What Do Brittany Dogs Hunt?

Hunting with a Brittany is a joyful experience, as a Brittany is an excellent pointer, an excellent retriever, and one of the most popular dog breeds when looking for an obedient, affectionate all-around hunting companion. A regular champion in field and conformation trials, what exactly do Brittany dogs hunt?

Brittany dogs hunt pheasants, quail, chukar, grouse, woodcock, basically any bird you put them on, and will also retrieve ducks in swamps. They can also hunt small game such as rabbits. Brittany dogs are excellent pointers, retrievers, and upland bird hunters.

Among the pointing breeds, the Brittany has some distinct advantages, and because of his small stature, he is easy to kennel, board, and transport. He’s also obedient, energetic, and a devoted best friend. As a hunter, he has a good nose and an insatiable desire to hunt. He is one of the most favored breeds in the world for bird hunting as a pointer, and his retrieving talents set him apart from the rest.

What Do Brittany Dogs Hunt?

Although the Brittany is a versatile hunting dog, it excels at upland bird hunting. A Brittany would be the ideal hunting dog choice if you’re looking for an efficient pointing and retrieving partner and your hunting goals include chasing a range of upland birds, such as pheasants, quail, chukars, or grouse.

Ring-Necked Pheasant

A ground-nesting gallinaceous bird with Asian origins, the Ring-necked Pheasant, was brought to and established in California and other parts of North America throughout the 1800s. The Ring-necked Pheasant is a huge, chicken-like bird, smaller than a Wild Turkey and larger than an American Crow.

Since they occupy a similar niche to several native grassland songbirds and other upland species, pheasants have long been a favorite game bird among sport hunters and can be found in:

Fields
Marsh edges
Brushy meadows
Grassland
Farmland
Woodland edges

In dense cover, a 20 gauge with a modified choke is fantastic, but a 12 gauge is also fairly common and great for open fields in the West and Midwest of the United States. The Ring-necked Pheasant is on top of the list of the most hunted birds in the world and a Brittany favorite.

Brittany Dogs Hunt All Types Of Quail

As mentioned, a Brittany loves to hunt anything covered in feathers making a birdlike noise, so quails are high on their hunting list. If hunting for quail is your passion, using a Brittany as your gundog will deliver many a quail in your hunting basket.

Bobwhite Quail

Bobwhite Quail can be found from the Upper Midwest and Northeast south to Florida and Mexico. However, Bobwhite Quail is a favorite in the South East and has been designated as Georgia’s and Tennessee’s official game bird. Many hunters will take great pleasure in watching their pointers comb and quarter the field before abruptly and stylishly pointing to the target.

California Quail

California Quail are beautiful birds with a six-feathered plume on top of their heads, black on males and brown on females. Males have striking blue-grey chests and brown flanks with white streaks. This bird is more well-known for its foraging, strolling, and food-scratching abilities than for its ability to fly and is typically found in chaparral, sagebrush, and oak woods.

California Quail can be hunted in the following states:

California
Arizona
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington

Scaled Quail

Scaled quail, commonly referred to as Blue Quail, has a blue-grey tinge to their black-tipped feathers, giving them the appearance of scales. They are about the same size as a Gambel’s Quail and slightly larger than a Northern Bobwhite.

A Scaled Quail covey typically consists of 30 to 40 birds, and they choose to run and scatter rather than flush high into the air, reorganizing to sit tight as the predator passes.

Scaled quail can be hunted in the following states:

Arizona
Colorado
Nevada
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Texas

Gambel’s Quail

Gambel’s quail is an 11-inch-long plump and short-necked bird with beautifully patterned chestnut, gray-and-cream-colored feathers, and a square tail. The wings are both short and wide, with a comma-shaped topknot of feathers atop their tiny heads, with males having a fuller topknot than females.

Gambel’s quail are bigger than a Northern Bobwhite, but not as large as a Chukar or Gray Partridge, and live in the Southwest’s harsh deserts—the Sonoran, Mohave, and Chihuahuan—below 5,500 feet in elevation. Mesquite thickets along river basins, creek crossings, shrublands and cacti, dry grasslands, and farm areas are common habitats.

Gambel’s quail can be hunted in the following states:

Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Nevada
New Mexico
Texas
Utah

Additional Quail Species That Brittany Dogs Hunt

Where birds of a feather flock together, that’s where a Britanny dog is at its happiest. Your Brittany will hunt the following quail species:

Brittany Dogs Hunt Chukar

Chukar is another game bird that Brittany dogs love to hunt. The sandy-brown chukar is a game bird found in western North America’s high desert plains, Hawaii and New Zealand and is also the national bird of Pakistan.

Hunters commonly refer to them as “devil birds” due to the hard chase it gives them, as they can scamper up steep terrains with the agility and pace of a mountain goat. This red-billed game bird is adorned with dark bars on the sides and a band across the head and neck.

Because of the tough nature of the hunt, the extended hunting season, and the huge public fields covered, the chukar has become a favorite breed to hunt in the western United States. The name comes from its raucous song of “Chuk, chuk, chukar, chukar.”

Chukar can be hunted in the following states:

Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Oregon
South Dakota
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Brittany Dogs Hunt Grouse

Suppose you are into hunting grouse; you will be delighted to hear that Brittany dogs share your passion.

Ruffed Grouse

A Ruffed Grouse can conceal itself with its deceptive plumage among second-growth pines, dense undergrowth, and aspen. When looking for this grouse, it is very helpful to have a good hunting dog, like a Brittany, that will work very closely with you because of its quick, explosive flush. This type of bird is best served by a light, quick-firing firearm that won’t get tangled in the branches.

Ruffed grouse can be hunted in the following states:

Alaska
California
Connecticut
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Dusky And Sooty Crouse

The Dusky Grouse and Sooty Grouse were commonly referred to as “Blue Grouse” for nearly a century before being classified as two separate grouse species. The Dusky Grouse found in the Rocky Mountains area, and the Sooty Grouse of the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Ranges are popular gaming birds.

During display, the Sooty Grouse has a yellow throat sac and wattle, whereas the Dusky Grouse has a purplish throat sac and a yellow to red-colored wattle above the eye. The Dusky and Sooty Grouse are masters of camouflage, so it’s essential to bring an excellent pointer when hunting them. A pointer and retriever like a Brittany.

You can hunt “Blue Grouse” in the following states:

Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Other Grouse That Brittany Dogs Hunt

Brittany dogs are born with birds on the brain and will hunt the following grouse with a sense of glee:

Brittany Dogs Hunt Woodcock

American Woodcocks are short-legged shorebirds with chubby bodies and long, straight bills. Their bulbous appearance on the ground and in-flight is due to their huge heads, short necks, and short tails. In comparison to most other shorebirds, the wings are large and rounded.

Greater in size and plumage than a Killdeer, but slightly smaller than a Rock Pigeon, basically the size of a Robin.

You can hunt Woodcocks in the following states:

Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New York
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Brittany Dogs Can Hunt Waterfowl

Brittany dogs lack the double coat that many retrieving breeds possess, the water-proof Chesapeake Bay Retriever being one of them, so don’t be disappointed when you don’t get an A+ duck dog.

As they are more vulnerable to the elements, Brittany dogs don’t typically prefer to partake in duck hunting in cold water. They will retrieve ducks for you, but it must be noted that it’s not their forte. They do it to please their hunting masters.

Brittany Dogs Will Hunt Most Game

Brittany dogs are bred to hunt birds, but that doesn’t mean they won’t go after that cute squirrel, fuzzy rabbit, or deer with the loud hooves. Birds are what they hunt best, especially when hunting in thick cover.

Conclusion

Brittany dogs aren’t flashy show ponies; they are meat dogs, consistently putting food on the table. When you are looking for a dog with an insatiable appetite for hunting, a devotion that’s on another level, and fun to share a home with, look no further than a Brittany.

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