One of the "Good Years"
Every grouse season seems pretty good to me, but there’s some that have burned their images in to my memory permanently. Unfortunately, most of those memories came from twenty or more years ago, when I used to hunt with my brother Chuck and his GSF (German Shorthaired Flusher) Sadie - those were some great days, where we’d move 40 or 50 birds in a day and hit very few of them, but the action was hot. The “good old days” as old timers wistfully refer to them were probably pretty good, though I often wonder if that is also a byproduct of a decaying memory.
This season has had its share of great days, and some of them would have rivaled our best days from years ago. I think there’s been at least four days this season of 30 - 35 birds contacted in a day (between grouse and woodcock), with our best day seeing grouse exclusively being 28, all in Vermont. Last week, I had a four hour hunt in VT where we moved 17 grouse, and yesterday I was out for three hours and saw 11 more in NH. That’s pretty good, no matter what eon you’re from. As usual, the deer hunters continue to remind me of how many birds they’re seeing in their pursuits each day. Needless to say, there’s still lots of birds out there.
I hope we have a strong winter with lots of fluffy snow (great for snow roosting birds), and a nice dry spring and early summer - we could just be in for a better season next year if those things happen!
This season has had its share of great days, and some of them would have rivaled our best days from years ago. I think there’s been at least four days this season of 30 - 35 birds contacted in a day (between grouse and woodcock), with our best day seeing grouse exclusively being 28, all in Vermont. Last week, I had a four hour hunt in VT where we moved 17 grouse, and yesterday I was out for three hours and saw 11 more in NH. That’s pretty good, no matter what eon you’re from. As usual, the deer hunters continue to remind me of how many birds they’re seeing in their pursuits each day. Needless to say, there’s still lots of birds out there.
I hope we have a strong winter with lots of fluffy snow (great for snow roosting birds), and a nice dry spring and early summer - we could just be in for a better season next year if those things happen!
