The Open is starting with a triple with two retired. The field has lots of tall cover and the dogs disappear in places including the area where the long bird falls. The first bird down is the short retired in the middle thrown left to right. The long bird to the right is thrown second right to left and tightly pinched to the middle bird. The holding blind and fall for the long one are beyond a ditch with water. There are stands of tall tules and grasses enroute to both retired marks. The flyer is on the left shot left to right. The flyer and the middle bird are similar in distance. The entire test is about 45 degrees in separation between the flyer guns and the long gunner. It's a tight test but not particularly long.
The dogs have been having no problem with the flyer other than a little hunting in the heavy cover. The majority of the dogs are backsiding the middle gunner but coming up with the bird. They seem to be thrown left behind the gun by the tall stand of tules enroute. The dogs have taken a variety of routes to the long mark including backsiding the bushes to the back of the gunner and following the ditch to the mark and going wide to the left over the ditch and then ending up with the bird. Some have gotten lost in the fields beyond the ditch and others have not punched across the ditch to the bird. It is hard to tell exactly what is happening once the dog crosses the ditch. They disappear and are not seen again until they reappear with the bird.
I heard the Qual is a double and a blind. They initially were going to retire the memory mark but the cover was so high, they left the gunner up although the dogs can't see where they are going once they get into the cover anyway.
The dogs have been having no problem with the flyer other than a little hunting in the heavy cover. The majority of the dogs are backsiding the middle gunner but coming up with the bird. They seem to be thrown left behind the gun by the tall stand of tules enroute. The dogs have taken a variety of routes to the long mark including backsiding the bushes to the back of the gunner and following the ditch to the mark and going wide to the left over the ditch and then ending up with the bird. Some have gotten lost in the fields beyond the ditch and others have not punched across the ditch to the bird. It is hard to tell exactly what is happening once the dog crosses the ditch. They disappear and are not seen again until they reappear with the bird.
I heard the Qual is a double and a blind. They initially were going to retire the memory mark but the cover was so high, they left the gunner up although the dogs can't see where they are going once they get into the cover anyway.
