Season Review
It's that time of the grouse season again. Finally, a break for me and my spotted gang after a busy guiding schedule, meaning a much needed rest for the dogs, as well as a time for reflection on how this grouse season has gone for us. In short, it's been a good fall for finding grouse and woodcock, and my clients have connected on more birds (56 as of 11/20) this season than in any autumn we've had so far. It's a testament to their shooting abilities, as well the hunting abilities of Rosie, Bode and Monty.
It's time to run through the data and take stock of how this season has been. Keep in mind that this was our busiest (40 days in the woods) of guiding ever, perhaps explaining the total number of birds moved this year. Also, while we spent more time in Vermont that in other years, the majority (nearly two thirds) of our days were spent in New Hampshire. There's more pressure from other hunters in the granite state, but I have far more coverts there, most of which are easily accessible when I'm guiding guests of Tall Timber Lodge.
It's time to run through the data and take stock of how this season has been. Keep in mind that this was our busiest (40 days in the woods) of guiding ever, perhaps explaining the total number of birds moved this year. Also, while we spent more time in Vermont that in other years, the majority (nearly two thirds) of our days were spent in New Hampshire. There's more pressure from other hunters in the granite state, but I have far more coverts there, most of which are easily accessible when I'm guiding guests of Tall Timber Lodge.
WEEK BY WEEK
I have broken the season down in to weeks, beginning with the opening week of the Vermont season and ending with the last week that we guided (11/5 - 11/11). I have also provided a small analysis of each week to make sense of the numbers for that week.
Week 1 (9/25 – 9/30): 40 grouse (6% of the birds moved for the season), 1 woodcock – took 1 grouse (1.7% of the birds taken this season)
Analysis: As you might expect, there were plenty of leaves on the trees in the first week of the Vermont season, but we had a couple of very good days of moving grouse. Lots of young birds, but only one paid the price - chances were at a premium.
Week 2 (10/1 – 10/7): 87 grouse, 28 woodcock (18%) – took 2 grouse, 5 woodcock (12.5%)
Analysis: More days in the woods of New Hampshire this first week of the season, and the numbers were good. The weather was also good for hunters and dogs alike, with some cool days - good scenting conditions.
Week 3 (10/8 – 10/14): 55 grouse, 36 woodcock (14%) – took 4 grouse, 10 woodcock (25%)
Analysis: This was the toughest week of the season, as the daytime high temperatures reached over 70 degrees nearly every day. Thankfully, my clients agreed to do morning hunts only to preserve the dogs and its worked out well. We had some good mornings, and a decent number of birds bagged.
Week 4 (10/15 – 10/21): 55 grouse, 34 woodcock (14%) – took 8 grouse, 3 woodcock (19.6%)
Analysis: More seasonal temperatures and conditions resumed this week, and a big storm helped take down a majority of the leaves. The shooting opportunities were much better and my clients obliged for the most part. We had one scheduled day off this week and then another when one of my clients sustained an injury.
Week 5 (10/22 – 10/28): 92 grouse, 17 woodcock (17%) – took 7 grouse, 2 woodcock (16%)
Analysis: With the foliage all down on the forest floor, the grouse sightings and shooting were the best of the season. The woodcock numbers started winding down however, as the full moon and colder nights that week definitely got them moving south.
Week 6 (10/29 – 11/4): 82 grouse, 2 woodcock (13%) – took 5 grouse, 1 woodcock (10.7%)
Analysis: Woodcock numbers continued to dwindle, and we only encountered stragglers sporadically. The grouse numbers made up for them however. Many of our days this week were spent hunting with the dogs of clients, so perhaps that had an effect on the amount of birds we moved. These were the last dates that we spent in NH.
Week 7 (11/5 – 11/11): 105 grouse, 1 woodcock (17%) – took 8 grouse (14.2%)
Analysis: All of these dates were spent in Vermont, and we had some great days shaking up the routines of the grouse there. Some gave us good chances, but there were days when they were pretty tough too ... These were the survivors of the season, and acted like it. Our last woodcock sighting for the season was on 11/10.
Week 1 (9/25 – 9/30): 40 grouse (6% of the birds moved for the season), 1 woodcock – took 1 grouse (1.7% of the birds taken this season)
Analysis: As you might expect, there were plenty of leaves on the trees in the first week of the Vermont season, but we had a couple of very good days of moving grouse. Lots of young birds, but only one paid the price - chances were at a premium.
Week 2 (10/1 – 10/7): 87 grouse, 28 woodcock (18%) – took 2 grouse, 5 woodcock (12.5%)
Analysis: More days in the woods of New Hampshire this first week of the season, and the numbers were good. The weather was also good for hunters and dogs alike, with some cool days - good scenting conditions.
Week 3 (10/8 – 10/14): 55 grouse, 36 woodcock (14%) – took 4 grouse, 10 woodcock (25%)
Analysis: This was the toughest week of the season, as the daytime high temperatures reached over 70 degrees nearly every day. Thankfully, my clients agreed to do morning hunts only to preserve the dogs and its worked out well. We had some good mornings, and a decent number of birds bagged.
Week 4 (10/15 – 10/21): 55 grouse, 34 woodcock (14%) – took 8 grouse, 3 woodcock (19.6%)
Analysis: More seasonal temperatures and conditions resumed this week, and a big storm helped take down a majority of the leaves. The shooting opportunities were much better and my clients obliged for the most part. We had one scheduled day off this week and then another when one of my clients sustained an injury.
Week 5 (10/22 – 10/28): 92 grouse, 17 woodcock (17%) – took 7 grouse, 2 woodcock (16%)
Analysis: With the foliage all down on the forest floor, the grouse sightings and shooting were the best of the season. The woodcock numbers started winding down however, as the full moon and colder nights that week definitely got them moving south.
Week 6 (10/29 – 11/4): 82 grouse, 2 woodcock (13%) – took 5 grouse, 1 woodcock (10.7%)
Analysis: Woodcock numbers continued to dwindle, and we only encountered stragglers sporadically. The grouse numbers made up for them however. Many of our days this week were spent hunting with the dogs of clients, so perhaps that had an effect on the amount of birds we moved. These were the last dates that we spent in NH.
Week 7 (11/5 – 11/11): 105 grouse, 1 woodcock (17%) – took 8 grouse (14.2%)
Analysis: All of these dates were spent in Vermont, and we had some great days shaking up the routines of the grouse there. Some gave us good chances, but there were days when they were pretty tough too ... These were the survivors of the season, and acted like it. Our last woodcock sighting for the season was on 11/10.
NH OR VT?
New Hampshire: 121.0 hours (65.2%), 415 birds moved (64.8%) = 3.42 birds moved / hour
Vermont: 64.5 hours (34.8%), 225 birds moved (35.2%) = 3.48 birds moved / hour
This is always an interesting question, and in years past, the answer had nearly always been "New Hampshire", but this year our Vermont hunting areas produced good numbers of grouse especially. We had more days hunting in the green mountain state because of this, and consequently have spent less of our time roaming the grouse woods of New Hampshire. Slight edge to Vermont.
The benefit that our New Hampshire areas have is that most of October is spent strolling through them at the height of the season, when the most birds are there and the conditions are best for the dogs to work. They produce grouse, and many of the areas we hunt have good numbers of woodcock too, far more timberdoodles than our Vermont coverts. It's hard to know the woodcock production of our Vermont spots in October since we're in New Hampshire most of the time - after all, you can't be everywhere at once ...
Vermont: 64.5 hours (34.8%), 225 birds moved (35.2%) = 3.48 birds moved / hour
This is always an interesting question, and in years past, the answer had nearly always been "New Hampshire", but this year our Vermont hunting areas produced good numbers of grouse especially. We had more days hunting in the green mountain state because of this, and consequently have spent less of our time roaming the grouse woods of New Hampshire. Slight edge to Vermont.
The benefit that our New Hampshire areas have is that most of October is spent strolling through them at the height of the season, when the most birds are there and the conditions are best for the dogs to work. They produce grouse, and many of the areas we hunt have good numbers of woodcock too, far more timberdoodles than our Vermont coverts. It's hard to know the woodcock production of our Vermont spots in October since we're in New Hampshire most of the time - after all, you can't be everywhere at once ...
FOR THE DOGS ...
Rosie: 27 birds taken (17 grouse, 10 woodcock)
Bode: 12 birds taken (5 grouse, 7 woodcock)
Monty: 5 birds taken (2 grouse, 3 woodcock)
Birds taken with client dogs, or without the aid of a dog: 12 (11 grouse, 1 woodcock)
Much like last year, Rosie (5 years old) was the bell cow of the guiding operation in 2021, as she continued to build on her impressive upland bird hunting resume. As the youngest of my dogs, she energetically hit the grouse woods the most this season, so she had the most opportunity to have great grouse finding days, and she made the most of it. Bode (8 years old) had another solid season and worked hard, but wasn't always rewarded for his efforts by my hunters. Once again, he handled easily and beautifully in the woods and was a pleasure to follow through the coverts. Monty (11 years old) worked two or three times most weeks and he had some memorable points in his limited time in the woods. For those moments, we remembered how he used to hunt in his younger days, and he has been one of my best over the years.
These are the extent of my numbers on the dogs, and while some might like to see how many hours each dog ran, points, or number of birds moved by each one, it simply isn't possible to keep track of all of this data. I have a hard enough time tracking two hunters and a canine when we're out there ...
Bode: 12 birds taken (5 grouse, 7 woodcock)
Monty: 5 birds taken (2 grouse, 3 woodcock)
Birds taken with client dogs, or without the aid of a dog: 12 (11 grouse, 1 woodcock)
Much like last year, Rosie (5 years old) was the bell cow of the guiding operation in 2021, as she continued to build on her impressive upland bird hunting resume. As the youngest of my dogs, she energetically hit the grouse woods the most this season, so she had the most opportunity to have great grouse finding days, and she made the most of it. Bode (8 years old) had another solid season and worked hard, but wasn't always rewarded for his efforts by my hunters. Once again, he handled easily and beautifully in the woods and was a pleasure to follow through the coverts. Monty (11 years old) worked two or three times most weeks and he had some memorable points in his limited time in the woods. For those moments, we remembered how he used to hunt in his younger days, and he has been one of my best over the years.
These are the extent of my numbers on the dogs, and while some might like to see how many hours each dog ran, points, or number of birds moved by each one, it simply isn't possible to keep track of all of this data. I have a hard enough time tracking two hunters and a canine when we're out there ...
Our season is not over, so the numbers (hopefully the "Birds Taken" statistic) should change in the coming weeks. Our season will resume after the Thanksgiving weekend, good weather provided, so keep checking back for updates. Let's hope the snow stays away for a few more weeks and the birds are accommodating ...
