VT Grouse Hunting Update: 11/3/2018
The approaching muzzleloader season for deer in New Hampshire has meant a shift to our grouse covers in northern Vermont, and the hunting has been pretty good the last two days, although they were rain shortened sessions each day. The good news is that the areas that we were hunting were huge, which allowed us to put in some long half days of hunting - four hours or more in each spot.
It has been very rainy here in northern Vermont (and NH, for that matter) lately, so we expected to find the grouse in all of the thicker areas - stands of small and large spruce, blowdowns, and any thick spot that's impossible to walk through. This is generally what we've seen these last two days of hunting, with the occasional grouse out in slightly more open cover. Due to the recent rains, all of the snow (which really wasn't that much - 3" or so, but a pain to slog away in) is gone and we're back to bare ground again. A welcome sight for sure for us and the dogs.
Friday we moved approximately a dozen grouse, with a couple of other distant flushes as well. My hunters had a few shots, but they were either missed or just not quick enough on the draw. There were a couple of highlights from yesterday afternoon. Number one was the first grouse that Monty found - four of them, packed away tight in a roadside blowdown. Todd got a few quick shots off at the first, and then we watched as the other three flew out one at a time as Todd was trying to reload and Dave was fumbling with his safety. That's how it is sometimes in grouse hunting.
The second moment came when Monty absolutely locked down a bird (picture above) that I was unknowingly within ten feet of and that let me walk past it. Upon the release from his point, Monty plunged ahead to flush the bird from incredibly thick cover and we were completely unprepared for the bird to flush from that spot. Dave saluted that grouse with two shots, but it became apparent that most of the shot pattern was absorbed by the vegetation. Dave and Todd continued on, through a bit of rain, thick spruce and wetness, and we got a few more looks at birds, though most of those were fleeting. Those birds sure can move when they need to get away from us and the dogs.
It has been very rainy here in northern Vermont (and NH, for that matter) lately, so we expected to find the grouse in all of the thicker areas - stands of small and large spruce, blowdowns, and any thick spot that's impossible to walk through. This is generally what we've seen these last two days of hunting, with the occasional grouse out in slightly more open cover. Due to the recent rains, all of the snow (which really wasn't that much - 3" or so, but a pain to slog away in) is gone and we're back to bare ground again. A welcome sight for sure for us and the dogs.
Friday we moved approximately a dozen grouse, with a couple of other distant flushes as well. My hunters had a few shots, but they were either missed or just not quick enough on the draw. There were a couple of highlights from yesterday afternoon. Number one was the first grouse that Monty found - four of them, packed away tight in a roadside blowdown. Todd got a few quick shots off at the first, and then we watched as the other three flew out one at a time as Todd was trying to reload and Dave was fumbling with his safety. That's how it is sometimes in grouse hunting.
The second moment came when Monty absolutely locked down a bird (picture above) that I was unknowingly within ten feet of and that let me walk past it. Upon the release from his point, Monty plunged ahead to flush the bird from incredibly thick cover and we were completely unprepared for the bird to flush from that spot. Dave saluted that grouse with two shots, but it became apparent that most of the shot pattern was absorbed by the vegetation. Dave and Todd continued on, through a bit of rain, thick spruce and wetness, and we got a few more looks at birds, though most of those were fleeting. Those birds sure can move when they need to get away from us and the dogs.
With more approaching bad weather coming Saturday afternoon, we decided to do a long half day in the morning for as long as Mother Nature permitted. It didn't take long for Bode to contact birds, but that first one was a runner, as he pointed several times as we chased it up a slope. Yes, that one got away, but we ended up seeing quite a few under Bode's watchful nose and patterning. He pointed a bunch of birds, with a couple of highlights. The first was a point on a pair of grouse (pictured) in heavy spruce cover that would end up giving us the slip, but we chased them around for a while before deciding that it was fruitless to do so. This exact area has been the scene of many such point-flush-chase scenarios, and they always seem to end up the same: us walking out without birds.
Later on, Bode had a beautifully staunch point on what turned out to be a group of four grouse. Jon moved right in with Bode's beeper sounding off and made an accurate shot on one of the grouse. Bode disappeared to make a nice retrieve and we were on the board. Our fun wasn't over however, as Jon made another nice shot on a fast fleeing male grouse further on in the cover. Bode went and brought that one back to us as well - yes, he loves retrieving birds almost as much as pointing them! He's had some tough luck lately in not always being rewarded for his good work, so he had a morning like this coming. The total for Saturday morning was 15 grouse and 1 woodcock contacted - not bad for a 4.5 hour hunt.
This is the last week of grouse hunting in the Vermont woods without deer hunters (next Saturday is the opening of the VT rifle season), so we should have a good time out there watching good dog work. Hopefully the shooting is also up to par.
This is the last week of grouse hunting in the Vermont woods without deer hunters (next Saturday is the opening of the VT rifle season), so we should have a good time out there watching good dog work. Hopefully the shooting is also up to par.
