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Chris Ramel with a norhern NH ruffed grouse

A Day Off

10/21/2018 Filed in: 2018 Upland Bird Hunting | Monty written by: bs

A rare day off from the northern New Hampshire grouse woods today, and after nine days in a row out there marching through the covers, it is much needed, for myself and all of the dogs. Any weight that they may have needed to shed prior to the season is long gone now, as Monty, Bode and Rosie all look trim and fit, geared up for the remainder of our guiding season over the next three weeks (I wish the same could be said for myself!).

Monty points a grouse while Paul moves in

Cold & Blustery

10/17/2018 Filed in: 2018 Upland Bird Hunting | Monty written by: bs

Cold and blustery. Two words that you rather were not used in the same sentence, let alone together, especially when it comes to describing conditions for grouse hunting. While cold really isn't a problem for hunters or dogs, blustery can make things much more challenging when we're pursuing the King of Gamebirds.

The woodcock hunting has been good in Pittsburg NH

The Bird Hunting Has Been "Hot"

10/11/2018 Filed in: 2018 Upland Bird Hunting | Monty | Bode | Rosie written by: bs

First off, the grouse and woodcock hunting has been pretty good, let's say better than average, so far in 2018, but the hunting was also literally "hot" the last two days. Our hottest temperatures of the month in fact, and while it took its toll on us hunters and the dogs that actually do all of the work, it didn't seem to affect the bird hunting too much.

Grouse points can be distinctive, according to the dog

A Tale of Two Points

09/12/2018 written by: bs

While we all think of a point on a grouse or woodcock as being solidly staunch (tail up, dog leaning forward as if it could fall over, preferably with a front leg raised), I have learned through time that this is not always the case. Sometimes the birds that they are pointing (whether grouse or woodcock) will dictate what kind of "pose" they will take, while scenting conditions often determine the intensity of the point.

Tags: grouse, woodcock, , Pittsburg NH

Winter Ramble

02/04/2018 Filed in: Perspectives | Monty | Rosie | Rudy written by: bs

This morning was our first snowshoe excursion in to the grouse woods, sad to say. A combination of bitterly cold weather at times as well as icy conditions without much snow cover has delayed venturing forth in search of birds, not to mention the normal and not-so-normal work obligations (trade shows, computer melt downs, etc. - it's been a fun five weeks). But, this morning we have a few inches of new snow in the woods and the temps were pretty good.

Tags: grouse, bird dogs

Final Point?

12/11/2017 Filed in: 2017 Upland Bird Hunting | Monty written by: bs

A couple more grouse hunting excursions last week for the pups and myself, with good results for Rosie on Thursday, and for both Rosie and Monty last Friday. Unfortunately, I neglected to hold up my end of the bargain either day, and there was at least one grouse on Thursday that should have been coming home with us. No excuses, just a flat out miss after a staunch point from Rosie. The grouse held surprisingly well for Rosie, but it perhaps had settled in to some sense of security after probably not being bothered too much through the deer hunting season.

Winter in the Uplands

11/27/2017 Filed in: 2017 Upland Bird Hunting | Monty written by: bs

I have read that there are usually three different periods to the three-month grouse hunting season, and this depends upon the transformation of the cover due to changing weather. The "first season" is the early season, where the leaves are still on the trees, and the grouse are still enjoying the plethora of cover (vertical) and food sources that are available. They can be found anywhere and everywhere in the first couple weeks of October, making some of the flushes that we get particularly surprising.

VT Grouse Hunting Update: 11/5/2017

11/05/2017 Filed in: 2017 Upland Bird Hunting | Monty written by: bs

What a true microcosm of grouse and woodcock hunting the last three days in the uplands of Vermont! We had one of our best sessions of the season of grouse sighting and dog work on Friday, hunting in the rain and getting in to a boat load of grouse in the process. Not many woodcock, but I didn't expect many considering the area that we were in.

2024: 190.5 Hours VT Hours: 70.0 NH Hours: 120.5 VT Birds Moved: 172 NH Birds Moved: 389 Birds Taken: 24 Grouse (VT - 7, NH - 17) 41 Woodcock (VT - 12, NH - 29)	2023: 222.5 Hours VT Hours: 65.5 NH Hours: 157.0 VT Birds Moved: 143 NH Birds Moved: 430 Birds Taken: 14 Grouse (VT - 4, NH - 10) 43 Woodcock (VT - 7, NH - 36)	2022: 123.0 Hours VT Hours: 49.5 NH Hours: 73.5 VT Birds Moved: 96 NH Birds Moved: 178 Birds Taken: 11 Grouse (VT - 5, NH - 6) 6 Woodcock (VT - 2, NH - 4)
2021: 193.5 Hours VT Hours: 66.0 NH Hours: 127.5 VT Birds Moved: 226 NH Birds Moved: 427 Birds Taken: 36 Grouse 21 Woodcock	2020: 199.5 Hours VT Hours: 36.0 NH Hours: 163.5 VT Birds Moved: 77 NH Birds Moved: 552 Birds Taken: 24 Grouse 21 Woodcock	2019: 184.5 Hours VT Hours: 28.0 NH Hours: 156.5 VT Birds Moved: 65 NH Birds Moved: 509 Birds Taken: 14 Grouse 29 Woodcock
2018: 144.0 Hours VT Hours: 32.0 NH Hours: 112.0 VT Birds Moved: 114 NH Birds Moved: 417 Birds Taken: 18 Grouse 12 Woodcock	2017: 180.5 Hours VT Hours: 44 NH Hours: 136.5 VT Birds moved: 110 NH Birds moved: 407 Birds Taken: 23 Grouse 24 Woodcock	2016: 178 Hours Birds moved: 563 Birds/Hr Avg.: 3.16 Birds Taken: 23 Grouse 30 Woodcock
2015: 202.0 Hours Birds moved: 607 Birds/Hr Avg.: 3.0 Birds Taken: 18 grouse 26 woodcock	2014: 138.0 hours Birds moved: 350 Birds/hr. Avg.: 2.53 Birds Taken: 17 grouse 17 woodcock	2013: 152 Hours Birds moved: 480 Birds/hr. Avg.: 3.15 Birds Taken: 20 grouse 27 woodcock
2012: 114 Hours Birds moved: 526 Birds /Hr Avg.: 4.61 Birds Taken: 22 grouse 4 woodcock	2011: 161 Hours Birds moved: 522 Birds / Hr Avg.: 3.24 Birds Taken: 34 grouse 21 woodcock	2010: 139.5 Hours Birds moved: 430 Birds / Hr Avg.: 3.08 Birds Taken: 26 grouse 21 woodcock
2009: 93.5 Hours Birds moved: 307 Birds / Hr Avg.: 3.28 Birds Taken: 16 grouse 14 woodcock	2008: 82.5 Hours Birds moved: 188 Birds / Hr Avg.: 2.27 Birds Taken: 10 grouse 5 woodcock

FROST FIRE GUIDE SERVICE

FROST FIRE GUIDE SERVICE

Frost Fire's Grouse Hunting
"Partridge Blog"

A Day Off

Cold & Blustery

The Bird Hunting Has Been "Hot"

A Tale of Two Points

Winter Ramble

Final Point?

Winter in the Uplands

VT Grouse Hunting Update: 11/5/2017

Grouse Hunting Season Stats

Frost Fire's Grouse Hunting"Partridge Blog"

Grouse Hunting Season Stats

Frost Fire's Grouse Hunting
"Partridge Blog"