Old Friends

[Jack Cronkhite]

We all have them. I appreciate a Kenny Rogers / Dolly Parton duet called “You Can’t Make Old Friends”. You can always make new friends but old friends evolve over a lifetime. Here is one of my old friends who is a many decades long hunting partner as well. Recently my daughters sent me a nice framed limited edition Jean Luc Grondin grouse in snow print. It is a nice print but I didn’t like the frame. Jim and I enclosed the whole thing in weathered wood from family farm. Here it is for your enjoyment, especially if you have witnessed such a flush. Cheers Jack

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=637&pictureid=9955http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=637&pictureid=9954

[Jack Cronkhite]

Ah the infamous cell phone un-asked for rotation. Will fix that when at home

[Rich Anderson]

Thats a nice print Jack. When they burst out of a snowbank or anywhere else for that matter it will test your cardiac rhythm.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Yes they do. I have had to adjust that rhythm several times a year but normally with roosters. I had a marvelous hunt in snow with Jim back in the late '70s. It was a bright sunny day and there had been a fresh snowfall overnight. We were on a hillside that sloped to a creek. It was rooster country. A completely snow-covered hen flushed close to me. Then a rooster too far away to consider. As I worked down a bit of a trail another rooster burst from under the snow sending the freshly fallen flakes in great profusion, giving the effect of glittering diamonds against the brilliant clear blue sky. It was an awesome sight, never repeated so far. My daughters heard this story many times and when they saw the grouse flushing from snow, they couldn't resist sending it to me. Good daughters for sure. BTW, I wasn't so awe-struck as to not send a flock of #6 pellets through that beautiful scene resulting in a fine meal enjoyed later. Cheers, Jack

[Rich Anderson]

A grouse that flushes from a tree above you will rearrange your heart rate as well. Daisy was locked on point staring directly at a big Hemlock. She wouldn't budge, I looked up in the tree and didn't see anything. I circled the tree and still couldn't see a bird....until it flushed and then just for a second. That has to be the hardest shot in the uplands. Moral of the story....always trust your dog.

[charlie cleveland]

great picture jack...i could feel my heart beating fast looking at this picture...charlie

[Russ Jackson]

A grouse that flushes from a tree above you will rearrange your heart rate as well. Daisy was locked on point staring directly at a big Hemlock. She wouldn't budge, I looked up in the tree and didn't see anything. I circled the tree and still couldn't see a bird....until it flushed and then just for a second. That has to be the hardest shot in the uplands. Moral of the story....always trust your dog.

Rich ,It surely will test your heart rate and also your shooting skills ! After 50 Seasons of chasing Sir Grouse I have yet to ever bring one to bag that flushed from a tree limb above my head !

[Rich Anderson]

I can't recall making that shot either Russ and I've tried it many times. Maybe that's why the Yoopers (people who live in the Upper Peninsula) shoot them out of the tree:eek:

[Russ Jackson]

What do they use ,RIFLES ???:rotf:

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Hey Rich, you got one coming out of a tree when we hunted a couple years ago. It was the last hunt of the day, Betty was on point, and about 3 grouse flushed one at a time from trees--you got a shot at the last one and dropped it hard. I forget which gun you were using--I remember it was a 20, but you brought several guns that day.

[Rich Anderson]

Russ I've known the locals to use a 22LR.

Harold thanks for reminding me, now that you mention it I do remember that hunt. It has to be the ONLY grouse I ever got from a tree flush. It's hard to say just what 20 I had but the odds favor a Parker.

[Todd Poer]

You guys have a lot more experience with grouse than me, but what I have seen and experience they are pretty smart-instinctive and innovative birds when evading predators. They are also dang good about keeping cover on their 6's as they make a break, especially out of a tree. Tree flushes are definitely tough sometimes if you can even get them to come out. We hunted em in an area that had a lot of old big and tall cedar trees. More than once on a flush I saw bird(s) fly straight into them like a missile. Even getting them out of that trees much less a shot was pretty low percentage. I did mark one flying into a tree and then worked my way around and could actually see it. Did everything I could to try and flush him to get a shot and when he finally made a break flew to another one 30 yards away.

[Richard Flanders]

I've managed a number of successful kills from a ruffie tree flush, but I make a point to search them out in trees when I've flushed one that went up into a tree and I've become very good at finding them if I look long enough. Trigg will back me up on that one I can tell you. We each managed a tree flush kill on the same day when we hunted ruffies north of Fairbanks last fall.

[Dean Romig]

It's a really tough shot for sure!

It's like shooting a quickly dropping target at SC but with low gun...





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[todd allen]

Thats a nice print Jack. When they burst out of a snowbank or anywhere else for that matter it will test your cardiac rhythm.

I agree, on the cardio-shock that a grouse flush can cause. Especially, when you don't know he's there.
The worst scenario, for me at least, is when I'm out still-hunting for deer, and while my gaze is fixed on distant scenery, an unseen grouse busts out from under my feet.
It's what I imagine defibrillation feels like!

[Daniel Carter]

Every grouse flush does that to me!! I think i read that the origin of skeet was attributed to grouse hunters and high 1 was to replicate that shot, have had a number of them, some i hit some i missed.