Test 7 – Water Quad with One Flyer, One Simulated Flyer and Two Retired
The day is starting out cold at about 24 degrees. We arrived at the field in the dark with activity all around us! The crews this year have been outstanding! Blinking Traffic directional lights on the NRC signs lead us into the area. The Grounds crew have 4-wheelers loading equipment and the gunners and throwers in white are out in the field.
Test 7 is going to be a Water Quad with 2 Retired and 1 Flyer and 1 Simulated Flyer. The field is a flat pasture with pieces of water dotted around the area. We are bordered on the east and west by tree lines. The end is wide open.
Bird #1 is a flyer station located 280 yards from the mat. This is in front of and slightly left of the handler. These gunners throw then shoot a mallard to the left toward the trees. The line to this bird takes the dog across the field into a finger of water and then back out to the bird. (We refer to this mark as F for Flyer)
Bird station #2 is on the left at 255 yards. This Retired gun comes out of the timber and throws to the right with the bird landing near the shore in the water. This is a hen pheasant. (We refer to this mark as LR for Left Retired)
Bird #3 is another Retired gun station in the middle right of the field. This is a hen duck thrown to the left. The gunners are 250 yards out from the mat and retire behind a hay bale. The bird lands in the water across the pond. (We will refer to this mark as MR for Middle Retired)
Bird #4 is the Simulated Flyer. This drake mallard is thrown to the right landing in a small swim-by pond with decoys. There is also a sluice from these gunners who are 150 yards from the mat. (We will refer to this mark as SimF for Simulated Flyer).
It is very likely that the Left Retired bird will be missed as the dogs will be drawn to the stand-out flyer guns.
This test is taking approximately 11-12 minutes for each dog to complete.
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| Close up of the left side of the 7th Series |
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| Close up of the right side of the 7th Series |
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| Flyer – Mallard – 280 yards |
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| Left Retired – Hen Pheasant – 255 yards |
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| Middle Retired – Hen Duck – 250 yards |
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| Simulated Flyer – Drake Mallard – 150 yards |
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| Sketch of the 7th Series by Jean Wu |
