Breeding the Hunting Retreiver by Bill Tarrant Featuring Mike Gould
Here is great magazine article by Bill Tarrant featuring Mike Gould entitled, "Breeding the Hunting Retriever."
The Basics of Bird Dog Training – By Bill Tarrant – Featuring Mike Gould
Here's another great article by Bill Tarrant featuring trainer Mike Gould. And here's Part II of the article.
Correcting The Bird Dog – Chapter 3 of Problem Gun Dogs by Bill Tarrant featuring Mike Gould
One of my favorite books for dog training is Problem Gun Dogs by Bill Tarrant.
Basics of Bird Dog Training by Bill Tarrant
Bill Tarrant has been a correspondent, bureau chief and editor for Reuters in Asia for the past 22 years. He wrote extensively on bird dogs and was an interesting character who I was grateful to have met a couple of time with Gary Ruppel and Mike. Basics of Bird Dog Training article by Bill Tarrant Part I and Part II.
Mike Gould’s Whoa Post
This is the full article on the Whoa Post that we use, as described in this article by Bill Tarrant. Here's a brief summary: The Whoa Post: Teaching a Dog to Stand Still Perhaps the defining behavior of a bird dog is its ability to slam on the brakes and become motionless the instant it encounters bird scent. This instinctive stop is what separates a bird dog from other breeds and is a trait that has been carefully selected and refined over hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Very few dogs, however, possess a perfect point from the start. A reliable point is a behavior that must be shaped, developed, and reinforced until it becomes second nature. While there are many ways to teach a dog to stand still, years of experience and generations of training have convinced us that the Whoa Post is one of the clearest and most efficient methods available. We have used it successfully with thousands of dogs. The primary purpose of the Whoa Post is to teach the dog that pressure or a cue applied to the flank means stop and stand still. Through repetition, the dog develops a conditioned response to that cue. Although the Whoa Post can be used to address many other training issues and offers numerous additional benefits, its fundamental objective should never be forgotten: teaching the dog to stand still when cued. To begin Whoa Post training, select a suitable training area. Any open space with enough room to secure your dog to the post using a check cord and several wraps will work. Ideally, choose a location with minimal distractions—away from your bird pen and separate from the areas where you conduct bird
Mike Gould’s Power Bar
This is the Mike Gould power bar, as described in this article by Bill Tarrant.
Active Nymphing
Rick Osthoff, Stackpole Books, 2006 In this comprehensive book on nymph fishing, the author challenges the long-held notion that nymphing involves little more than dead drifting with the current. Osthoff advocates an active strategy of moving the nymph, applying effective casting and creative presentation techniques this book exhausts the techniques of nymphing. However, it fails to consider the previous works on the subject of active nymphing, such as those by Sawyer, Kite and others. It is good general overview of all of the methods of fishing below the surface with files. It probably is well received for trout fisherman in the Midwest, but for our selective trout on mostly tailwaters in the Rocky Mountain streams, I felt that the information to be of limited practical application and failed to even catch the depth of what was already written by Sawyer and Kite, among others.
The Blackberry Farm Cookbook
Sam Beall, 2009 Clarkson Potter One reviewer said, "Farm-to-table is one of those irritating culinary trends that is hard to really stay irritated by. Fundamentally, it's just so darn right: we should be eating seasonally and locally, we should be supporting sustainable agriculture and the preservation of heirloom vegetables. The most delicious food is the stuff that's been harvested (butchered, cultivated, fished) as close as possible to the kitchen that's cooking it." I find this review troubling. Why is the idea of farm to table irritating to anyone? It makes sense. I believe, it makes sense to everyone, even vegans. This book is separated into seasons, the seasons of our life--the seasons of our food. It is about food from Knoxville, Tennessee, a bit dressed up, as the author is the son of the Ruby Tuesday's restaurant founder. Not exactly what you would call a hunter-gatherer tradition, but one he seems to now claim. Anyway, the recipes are separated into seasons, starting with summer's Blackberry Cobbler and a diatribe on smoking at the Barbie. But the first one I found interesting was infusing peaches into his BBQ sauce or blackberries. And I like the southern sweet tea infused with various things from raspberries to blue berries to strawberries, all set to cure in canning jars with the old French lids. First a discussion on smoke, which is "almost a sacrament below the Mason-Dixon Line." Cherokee fires in a pit banked by river rock topped with large joint meat and buried, to wood-fired clay ovens, brick ovens, fireplaces and smokehouses. From pig cookers welded by locals to kettle grills, the Kamado ( a clay and ceramic style tandoori cooker), to wood cookers and it goes on. And the explanation of the two kinds of Tennessee fried chicken. The Kreis's Tennessee Fire Fried Chicken is worth repeating,
Peace Maker American Bourbon
Peace Maker American Whiskey (it's really Bourbon, so don't let the name fool you into thinking it's just for cowboys). This stuff competes with Maker's Mark. Pour it into a glass of ice and enjoy. No burn, no bad taste, and it's half the price. Dress it up for the Kentucky Derby in a julep, or just pass it around as a shot at the shoot. It makes a great stirrup cup at the fox hunt. Devised and distributed by local kids here in Colorado, but made in Kentucky, where all Bourbon should be born.
Purdey versus Holland & Holland Side by Side Shotguns
Both catalogues arrived this week, one from Purdey and the other from Holland & Holland. Tell me how bad the economy really is, when you look at the price of London Best guns each year skyrocketing. The matched set of the Purdey Side By Side Game Guns going for just £129,000, just $211,126 at the time of writing. And the matched set of the Holland & Holland 'Royal" Side by Side Shotguns at £122,500, just $200,557. The photography and stories are exquisite. These are simply the Best London side by side shotguns. Of particular interest is the 150th anniversary of The Field Magazine, shotgun with is a side-by-side, round actioned 12-bore embellished with bespoke engraving with flushed pheasants on one side, a fox and hounds on the other, and a stage at the base with a salmon caught in action leaping across the trigger guard. How about a pair of those? Purdey produces 70 bespoke guns and rifles a year. It takes between 18-24 months to complete a Purdey. And the good news is that while the price has increased by 50% in the last 15 years, the dollar has risen against the pound by about the same, so the net affect is not too much greater for us Yanks, if you are looking for a matched pair of the finest side-by-sides. Or you can go the more country Squier method with a Greener or Churchill but for now I’ll stick with the Garbis. The Old Man said that if you just confined life to preparation you’d never really be disappointed when the actuality arrived.