Upland hunting

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Upland hunting is an American term for a form of bird hunting in which the hunter pursues upland birds including quail, pheasant, grouse, prairie chicken, chuckar, and others. Upland hunters generally employ the use of gun dogs to find and retrieve game.

Upland birds tend to be found on the ground in heavy cover. Dogs find the bird by scent and force them to fly. The hunter then attempts to shoot the birds on the wing. This is also known as wingshooting.

Upland hunting encompases some of the activity that takes place in rough shooting in the UK, although there are differences.

Contents

1 Equipment
2 Dogs
3 Location
4 See also

Equipment

Upland hunter use all types of shotguns from break-breach guns to automatics, and .410 gauge through 12 gauge. The quintessential shotgun for upland hunting is a double barrel shot gun in a smaller gauge. Upland guns can be extremely valuable, often commanding many thousands of dollars.

In America (though not in the UK), upland hunters are required to wear blaze orange clothing for safety in most places. They often wear vests to carry game.

Dogs

Upland hunter traditionally walk when finding game, though quail hunters in the South of the USA are the exception. Because of the large area that must be covered in order to find bobwhite quail many hunters employ specially designed hunting buggies to haul gear and kennels for fresh dogs.

Upland hunters work specially trained gun dogs to find game. Spaniels and pointing breeds are used most often, though retrievers are worked with considerable success when hunting pheasant in many areas.

Location

Upland hunting takes place primarily in open fields which provide cover for birds. Many states such as South Dakota derive a significant portion of their revenue from upland hunters who travel into the state to take advantage of the ideal settings. The dogs smell bad after a few days and the hunter gets a lil messed up.

Upland hunting

Equipment

Dogs

Location

See also