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I got beat up my some old timers on another forum about this topic. I wanted to get your thoughts.
You go to a HT and the birds being used are pigeons. Now I am not asking if this is a legal bird, I know that they are. Further more I have been to test where these were used and have yet to have a dog have a problem with them because we do train puppies with them, so I am not complaining about using them based on that. My gripe with pigeons, however, comes from several less that fun test created due to weather and other factors such as having cub scouts for bird boys.
The post on the other web site started by someone asking what we though about using pigeons vs. ducks because the club would realize a savings of about $6 per bird. The point I tried to make was that I was/am unhappy when I spend hundreds of dollars to go to a HT with dogs and find that the birds are pigeons (again I run the test and don?t complain). If I want my dogs to retrieve winged rats we can go up to the McDonald?s. I told the original poster that if I were traveling a good distance to get to the test and found that they used pigeons, that I would probably not come back next year for their test thus causing the club to actually lose money rather than save it. I pointed out that pigeons make very difficult marks at 150 yards, that wind and rain can certainly affect there use, and that bird boys and launchers are often a problem with them. Basically I was simply giving my opinion on the down falls of using pigeons to the poster that asked what we thought...
Most of the replies then of course called me a complainer and continued to tell me that I should be prepared for any birds used (my dog have never had a problem with pigeons, see above), and that these created realism because you could simulate a dove hunt (fine but see comment above about marking distances).
My point is I feel cheated when a club uses pigeons. I pay the entry and I want ducks, pheasant, or other REAL GAME BIRD. Please do reply and tell me that pigeons are hunted, that?s not the point. I just want to know how you feel in this situation. Would you enjoy the test as much? Would you go back (assuming it was not a local club)? Do you think it is a good idea for a club to save money this way?
You go to a HT and the birds being used are pigeons. Now I am not asking if this is a legal bird, I know that they are. Further more I have been to test where these were used and have yet to have a dog have a problem with them because we do train puppies with them, so I am not complaining about using them based on that. My gripe with pigeons, however, comes from several less that fun test created due to weather and other factors such as having cub scouts for bird boys.
The post on the other web site started by someone asking what we though about using pigeons vs. ducks because the club would realize a savings of about $6 per bird. The point I tried to make was that I was/am unhappy when I spend hundreds of dollars to go to a HT with dogs and find that the birds are pigeons (again I run the test and don?t complain). If I want my dogs to retrieve winged rats we can go up to the McDonald?s. I told the original poster that if I were traveling a good distance to get to the test and found that they used pigeons, that I would probably not come back next year for their test thus causing the club to actually lose money rather than save it. I pointed out that pigeons make very difficult marks at 150 yards, that wind and rain can certainly affect there use, and that bird boys and launchers are often a problem with them. Basically I was simply giving my opinion on the down falls of using pigeons to the poster that asked what we thought...
Most of the replies then of course called me a complainer and continued to tell me that I should be prepared for any birds used (my dog have never had a problem with pigeons, see above), and that these created realism because you could simulate a dove hunt (fine but see comment above about marking distances).
My point is I feel cheated when a club uses pigeons. I pay the entry and I want ducks, pheasant, or other REAL GAME BIRD. Please do reply and tell me that pigeons are hunted, that?s not the point. I just want to know how you feel in this situation. Would you enjoy the test as much? Would you go back (assuming it was not a local club)? Do you think it is a good idea for a club to save money this way?
