Field Notes
Dispatches from the field, the loft, the truck, and wherever LeRoy happens to be when something worth writing down happens.
LeRoy's rule #1: If the dog is working, shut up and watch. If the dog isn't working, shut up and figure out why before you open your mouth.
Duke Locked Up and Nobody Moved for Three Minutes
There are points. And then there are points. Duke found a rooster in the edge of a CRP strip and went statue. Three minutes. Nobody breathed. That's what Elhew Snakefoot looks like in the wild.
Roman Let Moose Figure It Out. Moose Figured It Out.
The Wolf Creek way is to get out of the dog's way in year one. Roman held his tongue, kept his hands in his pockets, and watched Moose work a bird for the first time like he'd been doing it his whole life.
Back to Back. Duke Takes 1st Place Pointers Again.
2024. 2025. Same result. LeRoy didn't say much about it. He didn't have to. Duke said everything. King took 2nd in Flushing. Wolf Creek showed up and showed out.
Kota Ran Kansas Like She Grew Up There. She Basically Did.
Colorado girl in cornbelt country. She didn't miss a beat. Natural point, natural back, smooth gait all day. Some dogs you introduce to new terrain. Kota just started hunting it.
New Breeding Pairs. LeRoy Has Thoughts. Many Thoughts.
LeRoy sat down with his loft records the way other guys sit down with their fantasy football roster. Crossed three pairs. Has opinions about every decision. Maverick supervised. Nobody was surprised.
Maverick Found a Shed. He's Three. Already Better at This Than Most Adults.
Took Maverick out to walk the back field. He found a shed antler in the first twenty minutes. Was he proud of it? Extremely. Did he carry it the whole way back? Every step. That's LeRoy's grandson.
Sarah, from the truck, on a laptop: "They've been in that field for four hours. I've responded to 47 emails. We're both doing what we love."
King Opened the Season the Way He Always Does. Like He Invented It.
First day of pheasant season. King was loaded before anyone else was dressed. He ran all day, retrieved every bird, and still had energy left when everyone else was done.
Bee Is One Pass from Her Master Title and She Knows It
Queen Bee ran her BDC hunt test like she had something to prove. She did. One pass from her Master title and she's not slowing down. Small dog. Big engine.
Went for Pigeon Seed. Came Home with Two French Bird Dogs and a New Best Friend.
It started with pigeon seed. It ended with Aksel, Addie, and a friendship with Eugene Nosco that nobody saw coming. LeRoy fixed a trailer, worked a dog, and came home with two Bretons. Standard Tuesday.
From the Wire: real news from the upland world — checked, sourced, and filtered through the Wolf Creek lens. Tap through to read the originals.
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Iowa Pheasants Hit a 20-Year High — In the Centennial Season, No Less
The August roadside survey counted 28 birds per route — the best since 2005 — with a projected harvest of 600,000–700,000 roosters. And it landed on the 100th anniversary of Iowa's first pheasant season (Oct 1925, 13 counties, 75,000 hunters). The birds picked a good year to show off.
2026 Outlook: The Boom Is Holding
Mild winter, warm wet spring — DNR biologist Todd Bogenschutz says this fall's numbers should hold "more or less unchanged" from last year's 20-year high. His weather model runs right about 80% of the time. We like those odds. The dogs like them more.
The 127th National Championship Ran at Ames. The Super Bowl of Bird Dogs.
Every February since 1896, the best pointing dogs in America gather at Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, Tennessee — three-hour heats, wild birds, no excuses. The 127th running kicked off February 9, 2026. If you've never watched a National contender run, fix that.
Worth Your Coffee Break: What It Takes to Make a National Champion
Garden & Gun went inside the world of championship field-trial dogs — the breeding, the miles, the handlers who live it. Spoiler: it's the same recipe we run here. Good blood, honest work, and a truck that never fully unpacks.
On River: "He is not a hunting dog. He is not a field dog. He filed a formal complaint about both of those statements. We are reviewing it."
That's all of 'em for now. LeRoy's out making more as we speak.
