NH Grouse Hunting Update: 10/15
A tale of different days, with much different conditions for hunting grouse and woodcock in the uplands of New Hampshire. Yesterday was the day after a very busy holiday weekend, and though it started out on the chilly side, it had warmed considerably by noon and got down right hot in the afternoon. There's no doubt that the daily routine of many grouse and woodcock were disrupted (or ended entirely) last weekend, so that could also explain why Monday was a bit slower than we anticipated.
Rosie had some nice points and worked very thoroughly in the morning, providing a couple of chances on grouse and woodcock for my clients, but none fell to their guns. The afternoon saw much higher temperatures (65 degrees, but it felt warmer than that), and after moving a couple of grouse, we sought lower lying areas with spruce cover, where grouse might be trying to stay cool. This worked out pretty well, as we flushed several more grouse with Rosie's help, but they offered no good shots. The total for the day was 14 grouse and 1 woodcock moved.
Rosie had some nice points and worked very thoroughly in the morning, providing a couple of chances on grouse and woodcock for my clients, but none fell to their guns. The afternoon saw much higher temperatures (65 degrees, but it felt warmer than that), and after moving a couple of grouse, we sought lower lying areas with spruce cover, where grouse might be trying to stay cool. This worked out pretty well, as we flushed several more grouse with Rosie's help, but they offered no good shots. The total for the day was 14 grouse and 1 woodcock moved.
It rained a bit last night, and the moisture, combined with temps in the 30's this morning, gave us great conditions for upland bird hunting. Monty had himself a good morning, pointing several grouse at close range, as well as a bunch of woodcock. One of the grouse paid the ultimate price in the morning, but a couple others were missed and flew to safety. Overall, we moved around 21 birds this morning (14 grouse, 7 woodcock), and the visibility on these birds seemed to have been better from just a couple of days ago.
Rosie worked again this afternoon, and had more great work on grouse and a couple of woodcock as well. Another grouse was taken this afternoon over one of Rosie's staunch points, but a couple of other birds got away after feeling the heat of my client's gun. She once again worked with great energy and thoroughness, and seems to be developing in to a dependable bird dog. We moved a total of 21 grouse and 9 woodcock for the day, so it was a good one.
Rain is coming in force on Wednesday night in to Thursday and possibly Friday, with gusty winds on Thursday and Friday. We should lose a lot of our leaf cover and the shooting opportunities should get better for everyone.
