Who is playing the hunt test games?

[Missy Skeeter]

This is good advice!

St, Louis gas both Clubs Darden( AKC), and Gateway ( HRC). Probably half the gateway guys are also involved in the Darden Club. Both clubs utilize August Busch Memorial Conservation area for their training days. Both clubs train every other week, and usually the training days are set up on alternating weekends if you wanted to train every weekend.

Hunt test rules are slightly different.

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Here are my impressions of some of the differences between AKC and HRC retriever hunt tests.
I only run AKC, so I may be incorrect...if so please correct so factual accurate:

In AKC you can not talk to your dog after you signal your team is ready until verbally released by a judge.
In HRC you can talk to your dog as marks are being thrown.

In AKC you can wear dark clothing as a handler, in HRC you are required to wear camo.
In AKC the handlers gun is sometimes plywood, sometime welded shut, unable to fire a live round.
In HRC the handlers gun is used to fire primed shotgun hulls.

In AKC a flyer is usually required, in HRC a flyer is not required.
From the AKC rulebook: A minimum of two live birds per entry must be made available for use at the discretion of the Judges in all test levels. Only birds shot as flyers during the event or euthanized within 24 hours of the event start time as stated in the premium may be used at an event.

In HRC if you fail a series, you can still have fun and run out of contention.
In AKC if you fail the first series, you are out.
From the HRC rulebook: The reason for limiting the number of entries is to give each dog an opportunity to run all tests even if they failed a portion of a test.

 

[Dorkweed]

HRC member since 2005. Local club is WISILL HRC. Taken 4 dogs to HRCH level. My current HRCH dogs will be 6yo next month. AA HRC judge at all levels............judged 3 Grands, and will be judging a SRS in June.

 

[Iammichael6499]

When I lived in LA I ran HRC with my black lab “Bandit’s Creole Annie”. She spent about a year with Danny Farmer when he was headquartered in North LA. I couldn’t tell you how many HRC events I attended around the south during the 10 years I lived in LA. I do miss it somewhat. Heck, I even judged for awhile.

 

[Rick Hall]

...She spent about a year with Danny Farmer when he was headquartered in North LA...

That wasn't yesterday, but we probably crossed paths at some of those hunt tests.

 

[Iammichael6499]

That wasn't yesterday, but we probably crossed paths at some of those hunt tests.

It was a long time ago, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, and it‘s very possible we crossed paths along the way.

 

[Keith S.]

Been in the HRC game for 20 years, made some of my best friends because of this game. Starting my 3rd dog, hopefully it will be my daughters dog if sports don't get in the way too much.

 

[CA Birdman]

Tried my first junior hunt tests this weekend. Had more questions than answers and judges are the most pompous people yet. Yesterday's set up in 20+ mph winds for junior hunt test had quartering downwind retrieve with the dead bird thrown into a tule patch which I handled inefficiently so flunk. By end of second session 2/3 of ducks did not pass.

Today's test was more what I was expecting but still ran on same course seniors ran yesterday, from what I understand marks were about 10 yards shorter. I got one pass this weekend but was close as the flyer was sailed about 60 yards downwind of where if gunners did there part so about a 125 yard retrieve over a drop of a hill retrieve which pup ran past - which I was happy with but ran a little too far so whistled her to come back and get comment didn't handle to bird which when retrieved to hand was pretty lively so bit my tongue instead of saying I would have if I really knew where the bird was I just was trying to get her in the area of the fall and she made two 10 yard ovals and found the duck.

Then someone answer me this riddle, why do people get junior hunt titles on dogs 8 plus. I was thinking of trying to get my dog through seniors but if judges and such are like this weekend, I doubt it. On the other hand, I met some really nice amateur dog owners and made some new friends.

 

[Iammichael6499]

Tried my first junior hunt tests this weekend. Had more questions than answers and judges are the most pompous people yet. Yesterday's set up in 20+ mph winds for junior hunt test had quartering downwind retrieve with the dead bird thrown into a tule patch which I handled inefficiently so flunk. By end of second session 2/3 of ducks did not pass.

Today's test was more what I was expecting but still ran on same course seniors ran yesterday, from what I understand marks were about 10 yards shorter. I got one pass this weekend but was close as the flyer was sailed about 60 yards downwind of where if gunners did there part so about a 125 yard retrieve over a drop of a hill retrieve which pup ran past - which I was happy with but ran a little too far so whistled her to come back and get comment didn't handle to bird which when retrieved to hand was pretty lively so bit my tongue instead of saying I would have if I really knew where the bird was I just was trying to get her in the area of the fall and she made two 10 yard ovals and found the duck.

Then someone answer me this riddle, why do people get junior hunt titles on dogs 8 plus. I was thinking of trying to get my dog through seniors but if judges and such are like this weekend, I doubt it. On the other hand, I met some really nice amateur dog owners and made some new friends.

My entire premise for running my labs was to make them better hunters (titles were secondary). A perk of doing the trials and training for the trials was that I made a lot of great friends and hunting partners. As for judges, well, they are kind of like umpires and referees. There are good ones and there are some that aren’t so good.

 

[Don Smith]

I was thinking of trying to get my dog through seniors but if judges and such are like this weekend, I doubt it.

Sometimes you run into judges like that, but in my 20+ years experience, it's uncommon - especially in Junior, unless California is significantly different from the midwest. I find it interesting that you had a flyer. I haven't seen a flyer in Junior in over a decade. I'm not sure why it's been essentially dropped here. It may be due to having trouble getting workers. Often, however, it seemed to me that clubs would assign their most inexperienced gunners to Junior and apparently never explained to them that they weren't going duck hunting. They were often choked way too tight. I shoot flyers in hunt tests and field trials a couple times a year. I'm always asked to shoot the Open and the judges often ask that I come back to shoot the fourth series. I usually choke skeet/IC or cylinder bore/IC. Anyway, I digress. I remember one Junior test in which there was a flyer I was running a few dogs in years ago. The gunners were terrible. They either totally missed the bird or ragged it. I brought Chevy to the line and the gunners blew his bird into at least five pieces. I expected the judges to call a "no-bird". Instead, they called his number, so I sent him. He came back with I guess the biggest piece he could find. About ten feet in front or me on the return, he stopped, hiked his leg and peed, never dropping piece of bird. The judges were standing right behind me. Then, he came to heel and delivered the bloody piece of bird to me. At that point, I looked back at the judges and said, "I'm pretty sure that's his comment about the gunners."

 

[bill cooksey]

Sometimes you run into judges like that, but in my 20+ years experience, it's uncommon - especially in Junior, unless California is significantly different from the midwest. I find it interesting that you had a flyer. I haven't seen a flyer in Junior in over a decade. I'm not sure why it's been essentially dropped here. It may be due to having trouble getting workers. Often, however, it seemed to me that clubs would assign their most inexperienced gunners to Junior and apparently never explained to them that they weren't going duck hunting. They were often choked way too tight. I shoot flyers in hunt tests and field trials a couple times a year. I'm always asked to shoot the Open and the judges often ask that I come back to shoot the fourth series. I usually choke skeet/IC or cylinder bore/IC. Anyway, I digress. I remember one Junior test in which there was a flyer I was running a few dogs in years ago. The gunners were terrible. They either totally missed the bird or ragged it. I brought Chevy to the line and the gunners blew his bird into at least five pieces. I expected the judges to call a "no-bird". Instead, they called his number, so I sent him. He came back with I guess the biggest piece he could find. About ten feet in front or me on the return, he stopped, hiked his leg and peed, never dropping piece of bird. The judges were standing right behind me. Then, he came to heel and delivered the bloody piece of bird to me. At that point, I looked back at the judges and said, "I'm pretty sure that's his comment about the gunners."
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When judging junior I preferred clean and intact birds and for every mark to be as close to the same as possible for each dog. Last thing I wanted was a young, and often untrained/unforced, dog getting a rancid bird or a pulped bird. Also, newer handlers tend to have a more difficult time grasping the fact it doesn’t matter if your dogs marks are more difficult than another’s, since they aren’t competing.