NH Grouse & Woodcock Hunting Update: 10/29/2018
The beat goes on up here in northern New Hampshire's grouse woods. The hunting has had its moments over the last few days, but this has been the most challenging period of the season so far, mostly due to our wintry weather conditions. It was unseasonably cold last week, with high temps in the 30's most days, and very brisk winds to boot. While the conditions didn't seem to bother the dogs too much, it made it difficult on us hunters.
The coldest day of the season was last Thursday, and my unfortunate victims, the Ramels, bore the brunt of the nasty weather. It topped out right around freezing, but the wind was icy cold, and definitely made it feel in the low 20's that day. We had trouble finding birds, hitting covers that were consistently producing grouse and woodcock just a week or two before. That is how it goes at this time of year - when the overhead cover drops, the birds seek "horizontal cover", primarily in the form of stands of early and maturing evergreens, as well as blowdowns and other incredibly thick hiding places. The bad news was that we only contacted four grouse and one woodcock that day. The good news was that four of the five birds were pointed by Monty and Rosie, and after the woodcock was missed early on, the grouse weren't obliging in my clients' efforts. Some days you're the windshield, and some days you're the bug ...
Two days later, we were back at it again, but I had Arden, Rodger and Tony with me. Arden had shot a Pennsylvania grouse before, but Rodger and Tony were totally new to the masochism we call grouse hunting, so a learning curve is to be expected. Still, we had two good days of hunting for the most part, despite the dire weather forecast of the approaching remnants of a hurricane on its way. Sometimes the weatherman doesn't quite get it right, and luckily that was the case for Arden's group.
The coldest day of the season was last Thursday, and my unfortunate victims, the Ramels, bore the brunt of the nasty weather. It topped out right around freezing, but the wind was icy cold, and definitely made it feel in the low 20's that day. We had trouble finding birds, hitting covers that were consistently producing grouse and woodcock just a week or two before. That is how it goes at this time of year - when the overhead cover drops, the birds seek "horizontal cover", primarily in the form of stands of early and maturing evergreens, as well as blowdowns and other incredibly thick hiding places. The bad news was that we only contacted four grouse and one woodcock that day. The good news was that four of the five birds were pointed by Monty and Rosie, and after the woodcock was missed early on, the grouse weren't obliging in my clients' efforts. Some days you're the windshield, and some days you're the bug ...
Two days later, we were back at it again, but I had Arden, Rodger and Tony with me. Arden had shot a Pennsylvania grouse before, but Rodger and Tony were totally new to the masochism we call grouse hunting, so a learning curve is to be expected. Still, we had two good days of hunting for the most part, despite the dire weather forecast of the approaching remnants of a hurricane on its way. Sometimes the weatherman doesn't quite get it right, and luckily that was the case for Arden's group.
We had a good morning Saturday, contacting 7 grouse and 2 woodcock, quite a few of which were pointed by Monty. He gave the group a couple of good chances, but the only one to fall was a woodcock, Tony's first harvested timberdoodle ever. We moved to a lower elevation cover in the afternoon, in an attempt to get away from the 3" or so of snow that clogged our morning cover. Rosie got the call that afternoon, and after bumping her first grouse, she then pointed two more, and Arden managed to do everything right: he recognized the dog on point, got to Rosie quickly, and made a good shot in taking the grouse, his second bird taken ever.
Sunday brought more cold weather, with another threat of showers that never really materialized until we were well out of the woods. The first cover that day was utterly disappointing, as Monty only contacted one grouse (pointed) far up a hillside. When it finally went, it did so way out of range. The second cover that morning was a bit better, as we contacted four grouse, one of which provided a perfect down-the-trail shot for Tony. It was a miss, and Tony learned the hard way that what the grouse gods giveth, they will surely take away ...
The afternoon cover on Sunday was a road edge with a good amount of evergreen cover along the edge, as well in the woods. Bode got the call and he hunted beautifully, patterning well and thoroughly scouring the woods in search of birds. He's been exceptional the last couple of weeks, and it seems as though the cold, wet weather has done him some good. We contacted eight grouse that afternoon, at least five of which were pointed staunchly by Bode. Everyone took shots, sometimes several, but no grouse paid the price for their mistakes. Good news is that they're still there ...
Our frigid nighttime temperatures may have gotten some of the woodcock moving for warmer climes, or at least lower elevation areas that are still soft. The higher elevation cuts and woods that I like seem to be devoid of them right now, so hopefully they are still around in the stream bottoms. More wet weather is on the way this week and in to the weekend - hopefully it isn't too wet for us!
The afternoon cover on Sunday was a road edge with a good amount of evergreen cover along the edge, as well in the woods. Bode got the call and he hunted beautifully, patterning well and thoroughly scouring the woods in search of birds. He's been exceptional the last couple of weeks, and it seems as though the cold, wet weather has done him some good. We contacted eight grouse that afternoon, at least five of which were pointed staunchly by Bode. Everyone took shots, sometimes several, but no grouse paid the price for their mistakes. Good news is that they're still there ...
Our frigid nighttime temperatures may have gotten some of the woodcock moving for warmer climes, or at least lower elevation areas that are still soft. The higher elevation cuts and woods that I like seem to be devoid of them right now, so hopefully they are still around in the stream bottoms. More wet weather is on the way this week and in to the weekend - hopefully it isn't too wet for us!
