Small cow bells for bird dog?

[Sterling Tackle]

I have use a small cow bell when pheasant hunting in thick cover to always know where my dog is. I have sometimes wondered whether the bell is alerting and spooking the pheasnts before we close in. Any thoughts or experience feel free to throw in your 2 cents. I have also crossed paths with other hunters and their dogs seem to have an electronic tone color. How does all this figure in?

[massbaster]

My dog will point grouse and woodcock with a beeper collar and not spook the bird.....my beeper has hawk scream for point, suppose to keep the game bird from moving. I used the cow bell and will never use one again. If my pointing dog goes on point 50 yds up in thick cover I will not be able to find him unless I have my beeper on run-point mode. I can also hear my dog at a much farther distance than with a bell. Im looking at the new collars with remote on off tone so if you can see your dog you can turn on/off the beeper with the wireless remote...very cool.....also your combo unit has shock unit too.... :thup:

[brittanybend]

I could not agree with massbaster more . I started with bells on my Brittanys . We were hunting Macnamara for phesant and the bell stopped .After searching , considerable panic and hollering like a fool I came upon my dog on point at the edge of the swamp. I did not know wether to holler or cry. I vowed that day to buy electronic beeper collers and have used them for the past 18 years.I now use small Innotek collars and am very happy with them.I have not " missplaced " a dog since that day.

[Sterling Tackle]

Thanks for help guys. I should have clarified my question further. My dog is a flushing lab, and he does not point. So in his case I can always hear his bell because when he gets birdie the bell even becomes more frantic. My question is, when we are working our way down a hedge row, do some of the more wary birds hear the bell when we are still 50 to 70 yrds away and run for the hills? Would the tone collar help this?

[RUSS0079]

It is hard to say if the bell spooks birds or not. I've seen cock birds run from quiet hunters walking and seen them sit tight when guys were smoking and joking.:huh: I use bells on my GSP's. I can't bare to hear electronic noises in the woods. I know alot of guys that use the beepers, to each his own. I do know the hawk screech does keep grouse from moving, which is good, but I do like my bell. For a close working flushing dog a bell should be fine. My pointers work tight so I try not to loose them too much.:thup: My suggestion is try a bell, its alot cheaper than a beeper and if you don't like it you can go with the beeper.

[massbaster]

RUSS makes a good point....I still think even on a flushing dog its better than a bell.....

Consider this, other hunters with not so good hearing throwing a shot into the brush cause they think a rabbit is in there.....I have seen it personally.....theres no mistaking the electronic sound (I hate the sound with a passion, but I love my dog to death and I would prolly beat someone to an inch of their live if they shot my dog lol)

My dog finds alot of birds...IMHO I dont think the sound spooks them to fly, I think on the contrary it actually makes them hold a little tighter..... :huh:

[maine_sport]

I have used blaze orange collars with a small cow bell on my GSPs for many years. The sound of the bell became part of the hunt. I don't think that the bell ever flushed a bird (who knows). I used the collar and bell mostly to warn any other hunter that a dog was working the brush.

I never worried about losing my dog(s). They were taught to hunt for me not for themselves. They always kept an eye on me. If they didn't see me, they would come back and find me.

Running pheasants were never a problem. My dogs were trained to circle ahead and drive the bird back towards me. Once my present dog did that to a big tom turkey. The turkey ran at me, saw me and flushed about 20 yards away. It looked like a big B52 taking off.

You are more likely to loose a dog when a pheasnt flushes way out and the dog gives chase. Some times they will go a long way. Having a dog that is steady to wing and shot helps alot but, even the best field trial champion will break once in a while. A good dog will come back to look for you when he is done having fun.

You should always have an ID tag with your telephone number on the collar in case you loose your dog.

Flushing dogs like spaniels and labs should never get more than 40 yards from you. You don't need a bell to tell where they are but, a bell is good for the dog's safety.

I'm old school, not fond of electronic beeper collars. Sounds like you are playing a video game. Even worse, is the guy who is constantly blowing a whistle at his dog.

[Setterman]

I have only known bells and that's all I've ever used. I couldn't tell you if they spook birds or not but have hunted with them all my life. Some of the bells I use today were my dad's and grandfather's! Most times I'm attentive and I know where the dog is and if he stops I can find him. He's never far and always comes around to search for me and checks in. He doesn't range much unless he's not finding game. The only time I wished I had a "homing device" for him is in the winter when there is snow on the ground. It's tough finding a white setter in a snowy swampy woods when he's locked on point.

[massbaster]

It's tough finding a white setter in a snowy swampy woods when he's locked on point.

My GSP is all Liver (Dark Brown) Impossible to find in the woods, I had a litter a year ago and kept an all white pup just for that reason lol...

[Setterman]

My GSP is all Liver (Dark Brown) Impossible to find in the woods, I had a litter a year ago and kept an all white pup just for that reason lol...


I hear ya. Two years ago I walked right by my dog in a snowy swamp and never saw him. I went back out in the field where he had started trailing this bird, and followed his pawprints back down into the woods. Sure enough, there he was on point. My old footprints were 15 feet away from where he was locked up. I felt like a doofus!

[The Wadd]

Bell And Innotex Collar for Us!

[RUSS0079]

Nice Wadd!
Showing off are wee??? Heading to my spot tomorrow for woodcock!!!! now that is real sport, Pal.. Just kidding, The dog looks good, more than I can say for you.
Russ

[The Wadd]

Im so Proud of My Girl! She`s Put out over 20 Pheasants so far! And bumped a few Grouse! My Friends are very impressed with her Also!
Id like to no whats in her Head after we get our limit,and she`s still
finding birds,and I flush them and let them Fly Away! :huh: We have
flushed One woodCock, Good Luck!
PS She Makes me Look Great!:D

[LUCKY7]

We've always used the cow bell. My dad recently got an electric collar for the new brit, she's super crazy and a runner. I love the sound of the cow bell. It hasn't felt right hunting the last few years without it. I think with my new dog we're gonna try to stay old school. She's too young to hunt this year, and by next year she should be well disciplined.

[baccala]

I use a bell on my dog and a beeper collar on silent run, point only mode. I've never had any problems on grouse or woodcock, as well as stocked pheasant and quail. If all you hunt are stocked pheasant and quail, don't give it another thought. These are dumb birds. The only time I have seen a bell or beeper collar make a difference was on wild pheasants in South Dakota, and my dog still pointed and held plenty.

[Darrin Greene]

We ran two dogs this morning both with bells and the birds held tight for the flush. We do try to keep the voices down and direct the dogs with a toot on a whistle instead of yelling. I don't think the bell flushes birds that would otherwise have held. If it does my lab is pretty good at trailing so they don't get too far before she finds them.

[Inatreeandhappy]

I used to have a small bell on my Springer and never had a problem getting birds.

[kev316]

i ran bells on my setter and springer and haven't had a problem.

[Esetterman]

ive hunted lots of grouse and woodcock and pheasants (wild ones that is), my experiences with a bell is that i dont think it bothers a woodcock one bit, and not so much grouse either, however on a wild pheasant i dont recomend any kind of noise they run to the other end of the field when they hear something out of the ordinary....these stocked birds i dont think it matters either ... most dont even know how to hide

[Cat]

Once you stock a bird and hunt them they turn rather wild so I don't know what kinda birds you think are dumb? The dumb ones I found are usally eaten and the ones that survive turn wild due to hawks and all sorts of ground predators chasing them. Now are they like wild birds we once had that weren't stocked? Well no. A pheasant would rather run than fly and it takes the dog to learn how to get a bird into a possition so they won't out run them and pointem up.

I have a couple inssues with just the bell because I have trouble hearing the bell in thick cover and many times I found the dog on point when I couldn't hear the bell stop. I went to a beeper and found it don't actually spook the bird but they will run cause they hear the dog coming. I feel its my dogs job to get the bird stopped and pointed so I can have a shot. My dog is a searcher so I need to hear the beeper when I can't the bell at times. It all depends on where we hunt to what I am using on her.

[Esetterman]

my experience with stocked birds is they dont know what a hawk is till its too late lol... very few survive... but they arent out there to live they are out there for us hunters.... to get back to the original question i dont like any noise for pheasants.... thats my opinion... i agree its my dogs job to ge the bird stopped but its my job to keep an eye on my dog ... i usually dont have any problems with not knowing where the dog is .... in the grouse woods i will use them sometimes, only thing i use a e-collar for is my dog comes to me when i make the hawk noise and to shock him occasionally he gets it about 3 times a season