wildirishman64, I hunt reclaims and hollows. Today I hunted an old logged out hollow that had burnt a couple years ago. Thick, thick, thick. Had descent cover. Had a one point on the only bird moved today. Killed the bird and felt bad afterwards. Wish there was some way of bringing them back to life after the dog delivers them to your hand. Going to try again tomorrow. Have benched my Ruger 28ga and have pulled out my little .410 side by side. I will probably finish the season with it.
Know how you feel.I finally scored this week on a mature grouse that the setter nailed in the back of a hollow,hadn't been out of the truck 30 minutes.It was a spot I haven't hunted in 2-3 years and I got my hopes up as I placed the bird in the vest.After 4 more hours of hunting the hollow and a few logging roads,I realized that may have been the last grouse in that particular spot.Still feel bad for taking it and thought about this all week.What is sad is there was not any young grouse in the area nor any other mature birds.Not fair to the setters and other bird dogs that the population is so down.Wish everyone a great Feb of chasing grouse.
Went out with a couple of friends today in one of there spots. Had to drive a couple of hours, but it was worth it. We moved a total of five birds and killed two. Good dog work and descent shooting. Here is the one I took with my 410 side x side. Birds were in deep hollows feeding on greens.
Now that's a shooter right there. .410 on Ky Grouse. I have some respect for that. I've been shooting a 28g some this season rather than my usual 12g cannons. It's been fun. A lot lighter as well.
Went out today for a couple of hours just to run my pup. Got five shots at the same grouse...missed em all. I swear i'm in a awful slump, first walked up bird I have shot at this year and to beat it all got him up twice! Would have loved to killed it for my 16 week old pup but just wasn't in the cards. Gonna take the old dog out tommorow and try and kill one. Sent from my SCH-R760 using Tapatalk 2
Go ahead and post it. I am use to looking at goober's. brettfrancis1, I gave up on a 12ga years ago. Shot a 20ga for a lot of years. Been shooting a 28ga for the last 4 years. To be honest, I couldn't tell any difference from the 20 to the 28 on shooting at pointed grouse. Wished I would have changed a lot sooner. The .410 sure puts a different spin on grouse hunting. Talking about putting a smile on your face when you close the deal over a point. That was my first grouse with a .410. Have killed a lot of pen raised birds but that was my first grouse. Hopefully it will not be my last.
Hunted the afternoon yesterday. No wind and about 30 degrees. Four miles later, one bumped bird, tried to relocate but couldn't find her. Nice point on a bunny and missed it too. I need to hit the skeet range, my shooting is not what it was 20 years ago. Gonna do some recon on a new holler for next weekend Grouse and GSP, GAME ON!
Got out yesterday with a gentleman from the county over. He had one of them ol short hair dogs with a long tail. Just looked physically out of place following setters. It was a nice Elhew dog, and had really nice range. We flew 2 birds on the top bench out of the beeches. Trust Me young dog had them pointed, with my old dog backing. We couldn't manage to get them up on the point. They waited until we left the area, circled back around them about 40 yards down, and busted out of some trees. The other 2 hollers yielded, wait for it..... Yup, nothing! Trust Me took the legs out from under one today on a very nice crossing shot. It's hard to make those shots when you just see a 100 mph blur going through honeysuckle and multiflora, but he just don't miss. We had a point on it from my old dog an a good retrieve. This holler will be very special for years to come. We have followed this one from the fall of 07 when it was first cut. Something special about watching a holler mature into a bloody mess.
I wish I'da took a picture of your Sadie dog on point. She was like a statue, wouldn't even release when I told her to. ETA: That bird came off a logged hillside with some scattered beeches just hanging with nuts but its crop only had greens and buds in it. No beech at all.
I took one of my setters out late yesterday afternoon for a short hunt. We have around seven inches of snow but I went anyway. There were coyote tracks everwhere. They filled the woods and I could see where they hunted around down tree tops and brush piles. Strange to see nothing but coyote tracks and maybe where small birds had been. No wonder we have no grouse. They are hunted 24/7. I think we do not realize how many coyotes are out there until there has been a snow on for a while and we can see all that sign. In historic times grouse, turkey, deer, elk and bear all got along good. But I have seen a relationship between the decrease in grouse numbers and the increase in coyotes since first seeing them in the late 1970's. I had a small white setter that had the nack of catching grouse and bringing them to me unharmed. If a setter with a bell on it can catch a grouse then how many can a coyote catch.
Well said paint brush and points to ponder. I found the same thing our first snowfall. Amazing, I would definitely roost in a tree and take my chance on an owl Grouse and GSP, GAME ON!
