I didn't start hunting until I moved to CO. It is all about pheasant and quail (bobwhite and scaled) hunting over a setter. I hunted in CA when I was stationed there and it was quail (valley and mountain).

Ken

Having spent my entire life in the South, the bobwhite quail has always been King. Finding wild birds in East Tennessee is almost impossible so now I mostly hunt dove and turkey. But I still recall fondly the days afield with Setters and Pointers.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/attachm...1&d=1515097374

Quail over my pointers is my passion.

I almost have come to the conclusion that Southeastern native wild Bob White Quail are becoming almost non existent other than around preserves. Some places in South Georgia that have the hunting plantations have banded together the large plots of land that are interconnected and maintained the quail habitat and management. If it wasn't for these endeavors I almost think they would be on endangered or threatened list.

Places I used to be able to go as kid look similar though planting practices have changed and we could find at least 5 to 6 good coveys. Now days those birds are all gone and you don't even hear them whistling in the spring. Complex reasons why and probably its a combination of things that work against them ever really coming back. Personally I just think loss of habitat, farming practices, and way to many other critters that like quail and quail eggs, they just will not be able to catch a break to rebound by themselves unless there is a massive concerted effort on mans part.

Personally though if its a wild game bird in the Southeast I have hunted them all and enjoyed the pursuit. Hunted wild quail until I think my legs would almost fall of as kid.

After 50+ years grouse are still number one, woodcock two, fly fishing for trout number three and deer last. There is nothing like hunting grouse and woodcock with a vintage side by side. The season goes way to fast.

Woodcock are fascinating birds. I do not care to eat them, they are not particularly difficult for a dog to work, and I do not find them all that hard to hit. So, while woodcock can liven up an otherwise lackluster day, I do not specifically pursue them.

Grouse, on the other hand, drive me crazy. Often solitary birds that do not benefit from dozens of eyes from other flock members creates a survivor. Oh, I don't think they are particularly smart, just paranoid about everything. An old grouse has numerous tricks up his sleeve that have been honed by survival. The end result is a bird that can be very difficult for a dog to handle, live in the most miserable of places, and are difficult to get a shot at. No, I did not say they were difficult to hit but they are difficult to get an ethical shot at. It is the quest of the grand master that is the essence of the game and a real grouse dog makes it so much sweeter.

I've always been a grouse and woodcock guy and it would be tough to make a preference of one over the other. The wing shooting challenge that each provides is certainly thrilling in different ways. But it is the places where you find them, often both species in the same covers, that gets me out each October day and brings me back year after year. Birds in my area have always been scarce but I have always loved to look for them.

In the past decade, pheasants have become of interest and I've been fortunate to have places to hunt them locally. It is put and take hunting, but it's a great chance to spend more time with dogs and friends outdoors.

Ptarmigan ( rocks and willow ) Ruffed grouse my favorite to hunt and snipe ....when I made the plunge to work from home I had dreams of leaving when I wanted to shoot,as I can pretty much hunt out my back door for grouse ....I was so busy this year I hunted 6 -10 times and never shot even shot at a Ptarmigan ...though a guy I know from Tucson shot one

Grouse, grouse guns, grouse dogs what I am thinking about every 30 seconds. It use to be something else when I was a younger me, but now I forgot what that was.
If I didn't have to travel so far to get into them I would be really bad.

Re grouse
 

Thanks guys! This is awesome! Cant say I dont like the chase or when the dog holds one to flush, I guess being in Downeast I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to grouse. We never really have trouble finding them. About two years ago we had two consecutive really wet and cold springs and the numbers crashed. This year we had really nice numbers of really old and very young birds. A grouse was my sons first bird, he's still too young to hunt over the dog for woodcock, but we're working up to it.