10th Series is in the books!

The 10th series has come to a close at 2:51 pm.
All the Finalists have run their final series of the 2017 NARC….

Now we wait for the announcement of our new 2017 National Amateur Champion …

STAY TUNED!!

Tenth Series – Land/Water Quad with 3 Flyers and 2 Retired

Welcome to the Tenth Series. We are high on a bluff overlooking a marvelous technical pond that is in front of Mary and Randy Spangler's house.

The first bird down is the "Long Right Retired," a hen mallard flyer shot to the left at 361 yards. The bird lands in a small bay on the very far shore of the pond and is sluiced. After the dog is sent, the guns retire behind a mulberry bush.

The second bird is the "Island Bird," a hen mallard thrown right angle back landing on a small island in the pond at 158 yards. After the dog is sent, the gunners retire behind a small tree.

The third bird is on the far left of the test at 164 yards. This stand out gun is just to the left and deep of the Island gunners and is shooting a hen mallard and we will refer to as the "Left Flyer." The throw is a hard angle back that lands in the left corner of the water with a sluice. These guns remain standing out.

The fourth and final bird is the "Right Flyer" which is a big swing to the right. The gunners stand up on the hillside and shoot a rooster pheasant to the left at 128 yards. These guns remain standing out.

Day Eight – Ninth Series Test Description – Land Triple with 2 Flyers, 2 Retired and an Honor

The Ninth Series is a Land Triple with two flyers and two retired. We are at the magnificent property of Mary and Randy Spangler. We are overlooking a large bowl filled with mowed strips of cover dotted with large round hay bales. The test is shot "round the horn." The "Long Retired" is a dead hen pheasant thrown to the left angle back steep down the slope of a knoll. The bird lands in a heavy strip of cover at 288 yards and the gunners retire into a clump of two large pine trees.

The "Middle Retired" is a swing to the right and in the middle of the test nestled among dozens of hay bales in the valley. The gunners are in front of two large pine trees. They shoot a hen pheasant flyer to the right landing in a heavy strip of cover at 212 yards. This gun station also retires.

The "Right Flyer" is a big swing to the right again. The guns shoot a soaring rooster flyer to the right  down the slope and landing in the valley at 180 yards. These four guns stand out. After the dog has completed his marks, there is an honor to the left of the running dog.

This test is spread out and there is lots of room to hunt where the bird isn't. With the mowed strips and the hay bales, there are many obstacles on the dog's way down the hill to retrieve his pheasants.

Left Retired – Dead Hen Pheasant – Thrown left

Middle Retired – Hen Pheasant Flyer – Shot to the right

Rooster Flyer – Shot to the right

8th Series Test Description – Water Blind

The mat for Eighth Series Water Blind is located on the dam that we have been transporting handlers and spectators across all day. There is a hidden gunner on the right hand shore situated on the hillside behind a bush. Once the dogs toes hits the mat, the gunner remains hidden and shoots a dry pop. The handler is on their own from this point forward. The mat is placed on the backside of the pond dam making for a hidden entry into the pond. One extra added element of difficulty to this 90 yard blind are some decoys tucked into a cove just off the right hand shoreline near the end of the blind. This blind is a quick one taking approximately 2 minutes per dog to complete.

End of Series 7

The test is in the books at 4:44 p.m.

Now we all wait for the Callbacks to see who is going on to the 8th Series!!

Stay tuned ...

Are there alligators in Wisconsin?

Day Seven – 7th Series – Water Triple with an Honor.

The Seventh Series is a Water Triple with an Honor and 2 Retired. We are overlooking a large technical pond with John and Laura Parrott’s house way at the far end high on a hill. The long “Middle Retired” bird is the first bird down. This dead duck is thrown 45 degrees angle back to the left across a channel landing on the opposite shore at 205 yards. The three guns retire when the dog is sent for his first bird. The direct line to the bird is down the slope, across the pond while taking the tip of a peninsula. Then the dogs must go across land in medium grassy cover, across a small piece of water to the far shore to get the bird.

The second bird down is on the left and is a dead duck thrown to the right at a 45-degree angle back into the water at 105 yards. Again, these three guns retire – “Left Retired.” The dogs must run down the slope, swim across the pond, across three peninsulas and back into the far piece of water to get their bird.

The “Flyer” is on the right of the other marks. It is a duck shot to the right landing up on the slope of a hillside at 70 yards. The dogs must run down the slope of the hill, across the water onto the end of a hooked peninsula and up the hillside slope to get the bird.

After the dog has completed the test, there is an Honor to the left of the mat. The test is taking just over ten minutes per dog.

Left Retired – 105 yards

Middle Retired – 205 yards and the Flyer Station – 70 yards

Series 6 – Land Blind

The test is in the books at 8:50 am. The next series will be located just north of the Land Blind.

The Judges are working on Callbacks and they will be given out  at the same location as will the rotation after we see how many are called back.

Series 6 - Test Description – Land Blind

We have returned to the Parrott's "Lucy, Too" to an 180 yard land blind. The direct line to the blind is to the right of a boat and a corner of water. It then "keyholes" between two hay bales, then angles a road and enters into a field of heavier cover to get a dead pheasant. The mat is on the slope of a tricky side hill which has the potential to divert the dog to the left. The test is taking just over 2 minutes.

Series 6 – Land Blind

Series 5 Land / Water Triple with 2 Retired Test Description

We turn into a steep gravel driveway following the path along a pond dam. The drive on the property to the line to the Series 5 Land / Water Triple is another half mile on the path meandering through the woods. We arrive to a bowl-shaped field with a pond nestled in the valley.  The weather is perfect "dogging" weather with a temperature of  59'F.

The mat is facing due East overlooking the valley.  The first bird to be thrown in this Triple is a long bird up the middle of the test situated high on the opposite hill-side measuring a distance of 371 yards.  This Hill - Side as we will refer to it is throwing a dead Rooster Pheasant landing in medium cover down the slope.  The gunners then retire into the trees once the dog is given their number.

The next bird to be thrown is a swing to the left looking down the shore on the left edge of the small pond. This dead drake is thrown to the left at 271 yards, landing on a small point. The direct line to the bird will include a short swim. The gunners retire into a blind made from a hay bale and small trees.

The short right hand Flyer is a swing across to the far right of the test. The gunners are sitting on another hill opposite the mat. The Flyer is shot to the left at 104 yards and it, too, lands in medium cover.  A BIG LOOK and A BIG TEST giving the dogs lots of places to run around and NOT find their birds.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!

Long Middle Retired – Dead Rooster – 371 yards

Left Retired  – Dead Drake – 279 yards

Right Flyer  – Rooster – 104 yards

Series 3 & 4 - Land Blind / Water Blind

The Third and Fourth Series is located east of where we were running yesterday. The Third Series Land Blind is a cold blind that goes through the second Series flyer fall. The line is tight to a large bush and travels over the left side of a mound on the right. It continues to travel along the left edge of the water and across the gravel road in the last thirty yards of the blind. This water may be a significant factor for some dogs if they need a right-handed cast towards the water. When the dog is on the true line to the blind, they are at risk of disappearing to the right in the middle part of the blind. The 172-yard test takes just over one minute for the dog to retrieve his Rooster Pheasant.

The starting line for the Fourth Series Water Blind is about 8 yards to the right of the Land Blind. This shoreline blind requires the dog to take a sliver of water upon entry and goes over a subtle point. The dog then reenters another small cove, hugging the left shore all the way to the final exit. The blind is not at the edge of the water and is out of the water at about fifteen yards. When the dog crosses the point, he is close to where the middle retired was situated in the Second Series. The trails and scent from that mark may pose a problem for some dogs. The 140-yard test takes just over 4 minutes to complete for the dog to retrieve his Drake Mallard.

The 172-yard Land Blind

The 140-yard Water Blind – Close up

Photo By Pat Burns - Elite Retrievers

The 140-yard Water Blind

1st Series – Land Triple with Two Retired

1st Series – Land Triple with Two Retired

The first series is located on the property of Wayne and Terri Curtis’ Fox Hollow Kennels. The test is comprised of a land triple with two retired guns with the line nestled in a cleared-out patch woods with the line elevated far above the field. The first bird thrown is a hen mallard on the left at about 95 yards; it's a hard angle back throw to the right with two retired gunners. The line to the bird is down a slope, through a patch of young evergreens. It is a long angle back throw that may tempt the dog to hunt short. The second middle bird is a rooster pheasant  thrown to the right, landing up tight against the far tree line at about 255 yards. It requires the dog to travel through a valley and penetrate a line of heavy cover at the far end of the field. The third bird is a live rooster pheasant shot to the left at 110 yards from the line landing in medium cover that’s roughly 15" high. Between the excitement of the flyer and the lay of the land, this is an exciting bird may tempt some dogs to break. The test is taking about 5-6 minutes per dog.

Thank you to Pat Burns from Elite Retrievers for the test diagrams!! 

His drone sees the test from a bird's eye view.