Almost There ...
Just ten days until the grouse and woodcock opener in New Hampshire (Vermont gets a head start by opening the grouse hunting season this Saturday, September 26), so we're in crunch time getting ready. The dogs are looking good for the most part, after an exceptionally lazy summer.
The weather has not been cooperative lately, with temps at nearly 80 degrees last week, and nearly 70 this week. Needless to say, there hasn't been much change yet in the foliage either - it's still mostly green out there, with just a hint of some dull reds and russets. Hopefully, more will be happening in this area in a couple of weeks!
We welcomed our coldest morning of the fall today (upper 30's in Pittsburg), so it was a good one for exploring some of our favorite coverts. Each dog had their moments, but Bode spent the most time out there today - 1.5 hours - to get him ready for the rigors of grouse and woodcock hunting. After a mostly fruitless search for birds in his first hour and twenty minutes (this is actually common at this time of year, as many of the broods are still together, thus the birds may not be as spread out as they will be in another month), he had a nice point on a brood of 4 - 5 grouse that were sneaking on up ahead of us. A quick relocation and another point gave me the chance to move in, flush the birds, and shoot the training pistol, all done while Bode held steady. It was a good job and he's showing some good aptitude in the grouse woods.
Monty closed out today's session before it became too hot, and within five minutes of the truck he had a beautifully solid point on a woodcock. Point - flight - hold - training pistol shot - hold. Hopefully we see more of that this fall. Looks like we'll have some more good mornings for our scouting / training runs this week and then we'll get out in Vermont on Saturday. We may not see them all (foliage), but maybe we'll be able to at least hear them!
Predictions for this season? I have heard a wide range of opinions, and experienced the spectrum of scouting days this summer. In other words, some good, some bad - don't set your expectations too high and you may just be pleasantly surprised …
Tuesday, 9/22 Update:
Scouted in northern Vermont with Rudy for 1.5 hours this morning - 3 grouse, 2 woodcock located. Two of the grouse and one of the woodcock were pointed, so overall it was a good job by him. Then Bode moved 5 grouse in 1.5 hours later in the morning. Unfortunately, none were pointed and all were extremely close flushes. Three of them were singles, and one pair flushed together. The cover was extremely thick!
The weather has not been cooperative lately, with temps at nearly 80 degrees last week, and nearly 70 this week. Needless to say, there hasn't been much change yet in the foliage either - it's still mostly green out there, with just a hint of some dull reds and russets. Hopefully, more will be happening in this area in a couple of weeks!
We welcomed our coldest morning of the fall today (upper 30's in Pittsburg), so it was a good one for exploring some of our favorite coverts. Each dog had their moments, but Bode spent the most time out there today - 1.5 hours - to get him ready for the rigors of grouse and woodcock hunting. After a mostly fruitless search for birds in his first hour and twenty minutes (this is actually common at this time of year, as many of the broods are still together, thus the birds may not be as spread out as they will be in another month), he had a nice point on a brood of 4 - 5 grouse that were sneaking on up ahead of us. A quick relocation and another point gave me the chance to move in, flush the birds, and shoot the training pistol, all done while Bode held steady. It was a good job and he's showing some good aptitude in the grouse woods.
Monty closed out today's session before it became too hot, and within five minutes of the truck he had a beautifully solid point on a woodcock. Point - flight - hold - training pistol shot - hold. Hopefully we see more of that this fall. Looks like we'll have some more good mornings for our scouting / training runs this week and then we'll get out in Vermont on Saturday. We may not see them all (foliage), but maybe we'll be able to at least hear them!
Predictions for this season? I have heard a wide range of opinions, and experienced the spectrum of scouting days this summer. In other words, some good, some bad - don't set your expectations too high and you may just be pleasantly surprised …
Tuesday, 9/22 Update:
Scouted in northern Vermont with Rudy for 1.5 hours this morning - 3 grouse, 2 woodcock located. Two of the grouse and one of the woodcock were pointed, so overall it was a good job by him. Then Bode moved 5 grouse in 1.5 hours later in the morning. Unfortunately, none were pointed and all were extremely close flushes. Three of them were singles, and one pair flushed together. The cover was extremely thick!
