NH Grouse Hunting Update: 11/5
It has been a most enjoyable grouse hunting season this year, and we concluded our days hunting the gray ghost in New Hampshire with longtime friend and client Matt. We've chased birds together and fished for trout, stripers and false albacore quite a few years now, and it is thoroughly entertaining every time we get together. He has very specific opinions on bird dogs, cover, birds, and just about any other topic that I dare to bring up, so I was prepared for a couple of amusing hunts with Matt.
The weather for the most part has been excellent for hunting this year. Aside from the hot week we had in early October, we have not had to deal with any accumulating snow, and only a smattering of rain here and there. It has been on the dry side, which is fine with me. It has been cold in the mornings lately, but that is to be expected at this point in the season, and it was nearly perfect conditions for the dogs to ply their trade.
The weather for the most part has been excellent for hunting this year. Aside from the hot week we had in early October, we have not had to deal with any accumulating snow, and only a smattering of rain here and there. It has been on the dry side, which is fine with me. It has been cold in the mornings lately, but that is to be expected at this point in the season, and it was nearly perfect conditions for the dogs to ply their trade.
Very crisp conditions greeted us yesterday morning to begin the hunt, with the temp at a frosty 22 degrees, but there was little wind to make it worse. Rosie and Matt's older dog Brutus took the first run, and in a short amount of time, Rosie's great season continued with a string of points. The highlight was a point on a pair of grouse that decided to flush low after a snowshoe hare went bounding by. There was no safe shot for Matt, and the grouse flew to safety.
Later on, we hunted Matt's young dog Nero with Rosie and then Bode, and we noticed that he followed both dogs through the woods instead of hunting on his own. He's a young dog after all, and we decided to hunt him on his own the following day to eliminate possible distractions. Matt managed to scratch down a grouse over one of Rosie's staunch points that morning however.
Nero got his chance to hunt alone this morning and he did a great job working for us, bounding back and forth through the cover. His distracted actions from the day before were gone, and he was determined to find birds, hunting his quarry energetically.
It all paid off when Nero went on a staunch point and Matt connected on the shot, bringing Nero's first grouse to the vest. We also moved a bunch more birds in that cover, but that was the highlight and he hunted hard for the duration of his time in the field.
There was a noticeable difference in his hunting today. Plenty of confidence and boldness as he hit the cover, and he quartered well in checking all of the likely places a grouse might be. Hunting him alone seemed to work, and there was finally a bit of redemption for Nero.
Brutus got the next run and he did well on his own too. Matt took another bird that flushed over an opening away from Brutus, and he also patterned with energy throughout his hunt.
We found the grouse in a variety of cover over the last two days, but they were usually within easy reach of conifers, some small and some large. The small spruce are usually used by the grouse as cover, and the larger spruce are primarily used for escape cover.
We did have a woodcock sighting yesterday, which is getting quite late in the season now, given the cold temperatures we've been having. I don't expect to see too many more though. I imagine they are already in sunnier and warmer climes now.
Our last hunts over this coming week will all come in Vermont, as the deer hunting season doesn't start in the Green Mountain state until next Saturday, 11/13. The NH muzzleloader season for deer is currently ongoing, and while we didn't see many trucks from deer hunters out there this week, today seemed to be busier. Time to go where other hunters aren't.
Another update will be on the way this week ...
