Mid-South Hunting Retriever Club, Inc.

About the MSHRC

Formed in 1985, the Mid-South Hunting Retriever Club invites all area hunters and retriever enthusiasts to participate in club sponsored hunts and training clinics. The MSHRC provides a program for sporting competition and an ongoing educational training experience that emphasizes the value of a trained retriever for waterfowl and upland game conservation.

This is truly a hunting retriever program conceived by hunters, perfected by hunters, and put on by hunters. The hunts are designed to duplicate actual waterfowl and upland bird hunting conditions and situations. Participants dress in hunting camouflage and use decoys, duck calls, and duck blinds. Live and blank ammunition is also used.

Dogs compete individually against an established standard instead of the conventional first, second, and third place concept. The hunt tests offer three levels of difficulty based on the handler's skill and the dog's experience, not age. Titles are awarded in all three categories: Junior, Senior, and Master.

The Junior stake is for the young or relatively inexperienced hunting retriever that has not qualified in the Senior or Master stakes. The tests consist of single land and water retrieves. Maximum distances should not normally exceed 100 yards. The dog may be held by collar or leash at the retrieving line and needs to deliver to hand.

The Senior stake is open to any hunting retriever that has not qualified in Masters. These hunting tests shall consist of one double land mark, one double water mark, one land blind, one water blind, and a walk up. The Senior hunting dog must be steady on the line, retrieve to hand, and may be asked to honor another dog.

The Master stake is open to any hunting retriever. The dogs in this stake are expected to be under control at all times and demonstrate eager and prompt response to all commands with style and precision. The Master test will challenge the ability and skills of the hunting retriever as well as the handler with multiple marked and blind retrieves under a wide variety of simulated hunting situations. The Master hunting retriever is required to honor off-lead while another dog works and must respond to voice or whistle commands on blind retrieves.

This is an opportunity of a lifetime for each of us who love duck hunting and trained retrievers to get together, learn together, and accomplish together. Dog, man, and bird will all benefit - the man in having the satisfaction of going afield with a dog he's trained; the dog in doing well what God put him here to do; and the bird population will be conserved, for a bird "down" will be a bird in "hand."

The Mid-South Hunting Retriever Club invites you to join us. Our club provides a program for ongoing training and sporting competition. Learning from other hunters, enjoying the social atmosphere, and training our retrievers is what the MSHRC is all about.