NH Grouse Hunting Update: 10/11
A solid day of upland bird hunting in New Hampshire. We contacted 17 grouse and 11 woodcock, with points on many of them. One grouse and three woodcock paid the price.
Some times fresh guano is the closest you get to ruffed grouse.
Two more good days in the books, this time in the New Hampshire uplands, with my client Guy. Great temps for hunting ruffed grouse and woodcock, topping out in the low 50's, and perfect weather for pointing dogs to work in.
Yesterday began with a few bumps on grouse and woodcock from Bode, but he acquitted himself nicely with a solid point on what turned out to be three woodcock. Guy made nice shots on two of them, and Bode was instrumental in recovering both from tall grass and thick cover. He worked closely and thoroughly, and made another nice point on a timberdoodle, but that one got away to safety.
Millie got her chance next, and much like her father, she had a bump or two to start, but then proceeded to point a pair of grouse (tough shot) and a single grouse (no shot). She is all energy and hard to keep up with at times, but she worked mostly under control yesterday.
Rosie did the heavy lifting in the afternoon and was really impressive with several points on woodcock (one taken) and grouse (no shots) high on a mountain top. We moved a pile of them up there, in a cut of perfect age, but it was one of her last points that provided our highlight of the day.
Rosie established a great point on a grouse that held well for us, and Guy made an accurate shot as it escaped to his left. Unfortunately, it was far from dead, and Rosie made an equally impressive track and retrieve of our quarry, the first grouse bagged for us this season. It was a big one, probably last year's bird, and will make a fine dinner guest for my client.
It was one of seventeen grouse and eleven woodcock that we contacted yesterday, our best day of the season so far. We have started noticing that some of the woodcock that we have killed in the last few days are males, supposedly an indication of the tail end of the migration. I'm not so sure about that, and perhaps we'll have another good week or two chasing the timberdoodles.
Yesterday began with a few bumps on grouse and woodcock from Bode, but he acquitted himself nicely with a solid point on what turned out to be three woodcock. Guy made nice shots on two of them, and Bode was instrumental in recovering both from tall grass and thick cover. He worked closely and thoroughly, and made another nice point on a timberdoodle, but that one got away to safety.
Millie got her chance next, and much like her father, she had a bump or two to start, but then proceeded to point a pair of grouse (tough shot) and a single grouse (no shot). She is all energy and hard to keep up with at times, but she worked mostly under control yesterday.
Rosie did the heavy lifting in the afternoon and was really impressive with several points on woodcock (one taken) and grouse (no shots) high on a mountain top. We moved a pile of them up there, in a cut of perfect age, but it was one of her last points that provided our highlight of the day.
Rosie established a great point on a grouse that held well for us, and Guy made an accurate shot as it escaped to his left. Unfortunately, it was far from dead, and Rosie made an equally impressive track and retrieve of our quarry, the first grouse bagged for us this season. It was a big one, probably last year's bird, and will make a fine dinner guest for my client.
It was one of seventeen grouse and eleven woodcock that we contacted yesterday, our best day of the season so far. We have started noticing that some of the woodcock that we have killed in the last few days are males, supposedly an indication of the tail end of the migration. I'm not so sure about that, and perhaps we'll have another good week or two chasing the timberdoodles.
Today would start out differently from the day before. Slightly cooler conditions with a little bit of rain, but overall good scenting conditions for the dogs. Bode once again led off and quickly had a point on an escaping grouse, and while we moved two more in the thickness of that cover, we found no other birds in the morning. It was ghostly silent out there, even though we moved through some great looking cover.
Bode put in a solid two hours in two different coverts, working closely and thoroughly, and even six-month old Rocky got a run through a regenerating logging cut in the hopes of finding a woodcock or two, but it was for naught. He has boundless energy and the best of intentions, but unfortunately we couldn't get him in to any birds today.
Fully recharged after lunch, we brought out the ace up our sleeve: Rosie. She saved our day, as she quickly began contacting grouse and woodcock consistently over her two and a half hours of work in typically thick upland cover - plenty of "stem density" here.
Rosie ran energetically, covering lots of ground, and her beeper collar got a lot of work. She pointed a number of birds, and in a short time my client had his limit of woodcock over beautiful points. Rosie also had several sticking points on grouse, and though Guy got good chances on a couple of them, none made in to the back of the vest.
Our total for the day was ten grouse and eleven woodcock contacted, a much better day than it was looking like after the morning we had. As is usually the case with grouse hunting, we found that the farther we hiked, sometimes in more remote areas, the more grouse we contacted. There is no substitute for boot leather and desire. If you're physically able to get out there, and have the mental fortitude to stay at it, you'll find grouse. If either quality is lacking, the less birds you'll see.
Bode put in a solid two hours in two different coverts, working closely and thoroughly, and even six-month old Rocky got a run through a regenerating logging cut in the hopes of finding a woodcock or two, but it was for naught. He has boundless energy and the best of intentions, but unfortunately we couldn't get him in to any birds today.
Fully recharged after lunch, we brought out the ace up our sleeve: Rosie. She saved our day, as she quickly began contacting grouse and woodcock consistently over her two and a half hours of work in typically thick upland cover - plenty of "stem density" here.
Rosie ran energetically, covering lots of ground, and her beeper collar got a lot of work. She pointed a number of birds, and in a short time my client had his limit of woodcock over beautiful points. Rosie also had several sticking points on grouse, and though Guy got good chances on a couple of them, none made in to the back of the vest.
Our total for the day was ten grouse and eleven woodcock contacted, a much better day than it was looking like after the morning we had. As is usually the case with grouse hunting, we found that the farther we hiked, sometimes in more remote areas, the more grouse we contacted. There is no substitute for boot leather and desire. If you're physically able to get out there, and have the mental fortitude to stay at it, you'll find grouse. If either quality is lacking, the less birds you'll see.
Rosie has had a great season so far, helping my clients take a grouse and twelve woodcock to this point.
Three days in a row of limits on woodcock for my clients. The leaves are dropping and the chances are getting better.
