Someone mentioned a camparison to the use of the hand and marking off the gun. IMO it's apples and oranges.
That was me.
As was explained before the hand is a cue that says "yes, you are pointed and looking in the right direction". This is after the dog has already seen the marks go down. You are simply communicating which mark he is to get (selection).
On a blind it says the same thing. Yes, that's right......"Back!"
If you read my comment in it's entirety, you might see I understand this. In the interest of brevity, I did not go into great detail ... others have done that very well ... but since I'm being quoted out of context, let me expound.
It's all about communication with your dog at the line. There are many "languages" you can use to communicate with our dog. Some are more efficient and effective than others, but they are ALL built on consistency and the dog's expectations. Dogs are capable of understanding and responding to a much larger "vocabulary" than many think, and over time a good trainer/handler and their dog learn to understand each other in ways observers may not recognize.
The conventional method of push/pull with subtle body movements influences the dog to look where you want him to. The dog tells you, through his body language, what is going on his head and when you see that he understands what you want, the hand confirms his expectation and says "yes, that's what I want". Several other variations apply,
based on what your dog is telling you, and what you need to tell him in the moment.
Not being someone who wants to reinvent a wheel that works well, I follow these principles and they work for me. I keep it as simple as possible but as varied as necessary
in that situation.
Marking off the gun is done as an execise to get the dog to move his head with you as the birds are thrown/shot.
Sure you can do the same thing with your hand but the dog is following the motion not looking at what you are pointing at.
I am an avid learner ... or try to be ... and study the advice of those who I believe in and whose advice I respect (maybe that's what Marvin calls "pelts"). I have observed that it is rare to ever hear these people use words like, "NEVER", "IMPOSSIBLE", etc. and I get somewhat irritated when some nameless internet cowboy regularly announces, with absolute authority, a black and white
law" which a newcomer may take as gospel just because it is spoken with convincing confidence.
So that's a long-winded clarification of my previous 2-sentence post. I am not disagreeing with the consensus opinion on the use of the hand. I'm calling out someone who said, "it's impossible ..... ", and I used the analogy of a dog learning to look in a particular direction by seeing which way the gun is pointed.
If I can make a dog key in on a slot between two trees at 250 yds. using only my knees, why could I not get a line to an HRC Seasoned blind using only my hand or a gun barrel if I chose to spend the time? I don't think it would be the most efficient way, and that is why I don't try it. But for purposes of debate, show me why it's impossible.
JS