2010 MNRC Report: Day 4- Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Brought to you by Purina & Avery

SERIES #	1	2	3
DAY(S)	SUN-MON	MON-TUE	TUE-WED
A	Donut Hole	Oh No	Not So
B	Never Again	Not So	Par 4
C	Not So	Par 4	Never Again

Flight A: "Not So" Land Triple with Blind

This is a land Triple, with surprise water on one of the marks, and a land blind. All birds in this series are hen mallards launched out of wingers. The first bird down is the right-hand bird, out of a station completely hidden by cattails, angled back to the left, at 70 yds. The short left and long middle bird stations are almost in-line with one another. The middle bird is a flyer, left to right, landing at a square angle, averaging 125 yds. The short go-bird, right to left, lands in a green cover of varying length, at 78 yards. The blind is under the arc of the go-bird, at 94 yards.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing handlers is that their dogs must disappear on their way to the right-hand bird if they are taking a good line. There is a very long land entry, after which the dogs go down an embankment, and out of sight. The bird lands on the other side of a 20' wide span of water connecting two ponds. The majority of factors around the area of fall are not visible to the handler.

Flight A has been having a relatively easy time with this test. Some dogs have blown past the short go-bird, swinging behind its station to get the long, exciting flyer. Many Flight C dogs had a terrible time getting to the right-hand bird.

FLIGHT A CALLBACKS TO THE 4th SERIES: Dog #5, 7, 8, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 50, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 107, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114, 118, 119 (Retired Today).
74 dogs called back. Flight A starts Thursday am with Dog #5.

Flight B: "Par 4" Water Double with Diversion Bird

Two drake mallards are launched from stations on the other side of the water. There is no flyer. The 75-yd memory bird is on the left, and is launched right to left. The 68-yd go-bird is launched left to right. Both land near the water's edge. As the dog is returning with the go-bird, a 40-yd diversion bird is hand thrown from the near shore into the middle of the channel. The handler begins the test seated on a bucket.

Polling the gallery, there are contrasting opinions about this third series. One is that this is a wide open test that can only hurt the handler unless the dog smacks the marks. There is a possibility for dogs to over think it, expecting a trick or surprise. One handler had quite a different take - that the test looks deceptively easy until one runs it. Strategic bird placement on the marks, and the addition of the diversion bird, make the third series challenging.

Diversion Bird

Flight C: "Never Again"

Land Triple with Blind -- Walk-up with Honor

The Never Again venue is on the north side of the creek. It is a land Triple with a Blind and an Honor. This is a walk-up to nearly the edge of a very steep hill down into a large valley. All birds are rooster pheasants, the first of which is a 74 yd dead middle bird, launched from a winger, left to right, into medium cover, at a square angle. The second bird is on the left and is a square throw, left to right, into tall, thick green cover, at 76 yds. The third bird is a 61 yd live shot flier, right to left. The 150 yd blind is between the middle and right marks. All stations are concealed by natural elements.

A first has been made today as folks witnessed the best beeline in twenty years of Master National history at the Never Again venue. Instead of picking up the bird, one of Steve Raney's dogs suddenly jumped backward four feet at the end of the blind. Not having any idea why, Steve tried his best to handle the dog to the bird. The dog took his casts; but, refused to get close enough to the bird to pick it up. Finally, Steve and the Judges conversed, the area where the blind is being planted was examined and lo and behold, a meat bee nest was discovered.

To those of you unfamiliar with meat bees, be glad. This is no honey of a tale. Meat bees are horrid little creatures that build nests in the ground, and they bite. Just about everyone was buzzing about sudden addition of the meat bee factor to this event. The majority of people from elsewhere in the country were learning about them for the first time. Some observers swore they saw the area thoroughly sprayed, two times over. Creek Manager Brad says he put out a meat bee trap and knows nothing about any spraying. Steve, who is a pro from southern California, says he is quite familiar with meat bees and seemed completely unphased.

After the test resumed, the bees have continued to be an issue. Some dogs are hesitating before picking up birds or spitting them out.

The third series of Flight C concluded at 3:30 pm.

FLIGHT C CALLBACKS TO THE 4th SERIES: Dog #1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 68, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 117. Total # dogs called back: 79. Flight C starts Thursday am with Dog #1.