Kurzhaar & Woodcock: An exciting hunt for woodcock, to be experienced with a five-star dog, the Kurzhaar.
Anyone who has tried the experience of hunting the queen of the woods in the company of the kurzhaar knows that it is a real adventure, fascinating, fun, but above all satisfying. He has been defined in many ways, but to say that he is a shrewd weaver, gifted with great flair and poise describes him perfectly. The dog is extremely intelligent, fast and strong yet in all its movements it is elegant and fine, so much so that it arouses admiration from the hunter who has the honor of sharing a beautiful day outdoors.
When the kurzhaar runs, it almost seems to gallop, yet it does so with surprising harmony and elasticity. You immediately notice that he was born to give the game hunting sovereign of the forest, and establishes, when well trained, a relationship of esteem and trust with his handler. He loves hunting, he is infallible in the retrieval for which he demonstrates an immediate instinct and his firm is literally spectacular. In short, there are no flaws for this four-legged hunter, originally from Germany who is often also engaged in civil protection operations, but also proves to be an excellent companion dog.
It seems that its ancestors were originally from Prussia and today's Kurzhaar is the result of careful selections begun in the early nineteenth century of the last century. The turning point came when the hound's father was crossed with the English Pointer who improved his physical structure, but also his character aspect. The result was excellent: the dog today is, as mentioned, energetic and strong, but also balanced and lively, even if it needs a firm and consistent, constant and demanding training, especially if you want to use it during woodcock hunting. The main risk is in fact that of taking over the master, given his very strong character, although, if accompanied by a right companion, he can reveal all his hunting skills.
It is good that the training of the short hair starts from his early childhood, during which a respectful relationship must be created between owner and dog. On the field he immediately demonstrates his instinctive skills as an auxiliary stop, and his ability to learn from man, from the wild and from the environment that hosts him is literally surprising. On the other hand, the job of the owner who wants to train his kurzhaar is not too difficult: you need a firm wrist, this is true, but the breed immediately shows intelligence. He is not mistaken when it is stated that the kurzhaar hunts first with his head and only then with his daring attitude, with his resistance and with his overwhelming sense of smell. What really matters is that the animal is immediately placed in relation with genuine and true wild animals, indispensable for its preparation.
One of the most popular training techniques for our kurzhaar is certainly the German one, which shows firmness and perseverance, but above all meticulousness and hardness of the imposed work. For example, you can start with the development of the retrieve to be repeated over and over again, until the auxiliary proves to be safe, very safe during the execution, and then move on to the tracks that help the dog to a linear approach towards the wild. Only later will we work on farm and on the search.
Kurzhaar will soon prove to be infallible during the hunt for woodcock, migratory and lady of the woods par excellence. It is easily encountered in humid and hummus-rich places and given the suspicious nature of the wild and the difficulties imposed by the hunting area, it is good for the hunter to equip himself with the right equipment and not just the right auxiliary.
The impossibility of clean shots in the middle of a forest is perhaps one of the main difficulties that the hunter must overcome: for this reason the advice is to carry a light rifle that will benefit the enthusiast who has to come and go along hilly paths and mountain or dense scrub.
Having said that, given that the woodcock is not too resistant to shooting, a caliber of your choice between 12 and 20 with a short barrel and minimum choke will be fine, to solve the problem of leaves that "eat" the shots. The shot must of course be as close as possible.
The ideal barrel length is from 60 to 66 cm with a 4-star choke. The choice of side-by-side or over-and-under and a cartridge that is not too heavy and with a large capacity for expanding the pattern is excellent.
Hunting is love