Here's a grouse I shot up near Patten Maine a few weeks ago.

Thanksgiving morning


This morning

A pheasant hunt from a few years back a friend of mine snapped the picture of me just as i shot you can see the dog that led me to the bird in the lower right,
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Use_the_2nd/n512035476_56468_6155.jpg?t=1296799233

nice !............... details ?

My buddy Bucktail Bob posted the story on this site.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1904510#Post1904510We had some awesome hunting in Northern Illinois over the past weekend.


I took a nice tom off the roost in 30 mph winds.
There were birds roosted about 100 yds from where I was set up.
I was able to convince Ms. Henrietta to come over for a visit and she had company.
10 yd shot.
SBE #5 Hevishot
10.5” Beard
Matching 1” spurs
23 lbs
Quaker Boy World Champ mouth call
No decoys

My buddy came out with his 2 boys that night, 8 and 12 year olds. Neither of them have taken a turkey before.
They have shot a lot of deer.
I took out the 12 year old in quest for his first bird, and my buddy took out his youngest.

We started out at the same spot I took my tom the day before.
Not one bird on the roost. It was windy.
We relocated to an edge of a turned over corn field.
Set up 3 decoys. 2 hens and a jake. No fan.
We heard birds gobbling off in the distance. They liked aggressive cuts.
All of a sudden a hen pops out in the field with some red heads following behind about 200 yds away.
I called in the hen and 3 jakes followed her in.
They were 14 yds from us. We were in a blind so movement was not a problem. I told him to get his gun up, concentrate on that neck and squeeze.
He connected with his first bird. It was very cool. His dad heard the shot, we texted his dad, he was so proud of his boy.
We are not done yet.
He still has a second tag. So we stayed in the blind.

About 2 hours later we had more birds gobbling in the thick woods. Some aggressive cutting got them interested.
All of a sudden 4 red heads come out in the field. 2 clucks and they saw my jake decoy.
They ran right in. 2 nice toms and 2 jakes.
They put on a unbelievable show of spitting and drumming, 12 yds in front of us.
The bigger tom did not like my Jake decoy. He clobbered it, knocked it over and was stomping on it.
I told him to concentrate on the bigger tom. And just squeeze just like your deer gun.
I could tell his heart was pounding with excitement. His breathing was loud and then he squeezed.
He connected again, unbelievable show and to share it with a youngster…it does not get any better.
Of course his dad heard the shot again, we texted him. He was speechless.
The tom was
21Lbs.
9” beard ¾” spurs
The jake was 18lbs.
SBE with #5 hevishot

And we are still not done.
We were tagged out and left.
My buddy called in 2 hens with a tom following about a hour later. His 8 year old made the 12 yard shot and connected on
A nice tom.
20lbs
8.5” beard ¾” spurs
With a 20ga with #5 hevishot.
A day we will always remember.

The calls I used were the Quaker Boy World Champ mouth call, and my Quaker Boy Grand Old Master Supreme Grade box call (made in 1993)
I’m sure Dick Kirby had a mighty big grin on his face in the heavens above us.

bb

sig ,
awesome ! great story...that is a hunt you will all remember !

Here's a few pics from a buddies field trial

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/1.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/11.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/12.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/15.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/16.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/7.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/tacweapon/Hunting/Pheasant%20Field%20Trail/9.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/vellar/IMAG0022.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/vellar/IMG-20111111-00020.jpg

Not from this year, but one of the best quail hunts Ive ever been on...  We made the dogs earn their keep that morning!

2012 opening day

30mins and had my limit I was really excited by the fact I did it with one box of shells and beat everyone else to the limit.

You're at least 2 birds shy of a limit there, maybe 3.  The 4th bird in is pretty light colored.  It might be an Eurasian just like the first 2 on the left...  They don't count towards your limit!

This year. Top was between 3 people.  Bottom was between 4 people

A couple years old.. But so ready for this season!

Outside Gregory SD Sunday



The bird didn't make it.  

Abbey makes a retrieve

I'm a new member here, but bird hunting is my passion, so I'll play.  Here's a little photographic retrospective of our 2012 season so far.

Our season always starts on Sept 1, when the local dove season opens.  It's not real upland hunting, but it is still fun shooting and the dogs get to do lots of retrieving, which they enjoy.  My family owns several ancient PA Dutch farms in the valley below where we live and that's where we do our dove hunting.  Doves are usually plentiful and we are the only hunters allowed on these farms.

I've been lucky enough to have looked at cover in many places around the country (mountains, deserts, high plains, ag areas etc) over my beloved Maggie's shoulder for 14 seasons now.  I feel very lucky to still have that privilege this year.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-14-12-Maggielookingovermeadow.jpg

Maggie scanning the skies for birds.  

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/OpeningDay2012-Maggie.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-19-12-Maggieinalfalfa-1_zpsb323a45f.jpg

My younger dog, Chase, also watching for incomers:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-21-12-ChaseAfield-2_zpsbe211211.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-21-12-ChaseAfield-1_zps701ef04d.jpg

A few of the many retrieves:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-5-12-ChaseRetreive-1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-5-12-ChaseRetreive-6.jpg

Some of the "doves" were large and black:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-12-11-Chaseretrievingcrow.jpg

I mostly used a 20 gauge Famars roundbody droplock in game gun configuration:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/2008%20Hunting/DoveHunting-Secondday-9-2-08-Partof.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/2008%20Hunting/DoveHunting-Firstday-8-1-08-Famarsa.jpg

In mid-October, finally ruffed grouse season opened and we could do some real upland hunting on my property and other places in the mountains where we live.  The mountains:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-17-12-HawkMountain-2.jpg

Chase hunting on my place (Maggie was on the injured reserve):

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-17-12-Chaseonthetrail-1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/Dog%20Romps%202010%20-/10-16-12-Chaseonthetrail.jpg

Point!!

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-17-12-Chasepointingturkey-1.jpg

Cooling off in a little mountain lake by my house:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/Dog%20Romps%202010%20-/10-18-12-Chaseatthelake-1-1.jpg

Then my favorite time of year arrived - pheasant season.  It was the best season since I was young - the dogs and I hunted at least three days/week and limited every day except four.  Heading out into foggy cover:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-25-12-Chaseheadingintophezcover.jpg

At work:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-12-12-MaggieandChaseafield-1.jpg

Youth and wisdom:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-15-12-MaggieandChaseafield-1.jpg

A couple of the many points:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-15-12-Maggiespoint.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-15-12-Chaseafield-2.jpg

A couple of the many retrieves:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-8-12-ChaseRetrieve-1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-21-12-ChaseRetrieveofthelastphez.jpg

A couple of the many beautiful birds taken:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-24-12-Cockbirdonfence-2.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-25-12-Aphezonthewoodpile.jpg

In addition to my trusty 20 gauge Famars, I also use an old 16 gauge Model 12 I've owned since I was 12 - this was its 54th season, not counting three long years spent overseas as a prisoner of Uncle Sam in the late 1960's:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-8-12-MaggiesbirdandFamars-2.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/10-31-12-TwoPhezatoldwindowwithM12-4.jpg

Sadly pheasant season is now closed and deer season is open.  I don't run my dogs even on my own place during deer seasons for fear that some tresspassing nutjob will take a shot at them.  Although I do kill a deer every year for the meat and have already done so, I would not dignify the process by calling it "hunting" - more like "shopping" and not something I especially enjoy like I do bird hunting.  Here is one of my deer stands in a little high meadow on my place.  Tough duty, eh?

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/Dog%20Romps%202010%20-/10-16-12-thebench-2.jpg

The lower rifle is my primary eastern big game rifle (the upper one is a .270 - my western big game rifle).  The eastern rifle is a single square bridge small-ring mauser by Mark Silver in 7x57mm - it has harvested countess deer and other stuff.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/guns/10-23-10-Weibe270andSilver7x57mm.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/2011%20Hunting/11-28-11-OverlookingCathedralValley.jpg

In another week late ruffed grouse season opens and we'll be back in the uplands again.  Here's Chase pointing a ruff on my place last year in the late season:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/2011%20Hunting/11-27-11-Chasepoint.jpg

Countin' the days.....

Your guns, dogs and pictures are gorgeous!

Thanks for your kind thoughts, Zarboe!

Having taken our deer and no bird seasons being open because there is another full week of deer season to endure, we went to the hunting club (where I work part-time as a guide) and scratch hunted a couple of times this week to ease the pain of not being able to be in the uplands.  It's not quite real hunting, but by only scratch hunting and not releasing any birds, it can get pretty close.

Dogs at work:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-29-12-MaggieandChaseinaction-1.jpg

14.5 year old Maggie is still running hard:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-29-12-Maggieinaction-1.jpg

The Chaser:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-29-12-Chaseinaction-2.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-29-12-Chaseinaction-1.jpg

After working a running bird for a while, Maggie managed to cut ahead, pin and point a fat, colorful rooster (no pics of the point - sorry).  After the little side-side spoke, she went for the retrieve, but Chase is a super-fast retrievin' machine and he got there first, snatched her bird and brought it to hand.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-29-12-ChaseRetrieve-3.jpg

I generally use a .410 or a 28 gauge when at the hunting club.  This day, I used a nice 5 pound 28 gauge sidelock and some Holland & Holland Royal Game cartridges a friend bought in the UK and gave to me.  The phez looked happy to have been killed by such fancy loads - don't you think?.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/11-29-12-28gaugeHollandandHollandRoyalGameloads.jpg

heres some pics of my Nevada 2012 season so far..been really slow since  up north isnt fully frozen.

An update through the end of 2012:

After waiting out deer season when all the bird seasons are closed, the late ruffed grouse season finally opened and we headed more or less out the front door to hunt in the mountains where we live.  Ruffed grouse hunting is hard to photograph because the areas where they are found are so thick with birch and aspen whips, grape vine and green briar that you can't see 10 feet.  Now and then you come across a rare open spot and can snap a pic.  Here are Maggie and Chase team-working opposite edges of a large open area.  Note how different the woods look in the late season from the early season pics posted above!

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-12-12-MaggieandChasehuntingruffedgrouse.jpg

The Chaser looking out from one mountain top to another:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-12-12-Chaselookingoutoverthemountain.jpg

Fourteen and a half year old Miss Maggie hard at work:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-12-12-Maggiehuntingruffedgrouse.jpg

Chase cooling off in half-frozen little mountain pond:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-12-12-Chaseinicymountainpond.jpg

We found this stone wall in the middle of absolutely nowhere - I hope no one was trying to farm that rough land long ago.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-12-12-Oldstonewalldeepinthemountain.jpg

Most places back in the mountain have massive, glacial rock deposits.  They are exhausting for this 66 year old guy to climb because many of the enormous rocks are wobbly and there are deep holes between the rocks, plus most are very steep, as you can see.  One fall and you WILL have a broken leg miles from any road.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-20-12-Muchoftheclimblookedlikethis-1.jpg

Then, when you get to the thick, recently timbered areas where the ruffed grouse like to hang out, and find more rocks, plus jungle, you begin to wonder when the fun is supposed to start:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-20-12-Isthiswhenthefunstarts.jpg

Here is Maggie working a hillside below me for grouse.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-20-12-Maggiehuntingforruffedgrouse.jpg

The Chaser taking a peek over a cliff into the valley far below:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-20-12-Chaselookingoutfromahighperch.jpg

My buddies on a high ridge:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-20-12-MaggieandChasehuntingruffedgrouseatSGL80.jpg

As usual, we also chased a few winter phez:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-20gaugeonaverycoldday.jpg

I like the winter and the snow - beats the hell out of heat, humidity, sweat and bugs!  Usually, it doesn't get all that cold, snowy or windy around here, but one day, I felt like I was back hunting in ND in December again - a steady 40+ mph wind and bitter cold.  It's hard to get a pic of that, but maybe this pine blowing in the bitter wind gives a feel for it.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-Cold40mphwind.jpg

Just some shots of my buddies at work, including a few points:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-Bothdogsatwork.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-Chaseatwork-1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-MissMaggieatwork.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-ChasePoint-1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-ChasePointInTheRavine.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-Chaselookingoutoversnowyfields-1.jpg

Maggie does her best in cold weather and, given her age, is a marvel.  She still finds her share of birds, too.  This day, the skies were spectacular.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-Maggieunderspectacularskies-2.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-Maggieunderspectacularskies-1.jpg

Now and then we scrape up a bird or two.  Chase grabs every retrieve these days:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-ChaseRetrieve-1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-27-12-ChaseRetrieve-3.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-13-12-ChaseRetrieve.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/12-13-12-Famars20GaugeandTwoRoosters.jpg

Well, that's a wrap for 2012.  It was the best phez season in 30+ years.  Maggie, Chase and I will keep hunting ruffed grouse until the late season closes at the end of January, even if we have to resort to snowshoes (which I hate)and there is the hunting club until the end of March.  After there is no more bird hunting, I'll pay more attention to the rifles, "tactical" matches, etc.

http://i.imgur.com/SFi13h.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/0hb5jh.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EfHc7h.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/n4Aubh.jpg

That shotgun is stunning!

Fantastic pics!

Late season 2012

Thanks for the kind comments - much appreciated.  Here are some pics from 2013.

We were able to hunt ruffed grouse in our home mountains for a few weeks during the late ruffed grouse season.  Please excuse the poor quality pics, because good grouse hunting pics are hard to come by - the places they are found are often too thick to see more than a few feet.  As usual, it is hard hunting and you wonder when the fun is supposed to start as you climb through the dense thickets and steep mountains.



The dogs love the cold weather and snow, as do I.  They run hard, leaving little rooster tails of snow behind them:





There are very few grouse, so points are few and far between:





The dogs did point plenty of turkeys.  I don't know if this is true, but it seems like there are generally no grouse where you are finding turkeys.  Since I couldn't shoot them with the gun, I tried (not very successfully) to shoot them with the camera being flushed from off point.  This was a singleton from a Chase point:



Here's a flock of the damn things that Maggie pointed:



Now and then, we'd come across a trail like this one that made the walking easier:



Too soon, the late grouse season closed and all that we had left was my guiding job and scratch hunting at the hunting club.  I like guiding almost as much as hunting because I get to watch the dogs to their thing, and I've killed thousands of birds, so I don't have to shoot another to have a good day.  Now and then we get a jerk, but most of the folks we guide for are good people and that makes for enjoyable work.

Chase points a bird, Maggie honors (you can see the dumb, recently released bird walking around in front of Chase). I bring everything to a halt while the dogs hold the bird to make sure the Guns are safe and that no one is about to shoot anyone else on the flush.  A quick safety reminder (not to shoot the guide or the dogs) is given.



One of the Guns is sent in to flush the bird.



The Gun then (hopefully) kills the bird:



Then it is retrieved:



As noted, we do a lot of scratch hunting at the club - basically hunting for birds that other hunters have released, but didn't get.  It's not quiet as good as real "wild" bird hunting, but it beat the hell outta sitting at home.  The rest of the pics are from scratch hunting in 2013.  Leaving our mountain home in the wonderfully crisp and cold early morning:



In addition to being a good birddawg, Chase is a fanatical mole and mouse catcher.  He can dig so fast that the whole upper half of his body disappears in seconds.  Before leaving for a hunt, he had to dig up one more mole.  Maggie thinks this is a silly pursuit and beneath her dignity.



When the conditions are right, we get a 30-40' frozen waterfall at this spot:



I haven't been shooting the 28 gauge as much as usual - not sure why.  So, I've given it a good workout in the past few weeks.  I've been trying some Fiocci Golden Pheasant 28 gauge loads - 7/8 oz of copper plated #6 - that a friend kindly gave me to experiment with.  I haven't had been able to engineer many shots past 30 yards or so, and we seem to be running into lots of chukars (instead of the cock phez which are usually the birds that escape the put-and-take hunters) therefore, I cannot draw any conclusions about the performance of that load on big tough birds at a distance.  The Fiocci's worked just fine on the lollipop shots I was taking, but so would have any good 3/4 oz. load.  Hopefully, I'll get a chance to try that load on some more difficult shots soon.

Here's the 28 with a Chase point, Maggie back.



I like the cold weather and so do the dogs.  Here's a couple pics of them at work, including 14.5 year old Maggie still gettin' 'er done.





We have lots of points:















I kinda like this point photo - Chase is locked up hard telling me "Bird here. Boss!!  Bird right here!!"  Maggie quite deliberately turned her back on the whole thing, saying "More drama from the kid.  There's no bird.  Let's move on and kill some real birds."  As it happened, either my wise veteran was right or the bird got away while I was taking this pic, because the point was non-productive.  



I liked this one, too - a double dog point instead of the much more common point and honor:



In this one, Chase has scented and pointed a cockbird that can be seen hunkered down in a little hollow in the woods to the far right of the pic.  Chase doesn't see the bird.



That bird kindly allowed me to take his portrait before the .410 spoke:



I've given my old 1940's vintage .410 Mdl 42 some outings.  That gun plasters a smile on my face whenever I use it.  It will kill even big, tough birds out to 25 yard or so, if you can put the little pattern on the bird.  Here's Chase giving the .410 a nice point:



Thank God, my pathetic shooting slump finally seems to have passed, I'm back to shooting over 80% at SC and missing very, very few game birds, so we've had plenty of retrieves.  







This particular cockbird was still lively and kept trying to spur Chase in the eye - note the look on Chase's face:



He does NOT appreciate that and he's been around this block many, many times:



A quick shake took care of the problem:



Lately Ms. Maggie has been insisting on retrieving her own birds instead of letting Chase grab the retrieve.  I have been glad to see that.  Still, The Chaser doesn't give up a retrieve to Maggie easily:



We run out daylight all too soon.  Here one last point and honor while trudging back to the Jeep at the end of the day:



Usually in January and the first half of February the hunting can still be decent.  Soon, however, it will start to go downhill - cover flat from the snow and the birds wanting to run and not fly.  Nonetheless, it's infinitely better than being stuck at home, so we will be out on every opportunity we get until the bitter end of the preserve season on March 31.

Maggie, Chase and I hope you enjoyed coming along.

Fabulous pictures. Love the vintage shotgun. Nothing like the feel of shooting an old and well loved gun.

beautiful. I love to see the dogs work. Its also nice to see people using subgauge guns.

Final PE of the 1012/2013 upland season:

The hunting in March isn't the best.  The birds prefer to run, not fly; and the cover can be poor.  Still, anything is better than rotting in the house. So, the dogs and I did all the scratch hunting we could manage when we had nurse coverage and didn't need to be working or running errands.

The dogs and I got tons of exercise:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-7-13-MaggieandChaseatwork_zps1f61f92e.jpg

A few double dawg points:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-DoubleDogPoint_zpsf13debcf.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-27-13-Doubledawgpoint_zps22a13418.jpg

Chase point, Maggie honor:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-ChasePointMaggieBack_zpse65d1cee.jpg

This swampy area was often good for a bird:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-7-13-MaggieandChaseinswampycover_zps96865513.jpg

Some days we found woodcock as well as phez in that stuff.  The woodcock were migrating through on their way back north and were not, of course, in season.  Here was a nice point and honor.  I thought that a big old cockbird would come boiling out when I flushed this point.  It turned out to be a tiny, twittering woodcock.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/9-14-13-SwampPointandBack_zps625a2f71.jpg

Some of the many retrieves:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-27-13-ChaseRetrieve-Artsy_zps58a14820.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-ChaseRetrieve-6_zps8a997acb.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-Chaseretrieve-2_zps6933fc94.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-Chaseretrieve-5_zps5f3405a7.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-21-13-ChaseRetreive-1_zpsb89aa76d.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-21-13-ChaseRetreive-2_zps0df47def.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-27-13-ChaseRetrieve-1_zps6a3e18e8.jpg

Some of the many single points:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-27-13-ChasepointunderlateMatchskies_zps4d23eac3.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-27-13-MsMaggieatwork-1_zpsf38017a1.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-ChasePoint-1_zpsff213837.jpg

Pointing on the edge of the mountain:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-ChasePoint-2_zps15dcaeb7.jpg

Pointing just over a little hill here:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-ChasePoint-3_zps139da930.jpg

Since I no longer hunt waterfowl, we don't get many chances for water retrieves these days.  Now and then opportunity strikes.  Here, a phez we pinned at the edge of a pond flushed out over the pond.  I w-a-i-t-e-d until it got out over the middle of the pond and dropped it.  It landed in the middle.  Without an instant's hesitation, The Chaser leaped into that bitter cold water, swam out and snagged the bird.  He was so quick about it, that I didn't get any pics of him in the water, but took these of the soggy dog and even more soggy phez on the way to deliver to hand:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-20-13-ChaseWaterRetrive-1_zpsd3dd69e2.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-20-13-ChaseWaterRetrive-2_zpsfe7b10af.jpg

I do most of my "wild" bird hunting with a 20 gauge, but during the off-season season, we messed with the 12 gauge, the .410 and the 28:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-21-13-Famars12gaugeandMaggie_zps5cff559e.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-Lasthuntforthe410_zps2bf3e980.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-28gaugegotthehonors_zpsbd66e0b6.jpg

There is always time for a good squirrel chase.  Damn!  Wily bugger got away (yet again):

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-Wilysquirrelgotawayagain_zps05fed16d.jpg

Maggie pointing:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-Maggiepoint_zpsf54d9509.jpg

That point produced this bird.  Maggie says "I worked hard for it and this is MY bird."

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-9-13-Maggiesbird_zpsb4580969.jpg

We've been seeing a bunch of these fellows:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-Ducksinflight_zpse4709ff8.jpg

Finally, the very last day was upon us.  Last year, the trees were greening up, had lots had blossoms and there were all kinds of wildflowers up.  This year on the same day, it still felt and looked like winter.  Fine with me.  I love winter - summer sucks.

I let the dogs out of the Jeep and they hung around staring holes in me while I diddled around putting my boots on, finding the right size cartridges, etc, etc.  I gave the release command and they rocketed off at 100 mph as usual.  They didn't go fifteen yards before Chase turned into stone at the head of a little ravine right by where I parked.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-Chaseroadpoint_zps609fc801.jpg

The little 28 spoke and we had out first bird less than a minute into the hunt. OK a bird already - I thought a good sign.  Turned out wrong and after that, we had work much harder, as is proper.

This was an especially poignant day, because my dear Maggie will be 15 (God willing) by the time we can next hunt on Sept 1. She's strong and healthy and I hope and pray this wasn't her last hunt, but I could not ignore that possibility.  This last day, she worked her heart out for me as she always does:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-Maggieatwork-3_zps2c6d5adc.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-Maggieatwork-2_zps8709be6b.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-Maggieatwork-1_zps6626363c.jpg

Chase was no slouch either - here's a a bird's eye view of a Chase point:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-LastPoint-BirdsEyeView_zpsfcee6dca.jpg

Our last hunt was on Good Friday.  My PA Dutch grandmother (who was like my mother) said that it always rains on Good Friday.  She was right as usual - it rained a bit while we hunted the thick cover around this pond.  This cover will produce a bird sometimes.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-Pondwithphezcover_zps623a6d04.jpg

Sure enough, Maggie froze in a quivering, picture-perfect point:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-MaggiePoint-2_zps21af0690.jpg

The bird (it turned out to be a quail) was running around under the cover and it was so thick that Maggie couldn't get through to reposition, so she jumped in the pond and swam to the area where the bird had moved, climbed out and established another point:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-28-13-MaggiePoint-1_zps0edb7d1b.jpg

That quail worked so hard to escape, I thought about letting it go, but Maggie really worked that bird, too and deserved the reward.

Toward the end of the day, we were hunting a thick row a half mile long - it was composed of slashings grown heavy with grapevine and greenbriar; and it was totally impenetrable.  Maggie gave me this point:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-Maggieslastpointoftheseason_zps239f6254.jpg

I could hear the bird running around in that stuff, but I could not get it out no matter how much I kicked and shook the cover.  Finally, I gave Maggie the "flush it" command, thinking that she probably wouldn't have any luck either.  Well, that nearly 15 year old dog was just NOT letting go of that bird.  She literally belly crawled into the unbelievably nasty cover and the bird (a chukar) eventually flushed out of the opposite side of the row.  By pure luck I got a glimpse of the bird through a tiny open spot in the cover and was able to thread a 28 gauge charge through that hole.  That was the last bird of the season.

Fittingly, it turned out that Maggie pointed and Chase retrieved the last bird of the 2012/2013 season:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2013%20Hunting/3-29-13-LastHunt-Chaseretreiveslastbird_zpsc66b764f.jpg

This was the first bird of the season - a lightly hit dove that Chase grabbed out of the air on the family farm on September 1, 2012.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/1-2012%20Hunting/9-5-12-ChaseRetreive-1.jpg

There were many miles, and many adventures in between those two birds.  Maggie, Chase and I hope you have enjoyed accompanying us in the uplands.  For now, we are done.

I really enjoy your posts, excellent camera work, absolutely beautiful guns, and some of the most handsome dogs I have ever seen!  Thanks for posting.

The A&S 12ga is a beauty, but what I really want to know is what the 28ga is. Masquelier or AYA or what??????

Oops....forgot a pic.

Thanks.  The 28 gauge is the only survivor of my Spanish gun phase some years ago - I had a bunch of them and this one is the only one I kept long term.  It is an AyA #1 "Best".  As you probably know, Spanish sidelocks can be good or bad, regardless of maker or grade.  This one is by far the nicest Spanish gun I've ever seen.  I provided the wood when it was built.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/guns/2-20-13-28Gauge-2_zps658099cd.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee263/Birddogman_photos/guns/2-20-13-28Gauge-1_zps31bbd1ad.jpg

Even though it weighs only 5.5 pounds I seem to shoot it quite well.  However, I no longer use a 28 for "wild" birds because I can't get consistent clean kills out to a full 40 yards on big birds like I can with a 20 gauge.  So, I use it for killing pen-raised birds in the off season.

after making it through about 3 whole pages of pics i am sick to my stomach that i lost my duck lease to some deep pocketed outfitter this year. i guess thats what happens when the area sees its best teal season in 30 years in 2012. i may have to pull some mounts off the wall and have someone throw them in the air and shoot them again.

This is the first time I've dove hunted in years.  

Bison SD, My dad, bestfriend currently stationed in Alaska, his final trip before going to Afghanistan, Brother in law, and myself.
Best Guy trip SO FAR... Partridge, Grouse, Pheasants, a handle of Wild Turkey 101... made for a great weekend.

Looks like an awesome trip.



 

I finally had time for a quick 45 minute grouse hunt through the woods.  Only got one but at least my new shotgun isn't a 'virgin' anymore

One is always better than a skunk.  

Jealous of you guys.  Shotgun is put away, I am ice fishing this weekend.  

A few weeks ago.


A little closer shot

]

The shotgun is a 1901 Henry Atkins that was re-sleeved and re-proofed for 2 3/4" by Westley Richards sometime in the 1950's.

Picked up a new shotgun for bird hunting last year, just havent gotten around to posting any pics. I grew up in New Hampshire and have lots of family and a hunting camp in northern VT so i enjoy going up there for some grouse and woodcock hunting every fall. I have used an old Franchi 48-AL for years but I was bitten by the 28 gauge bug and had to have a new Weatherby SA-08 deluxe for this season :)  the grouse hunting wasn't as good as last year, but there were lots more woodcock than usual.  I posed my newly broken in gun with its first harvest.



plate full of grouse and woodcock sauteed with butter and garlic, yum!


stumbled across the remains of my first treestand, built 16-18 years ago when i was in my early teens. made me feel old!

Looks tasty!!

Probably my favorite picture from all of the 2013 season was my daughter and Addi the wonder mutt on the first day of youth duck weekend on Lake Champlain.

That's a great pic.   How warm was it?

Warm! we sat in the fog until  11am.....as I can remember in the low 70's, end of September