Gun Dog – September 2026

Summary

Gun Dog September 2026 (Volume 45, Number 4) is the early-season guide, with Training Tips & Field Safety on the cover and English Springer Spaniels photographed by John Hafner. The cover asks NATURE VS. NURTURE — What Makes a Good Bird Dog?

Editor Kali Parmley's letter is the issue's most urgent writing. Living in Utah, one of the driest states, she reports the Senate voted to strip protection from the Boundary Waters for a foreign-owned copper-nickel mine, ignoring 98% of more than 650,000 public comments against it, and removed protection from 225,000 acres of prime ruffed grouse habitat.

The features run from Grouse Dogs at p74 through Saving the Calvary at p82, The Dog Who Built a Brand at p90, The Quail Conundrum at p98 and Sanctuary at p106.

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Content Guide

▸ Editor's Letter

p.10 · Fight the Good Fight — Kali Parmley
Editor Kali Parmley writes from Utah, one of the driest states in America. A year ago the magazine reported that a midnight rider on a congressional budget bill nearly cost half a million acres of public land without public consent. In under a year, the Senate voted to remove protection from the Boundary Waters, opening it to a foreign-owned copper-nickel mine at the headwaters of America's most popular wilderness area. Despite 98% of more than 650,000 public comments opposing the mine during the comment period, it was pushed through. The Senate also stripped protection from 225,000 acres of public land around the wilderness — prime ruffed grouse habitat. On data centres: they cover thousands of acres, run on thousands of servers, burn enormous fossil-fuel power and emit carbon dioxide, and need thousands of gallons of water daily to cool servers. In Utah, a 40,000-acre data centre complex is planned north of the Great Salt Lake, home to deer, upland birds and a waterfowl management area already short of water because of over-allocated ranch water rights; local commissioners approved it with zero environmental study and no scientists involved. She urges support for conservation organisations protecting public land and water. Ninety-eight per cent of 650,000 comments is the number that should shame a legislature. Write to one representative about public land this month.

▸ Features

p.74 · Grouse Dogs — Tom Keer
Tom Keer asks what makes a champion grouse dog. Grouse are the quarry that separates good dogs from great ones. Judge one dog on its nose rather than its pace.

p.82 · Saving the Calvary — Mark Cesnut
Mark Cesnut asks whether walking trials can save pointing dog field trials from dying out. Field trials are the sport that is quietly shrinking. Attend one walking trial before you judge the future.

p.90 · The Dog Who Built a Brand — Daria Smith
Daria Smith tells how a chocolate Lab called Gunner changed a life, inspired a company and left a legacy. One dog building a brand is the most American story in the issue. Name one dog that changed your own plans.

p.98 · The Quail Conundrum — Ben Bretthingen
Ben Bretthingen warns that unprecedented weather could be catastrophic for already declining bobwhite quail. Quail decline is the conservation story upland hunters know best. Look up one quail count in your own state.

p.106 · Sanctuary: A Fight for Public Lands — Josh Tatman
Josh Tatman asks when the right time is for upland hunters to speak up for public land. Public land is the resource every hunter depends on and few defend. Join one conservation group this season.

▸ Departments

p.18 · New Starters — Kali Parmley
Season-starting gear is reviewed. Early-season kit is the purchase that decides a first hunt. Check one piece of kit before opening day.

p.22 · Field Test — Furvor Mobility — Kali Parmley
The Furvor Mobility product is field tested. Field tests are the only reviews worth reading. Compare one result with your own dog's needs.

p.26 · Shotgun Shell Review — Kent Ultimate FastLead — Tanner Smedley
Kent Ultimate FastLead shells are reviewed. Shell reviews are the buying guide shooters use most. Pattern one box before the season.

p.30 · Flush to Table — Dove, Fig & Goat Cheese Flatbread — Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Dove, fig and goat cheese flatbread. Game cooking is the page that makes a hunt a meal. Cook one game recipe this season.

p.36 · Shotgun Report — Pointer FT912 — Brad Fitzpatrick
The Pointer FT912 shotgun is reviewed. Shotgun reports are the purchase hunters research longest. Shoulder one gun before you buy it.

p.43 · Veterinary Clinic — Heat of the Moment — Seth Bynum, DVM
Dr Seth Bynum covers cooling a dog in the heat. Heat is the killer of early-season hunting dogs. Carry water and shade on every early hunt.

p.44 · Point — Susanna Love Smith with Reid Bryant
Pointing dogs get the department. Pointing is the instinct owners train around. Watch one young dog point this season.

p.50 · Retrieve — Tom Dokken
Tom Dokken writes on retrieving. Retrieving is the work that finishes a hunt properly. Practise one retrieve blind this week.

p.56 · Flush — Should you hunt with your pup this fall? — Jordan Horak
Jordan Horak asks whether to hunt a pup this autumn. First seasons are the decision that shapes a dog's whole career. Wait one season if your pup is not ready.

p.62 · Training & Behavior — Tanner Smedley
Training and behaviour are covered. Behaviour is the problem owners blame on the dog. Change one thing in your own training first.

p.68 · Back to Basics — Jeremy Moore
Jeremy Moore asks what separates a good dog from a hunting dog. Basics are the pages experienced handlers still read. Name one standard your own dog must meet.

p.120 · Tails Gone By — Gus — Jake McNally
Jake McNally closes with Gus. Closing tributes are the pages readers remember. Write down one thing your own dog taught you.

▸ Gear, Food and Advertising

Dogtra Pathfinder2
Dogtra's Pathfinder2 Mini Compass offers real-time compass tracking with e-collar control, e-fence with auto-correction, offline maps needing no signal, and long-range reliability — the PF2 Mini reaches 4 miles, the PF2 9 miles — with IPX9K waterproofing, no subscription and no cell signal needed. Four and nine miles is the range that decides a purchase. Check one collar's range before you buy.

Purina, Irish Setter and Fausti
Purina Pro Plan Performance 30/20 is advertised at 30% protein and 20% fat. Irish Setter, at Red Wing, Minnesota since 1950, uses the line "The WingShooter — Trusted in the field since 1950." Fausti is 100% made in Italy since 1948, on 540.371.3287 at FAUSTIUSA.COM. Ruffland Performance Kennels, made in the USA, offers a 1-gallon Water Hole automatic bowl and a Water Topper combining 9 gallons of storage with a storage tray. MyOutdoorTV offers 30 days free with the code GUNDOG30. Thirty per cent protein is the number owners compare. Check one label against your own dog's workload.

Subscriptions and publishing
Gun Dog (ISSN 0279-5086) publishes six issues a year: March/April/May, June/July/August, September, October, November and December/January/February. A one-year subscription is $44.94 in the US, APO, FPO and US territories, adding $13 a year for Canada in US funds including sales tax and GST, and $15 a year foreign. Customer service is 1-800-800-7724, or 515-237-3699 outside the US. Copyright 2026 by Outdoor Sportsman Group. Six issues a year is the schedule to plan around. Subscribe before opening day.

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Editor's Take

Kali Parmley's letter is the reason Gun Dog September 2026 is worth opening: 98% of more than 650,000 comments ignored, the Boundary Waters opened to a foreign-owned copper-nickel mine, 225,000 acres of ruffed grouse habitat stripped of protection, and a 40,000-acre data centre north of the Great Salt Lake approved with zero environmental study is public-land reporting with numbers rather than slogans, and it is the one page in the issue that will make a reader act. The Dog Who Built a Brand, about a chocolate Lab called Gunner, is the most human feature, and Dr Seth Bynum's heat clinic is the most useful. Weakest is the source: all five features from p74 to p106 survive as titles only with no body text, so no quail counts, trial results or training method can be quoted, and two author names show OCR errors. The Dogtra ranges of 4 and 9 miles and Purina's 30/20 give more concrete figures than the editorial. Buy this for the editor's letter; the features are a contents page.

Strengths
• Editor's letter gives 650,000 comments and 98%
• 225,000 acres and the Boundary Waters mine
• 40,000-acre data centre with zero study
• Dogtra gives 4 and 9 miles, Purina 30/20

Weaknesses
• No feature body text available to quote
• No quail counts or trial results
• Two author names show OCR errors

Verdict: Selective read — the editor's letter, features unquoted.