. Admittedly, I almost always target pheasants as my priority when I go hunting though. The biggest problem we have is that one bad winter can really thump our quail and set numbers back quite a bit. This year has been pretty dry, with a lot of CRP acres in southwest Nebraska hayed or grazed as well. With less cover available, we really need a mild winter this year.

Checking with state or pheasants forever biologists before your trip should give you an idea of which areas to target though. With a full week you should definitely be able to find opportunities for pheasants and quail, and could probably make a run at all four birds needed for the slam.

 

[Mt Al]

Absolutely! The last 2-3 years have been pretty good for quail numbers, especially in the southern part of the state. I have found quail on about 3/4 of the public land I hunt, although I'd say finding a limit of quail is harder than finding a limit of pheasants. Admittedly, I almost always target pheasants as my priority when I go hunting though. The biggest problem we have is that one bad winter can really thump our quail and set numbers back quite a bit. This year has been pretty dry, with a lot of CRP acres in southwest Nebraska hayed or grazed as well. With less cover available, we really need a mild winter this year.

Checking with state or pheasants forever biologists before your trip should give you an idea of which areas to target though. With a full week you should definitely be able to find opportunities for pheasants and quail, and could probably make a run at all four birds needed for the slam.

Thanks for the reply and info, much appreciated. I'll definitely contact biologists prior to final arrangements. We get the same thing with Huns in Montana at the edges of their range. There are always some around, but a bad spring or even heavy rain in the summer can hammer them.

Thanks for posting the pics and for the advice!

 

[Dalton138]

I completed the slam the first year they had it, shooting my first sharptail on private ground to finish it off. This year it's been dry and the duck hunting was slow, so I put some time into trying to figure out how to find grouse on public land. I had great luck with prairie chickens early, and the pheasants and quail weren't a problem. But I'm apparently not as good at hunting sharptails yet! The problem hasn't been finding them, rather getting close enough for a shot! After a failed attempt back in October, I headed back up to Halsey to try and find some again today. After a full day of walking I was able to complete my slam! All four species were shot on public ground and pointed and retrieved by my wirehair.

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Very cool! Congratulations

 

[Just.Norris]

Great pictures man and congrats!