NH Grouse & Woodcock Hunting Update: 10/15/2018
Nearly perfect weather over the last four days for comfortable grouse and woodcock hunting, for hunters and dogs alike. With temps starting out in the upper 20's and 30's, and topping out in the 40's and 50's, we couldn't ask for better conditions to chase birds over hill and dale. That still hasn't made them easy however, as the changing weather has resulted in the drop of some of the leaf cover that was out there, and this usually makes the grouse a little uneasy. Imagine if half of the roof of your house suddenly disappeared (not feeling too good about that, are you?) - that's what grouse must feel like when the leaf cover that once protected them for avian predators starts to float down all around them. The birds get a bit uneasy with the loss of their protective cover, and they often are on the move when we approach a little too closely.
Still, we had some good work from all of the dogs this weekend, but the unequalled highlight was the "triple point" by Rosie and my client's two pointing griffons, Maggie and Louise. They all came to a beautiful standstill in an area with a mixture of hardwoods and small spruce, and a smattering of ferns. The grouse held well at our approach, and when it finally did fly from the ferns, it did so without a shot fired. A little too fast for the gun, and that one made a getaway to be pursued another day. Rosie has continued her progression along the path to becoming a bird dog last weekend, and she will get plenty more chances to prove herself in the next few weeks.
The numbers of birds moved each day were a little mixed. Friday was our toughest day of hunting this year - only 8 grouse contacted, but a number of them were pointed, by each of the dogs too. Nothing to be considered a "good" chance, however. Saturday was a better day - 12 grouse and 8 woodcock moved, with one of each making the trip back in our vests. Rosie had a very good morning of bird finding that morning, and our afternoon was spent introducing my clients' 7-month old Braque Francais to the grouse woods. Maggy did well that afternoon, finding seven birds and getting a snoot full of scent in the process. She showed lots of confidence too, which is the first step in getting accustomed to this thing called grouse hunting.
Still, we had some good work from all of the dogs this weekend, but the unequalled highlight was the "triple point" by Rosie and my client's two pointing griffons, Maggie and Louise. They all came to a beautiful standstill in an area with a mixture of hardwoods and small spruce, and a smattering of ferns. The grouse held well at our approach, and when it finally did fly from the ferns, it did so without a shot fired. A little too fast for the gun, and that one made a getaway to be pursued another day. Rosie has continued her progression along the path to becoming a bird dog last weekend, and she will get plenty more chances to prove herself in the next few weeks.
The numbers of birds moved each day were a little mixed. Friday was our toughest day of hunting this year - only 8 grouse contacted, but a number of them were pointed, by each of the dogs too. Nothing to be considered a "good" chance, however. Saturday was a better day - 12 grouse and 8 woodcock moved, with one of each making the trip back in our vests. Rosie had a very good morning of bird finding that morning, and our afternoon was spent introducing my clients' 7-month old Braque Francais to the grouse woods. Maggy did well that afternoon, finding seven birds and getting a snoot full of scent in the process. She showed lots of confidence too, which is the first step in getting accustomed to this thing called grouse hunting.
Sunday and Monday were morning sessions only, and we moved 9 grouse and 2 woodcock on Sunday, and 10 grouse and 2 woodcock Monday morning. One woodcock was taken on a point by Rosie, but we had several chances over her points Sunday and Bode provided a couple of good chances today. Sometimes however, the closest we get to them is finding their scat in the areas where we're hunting - C'est la vie!
The weather is forecasted for more of the same through this weekend, and you know that it's only a matter of time now before the woodcock flights are moving through. The grouse season is rapidly moving along and hopefully you're getting out there for some of it.
The weather is forecasted for more of the same through this weekend, and you know that it's only a matter of time now before the woodcock flights are moving through. The grouse season is rapidly moving along and hopefully you're getting out there for some of it.
