TEK 2.0 Enhances Success in Grouse Hunting

The TEK 2.0 from SportDOG Brand® has turned out to be a real game-changer in my grouse and woodcock guiding in northern Minnesota. I admit I wasn’t always keen on using a tracking product, because it seemed like just another piece of kit I’d have to look after. My thinking was we have enough gear to contend with, so I don’t need the hassle of carrying an extra gadget around with me. Having spent a couple of seasons with the original TEK 1.0, and now the more sophisticated 2.0, I can tell you the benefits of this combination e-collar and dog-tracking system have made it an essential piece of equipment for me.

Even though I prefer to hunt with a brace of English setters when guiding, when we’re in the thick of a lot of woodcock I’ll often hunt with just one dog at a time. This is when I’ll use one of my closer-working dogs. The dog is hunting within bell range and my clients and I simply move from point to point. When woodcock are plentiful, things can become chaotic if you’re trying to manage two dogs simultaneously.

When we’re after grouse, which is a much more challenging bird, everything changes. My strategy then is to pair a wide-ranging dog with one that hunts a little closer. If my closer-working dog goes on point, my hunters and I can get a fix on him and get to the point pretty quickly. We find more birds, however, with the wide-ranging dog out covering the fringes and getting into areas where my hunters and I wouldn’t normally walk.

My wide-ranging dog wears a beeper collar, so I can keep track of him. However, like most hunters with plenty of bird seasons behind them, my hearing isn’t as good as it once was. So, even though I can usually locate a dog by sound, it can become tricky when he’s at the limit of my hearing range, particularly early in the season when the undergrowth is very dense. Even when I can hear the Beeper, it can be difficult to determine the precise direction we need to head in. Windy conditions make things particularly challenging. That’s where my TEK handheld comes into play. I keep it in my pocket, and when a dog goes on point it alerts me with an audible beep and a vibration. I simply look down at the detailed map display and say, for instance, alright, my dog is 160 yards off to the northeast and now I know where to direct my hunters so we can take the fastest route to the bird.

Having this extra insurance with the TEK has been really helpful. It’s nice knowing the unit is right there in my pocket to notify me when a dog has found a grouse or woodcock, even if the point is out of hearing range. I’ve seen a lot of blokes carrying their GPS unit around, staring at it constantly as if they’re looking at a TV screen. That’s just not necessary. I recommend keeping your eyes and ears trained on your dog, and then going to the TEK when you need help.

I should mention, I’m a big fan of the screen on the TEK 2.0. There’s a lot of detail in the maps, and I can read it clearly, even in bright light conditions.

If you'd told me 10 years ago that I needed to carry yet another piece of kit in my hunting vest, I'd have argued long and hard... and won the argument. Today, though, I'll never moan about carrying a TEK 2.0.