Grouse Hunters

[WBall]

we got back last night from are 2nd round averaged 22 to 23 grouse a day, 8 to 9 timberdoddles. which was better #'s than the week before. its amazing the difference a hunt can be with your regular partner vs someone you've never hunted with. Had some great dog work the setter was in his normal little zone while the shorthair showed tons of improvement he still won't back without being whoaed.( Don't know what to do any suggestions? ) Spent one afternon at the vets getting porkiepine quills out of the shorthairs mouth. For the second year in a row. You think he'd learn. would love to show some pics but my camera is somewhere between FR 144 and lost lake.

 

[Bee]

Returned yesterday from Wisc -I would say the grouse were about 50-60% of the number we saw in each of last three years. Where we hunted they lost a lot if not all of first hatch due to weather in hatch season. We hunted one afternoon with a friend who is a locl and knows the area intimately and "hunts them every day somehwere"; this private area that afternoon with him where we hunted had not been hunted all year. He was disappointed to see low bird numbers we saw. for the week We felt we were dealing with all adult birds and most birds flushed from points far away from dog or hunter with no shot opportunitiies. Much more wary than last two years. Might be due to pressure this season from incredible number of hunters. By far most hunters I have seen there in past few years. We got some birds but it was far tougher than last couple of years, for sure. fwiw

 

[trust me]

I heard a good one from the Wisconsin returnees. Maybe the perpetrators of this stunt read this forum, I don't know...

This party of grouse hunters went to a local Realtor and told her, "We're interested in property with food plots that would be good for wildlife." The Realtor handed them a map and a handful of keys to gates, and they drove around inspecting all this vacant private property for sale. Some of the land was grousy, so they put the dogs out and had good hunting on unpressured grouse, managed to kill several.

They returned the map and keys, thanked the Realtor, and came back to Kentucky. Was this a dirty trick, or a stroke of genius? You decide.

 

[Roost em 1st]

I was in WI last week. Had business in MN and made a pitstop in WI for a couple days of huntin. I hunted with locals and travellers. They wanted to switch my license plates, seems some of the locals weren't to thrilled with all the KY tags. "Woods is full of Kentuckians" said a local bartender. Indeed there were quite a few Ky rigs. Alot were parked at easily accessible covers, not so much off the beaten path. I was treated to a few select way back covers by a WI friend. I had dinner with some guides one evening and they pulled the WI friend of mine aside and told him to take me to a certain spot. Washing dishes after dinner musta made a good impression on the head guide.

A sad story was about a Ky hunter whose setter disappeared. Word was the dog would not come to any human, the ky man left the dog. Left quite a few locals scratching their heads. "Why wouldn't the dog come to a human?" "why would you hunt a dog like that?" "How could you leave a dog?" were all questions...

They wondered about me too, "who is this guy hunting a chessie?" they thought....

just a redneck from KY I told em.

 

[PCoGrousehunter]

Bee, agree with you on the number of hunters this year. Was there last week. Never remember seeing as many hunters. Seems like we ran into a number of hunters back in the 99-00 peak, but don't remember them being as many as this year.

 

[Chessie202]

Ive been going up north for 14 years. I missed 2 years 1 for school & 1 for a baby boy. Ive hunted Wisconsin, Minesota & Maine. I cant wait for next year.

 

[PENCO GSP]

North woods

On the loosing dogs subject in the north woods, it is not hard to do at all alot of people from ky like to have there dogs run far, just the way we adapted to hunt. I have an english pointer that will come in a heart beat with the dogtra locate button. Handled him in MI just fine, he hunted quartered like a champ, he got onto somthing on one trail in WI. and was gone locate botton yelling nothing would bring him back thought I lost him for good. Kept hunting that area he was back were we parked the truck couple hours later. More than one person lost there dog out of the place we were staying. Was an great hunt but you have to have a dog you hunted with for a long time or never take your eye of that dog.

 

[Bee]

having never lost one of my setters in a lot of years of hunting , I was dismayed to watch one of my 6 yr old girls take off like a bullet in to a huge maple ridge, ignoring yells, whistles, lectricity and everything else I could do..after four very long and agonizing hours later she was still gone ....my cell phone rang about then and a lady asked if I was the fellow whose name and number were on a setter collar, YES I AM , and said her husband had the dog on their front porch three miles away. I tried to reward them, they would not take it but I insisted laid it on the gorund in their front yard and told them it was not going to be be picked up by me. Good people deserve to be rewarded , even if they are doing the right thing. Friend with me has lost setters for days in Wisc and in Minn, all eventualy have been found. I think it was runnning turkeys that took her off and there was fresh scratching all over the ridge where she bolted. Te dog hunts around truekys all the time down here but she went nuts over those as they just ran and never flew we think.

 

[JBJR]

Grouse in the north

I have been going north every fall for 25 years. just got back last week I hunted 4.5 days and killed 13 gouse and 12 woodcock Great way to start the season. I highly recommend it to any serius grouse hunter.

 

[JBJR]

Grouse #s

Hitch

I would like to hunt with you if you are find that many birds in KY I been at it in Eastern KY for 30 plus year and for the the last ten the birds are farther and farther apart.

 

[JBJR]

Grouse Hunt Pic

Here are few pics from two weeks ago in MI

I am new to the forum hope I did it right

 

[PCoGrousehunter]

JBJR: We went to Michigan for a couple of days on our first trip north this year. It was my first time to Michigan. Hunted near Mio, Mi. All told us we needed to go near Atlanta, Mi. Do you have any experience with the Atlanta area? We couldn't find many places to hunt near Mio. It was early season and hot so not a great experience. But, a bad day up there is still a good day in life.

 

[JBJR]

Atlanta MI

I hunt south west of Atlanta closer to Lewiston and Straight West in the Vanderbilt area. I have only gone one time in Sept. I generally try to make my trip around the second to third week of Oct. Some year I wished I would have come a week later and some years a week earlier. Over the past 5 years the hunting pressure has really increased. and it seems like the last ten days of Oct ever one that has a dog is in the woods.