Hey guys just wanna say I joined today and great site. My GSP is 7 and we took him pheasant and quail hunting for the first time a couple of weekends ago. He had never had any experience with hunting before in his life but he performed adequately. (We had another man out there with me, my father, and my friend who had 4 american shorthairs that we used to hunt with. My GSP had no experience or training in honoring the other dogs, so it was pretty funny to watch him charge at pheasants and quail sitting in rows of corn.) He did not seem to have the focus to find the birds himself though and stayed at my heels because he was a little wary of the shotgun shots. I would like some advice on how to train an older GSP to hunt quail more effectively. Feel free to share stories of your older GSPs hunting as I am interested in hearing them. It would also be great to hear stories of how you trained your GSPs to hunt either as pups or older dogs.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.

Attached is a link to some pics of him "hunting" 

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A2G4TcsmGwgbsf

 No worries.  The most important thing I can say about gun breaking is that you should take things slow and always make things fun for the dog when using the gun.  I like to have the dog doing something fun when the gun goes off, like playing fetch or chasing a bird.  Let me know if you need any other help, I'll be glad to offer any help I can.  There are also a lot of other experienced trainers on here who can offer a lot more help than I can. 

Experience, experience, experience. Find a way to get your dog on birds during the off-season. This might include purchasing some quail, or pigeons. If you don't have property to use, or desire to keep birds around the house (hey - who does?!?!), you may join a hunt club, or other club or association (like NAVHDA). I totally agree with the sentiments on getting the dog used to gunfire. I usually start my pups with loud banging of food dishes around dinner time, cap-guns at a distance with treats, etc... I do believe that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, but I also believe old habits are hard to break - including focus (or lack of) in the field due to non-use. I try to get my dog out into a field 3 - 4 times a week, not including time on birds, to habituate her field manners (staying close, obeying commands, chasing only when allowed...).

One more thing, you may need to adjust your expecations for the 7-year-old.  If the dog's prey-drive is good, you will end up with a good dog that will find birds for you.  More refined elements, like retrieving, may take longer to train than you have with your dog.  My suggestion would be to enjoy what time you have in the field with it.