What's your quarry?
 

Now that the season has ended there's plenty of time to reflect on the passing season. I find myself wondering where I am in my pursuit of game birds. I've always hunted wild birds and the two birds around here are Woodcock and Ruffed Grouse. Now all the great writers tell their stories of chasing Ruffies with great fanfare. I find it nostalgic and tradition tells me that they should be my pursuit, but thats not my story, thats not in my heart. I'm a Woodcock man and I have always been. Now don't get wrong I love chasing grouse, but it just doesn't have the same appeal as hunting Woodcock. I always come to the same decision, year after year, what is going to be the chase this year, Ruffed Grouse or Woodcock and Woodcock it always is! So to coin a phrase, what's your "pursuit of happiness"? I'll leave you with a picture to motivates me year after year

Have the same print that my sister gave me about 40 years ago. Have always liked it as it hangs in my den. Still pursue woodcock here in the UP of Michigan as we have good flights in certain areas every fall.

I wish I could choose between the two, but it's impossible to choose my favorite.
I prefer eating woodcock but too many of them need to be killed to make a meal. So I simply sautee woodcock breasts as hors d'ouvres after a day's upland hunt.

I used to be able to bring down most of the woodcock I shot at, but these days I seem to miss more of them..... must be related to aging.

Grouse, on the other hand, are the most gallant (but sneaky) of gamebirds and I do pretty well, but their numbers have declined somewhat in the past few years.

But I am not a meat hunter... Even on those rare opportunities I've had to shoot my limit, I just won't do it. Call me crazy, but...






.

I live in a little farming community in North East Clark County NV. For me, Gambel's Quail is a short walk.
It's the same thing, every time. A couple of German Shorthairs, my old hunting partner Chuck, and an old Parker VHE, and we're off.
The beauty of growing old is, I don't need a lot of birds to make me happy.
Four birds between the two of us is a good day.

Chukar are my passion
 

For me it has to be wild chukar with California valley quail a close second. Living in northern Nevada there is unlimited areas to hunt and I just like walking the hills and watching the dogs. Numbers are down this year but we seldom fail to get into birds. Attached is a picture of my Brittany and a friends pointer pointing a few quail in a cut field. My hunting partner is trying to get a picture of the flush.

I have yet to find a wing shooting quarry that I dislike! But, Snipe hunting and Dove hunting are in a dead heat, with wild Bob's in third these days. It used to be Bobwhite's hands down, but hyper expensive lease prices for decent quail country, wildly fluctuating populations have driven me out of the Setter business, and I switched to Vizsla's, a few years ago. We have grown to love these unique, multi talented dogs.

Mallards over decoys

Grouse are what fuel my upland passion. Growing up in SE Ohio, i really didnt know much about those funny looking long beaked birds until my Uncle Sam explained to me that many people pursued them with bird dogs. We were rabbit hunting at the time and would flush quite a few woodcock over the course of a hunt in Nov and Dec. I became addicted to grouse hunting, and shot my first with an old Stevens 12 ga sxs--one of those with the nylon stocks.
I have never developed much of a taste for woodcock however, and often pass up shots on them if we are moving good grouse numbers, it just doesnt sit well with me not to eat what I shoot. If I am training a young dog, I do make an effort to get them into woodcock.
It was a strange season for woodcock this year in the UP. Those who went early had hot temps, and told me they didnt do well. I was there the last week of Oct, first week of Nov, and only moved 4 woodcock in 2 weeks--but the grouse hunting was very good. I didnt move many woodcock in Ohio this year either.

Last year was "The Lost Fall" for me. Daisy wasn't able to hunt and the month of October spent in the U.P. was pretty much a dogless venue. As Harold noted it was hot and it rained..a lot. If I were to put a label on my upland bird hunting endeavors it would be as a Grouse hunter. I like Woodcock also but the Grouse is king for me. Next fall I'll have a young shorthair with me and I hope to be able to get him into some flight birds just for the practice if nothing else.

It's all about grouse and woodcock for me. But, no longer do I find the need to kill to have hunted. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hunt as much as I ever have, but these days it's all about the dog.

My most memorable hunts, however; have been sharing a blind duck hunting with a good friend.

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.

just great...charlie

Mention of pictures that stir the blood, Winslow Homer's "Right and Left" when I saw it in The National Gallery, Washington. Ducks for me, preferably along North Atlantic shores.

i loved quail hunting but we do not have enough quail left to hunt....so i would choose turkey hunting as my favorite bird to hunt with a parker 8 ga at my side...charlie

Grouse

Whatever my dogs point on any given day is my "best bird." As I live in (formerly decent) quail country, it is more often than not "Scoundrel Bob" (I cannot call him a Gentleman any longer as he has developed some dastardly tricks to outwit us -- still, we love him). For over 30 years we have hunted grouse and woodcock from a cabin in the Minnesota north woods. Our 2-week October trip is the highlight of my hunting year. I tell folks, there's October in the grouse woods, and then there's waiting for October in the grouse woods. Not original, but its serves its purpose.

I guess I'm fickle, but I can say there's nothing quite like a good day afield with the wife and dogs with a brace of wild Bobs to show for it. Using a special gun just makes it all better.

Pheasants are my number one, they've fascinated me ever since I was a young boy walking to the school bus stop and seeing them in the nearby fields and listening to their cackling. Here's a photo my son with the last bird of the year and another of a rooster and my Labrador after a November hunt.

Growing up in eastern Ohio on a dairy farm, we had pheasants, quail, and the woods were thick with grouse. WE grew all our own corn, wheat, oats, etc. I remember chasing quail around with my BB gun (never got one), and my father mounted a gun holder on the tractor so they could shoot at pheasants while harvesting the corn. Sadly, the pheasants can only thrive in the glaciated areas of Ohio-we were in the foothills of the Appalachians, and the blizzards of 77-78 decimated the quail. Grouse are almost mythical at this point--kind of like hunting for unicorns or ivory billed woodpeckers. Thus I throw myself into 2 weeks in the UP, hunting from early to late, wearing both my dogs and myself out.
I comiserate with all you southern gentlemen, who grew up with the bobwhite quail, and now find yourself having to travel long distances or pay big bucks just to keep your birddogs happy.

Quarry

i always like the little rhyme in GBE's The Upland Shooting Life at the start of Part Three - The Birds


"The wild thing I seek is the live thing
somewhere ahead -

The quarry ceases to be quarry
when the quarry's dead"


sadly as with Harold
I am afraid in most of my old haunts - what haunts me is the lack of grouse

Wild Roosters are number one....
 

As a very young boy I lived to hunt birds. I learned from my older brother how to make a real good home made sling shot from a perfect Y sapling, a pack of rubber bands and a soft peace of leather. I was deadly with it and could get real close stocking my pray! The rich kids had BB guns. I started driving when I was 16 and that sealed my fate! I lost a big block of years when I learned how nice the gals could be! That started in 1971 and lasted way to long! By the time I regained any senses the days of wild Quail and pheasants were all but over in Ohio. I think I shot my last hunted Rooster in 1976 with a pump 20gauge. I shot it well. Later I kept beagles for rabbits and always enjoyed the chase. I was working pretty good back in 1995 I liked looking at the GUN LIST and saw a big add for Parker Reproductions close outs by three big dealers. I got on the phone to Jaqua's who was one of the dealers, they were about 4 hours from Cleveland Ohio. That restarted a love for SXS guns. I don't have the two barrel set that I financed to buy, I later sold it to buy one with two triggers...(-: best thing I ever did! My beagle puppy passed on about 15 years and 4 months and few rabbits could be found due to the influx of eastern coyotes. Through a new friend who is a grouse hunter I learned about setters and how sweet they are. I took a liking to Penny a small frame Gordon setter dog and decided to get me a puppy....Her name is Ruby, she will be 7 February 5th. She has come into her own now and is a real serous grouse, woodcock, quail and rooster dog! She finds them , points them and re-finds them if needed. She is a dog who loves life! My favorite hunt of the year is our 9 day trip to Kansas for wild roosters and quail...then Grouse and doodles in the big north woods.

The first picture above is Penny...My friend the Gordon setter that owns Dave in potter county P.A. Picture two is This past season in Potter...brace of doodles...(-: The last picture was in Michigan this past fall at the Motel...Ruby staked her claim! SXS ohio

" The last picture was in Michigan this past fall at the Motel...Ruby staked her claim! SXS ohio "

Kenny is that in the hotel on the hunt that I missed.........

I just re-read my previous post and I think I depressed myself!! Tomorrow's quarry, however, will be deer with the muzzleloader.Will be below zero, so doesn't look like a good day to stay on stand, will have to sneak around alittle.
Growing up, deer were almost unheard of in our area--I'd trade every dam deer in Ohio to have our grouse back.

I am a duck hunter first and foremost, nothing in my outdoor life is better than 30 mallards making the final approach, lab quivering with a vintage SxS in my hands. One lonely mallard hen quack on the call and in they come feet down--addictive in the extreme!. I never get tired of that experience and will smile about it until I leave mother earth. I am lucky and have a great spot to hunt waterfowl in the Finger Lakes of NY state. I do love wild bird hunting and have been fortunate to be able to travel to Ontario , Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Maryland, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Maine and Argentina to hunt birds both waterfowl and upland. My home area in NY was a pheasant hot spot until the middle 70's, I was lucky to experience wild pheasants out my back door. In today's world you need to travel and not sit home and think about how things were they will never return. Stay positive guys.

2018

1. Doves
2. Spring Gobblers
3. Deer
4. Canada Geese

Was brought up a Bobwhite quail hunter. That's it. Killed my only limit of 125 in the '81-'82 season. Hunted just as much the next year, and killed half that, the next season, half of that. Gave up. Now extinct here. Never killed a deer until my late 20s, and that was right after we put the bird dogs in the box and hounds ran a big buck by me right at dark, shooting my I.C. bird gun with 2 3/4" buckshot. Never saw a Canada Goose when I was a kid. Now they are everywhere. Deer were non-existent also back then. Some years there are herds. Quarry that can fly is my favorite though.

While Grouse are a favorite I can warm up to any bird that can be pointed and shot at with a small bore SXS. In just over three weeks it's Quail in south Georgia and hopefully some warmer weather.

Good friends, good guns and good bird dogs make bird hunting, loose one of the three and it's just not the same.

Opening day...Yes that's the one...Wooden shoe. We had a good time in MI. It was warm and we did not see many birds but our time there was great....nice folks, good food. We plan to hit Michigan again this October...(-:

Grouse....I let the Woodcock fly as there are too few around and takes a lot of them to make a meal. I have good grouse country out the back door but I find myself heading north for day trips to find new covers. Finding good covers is more thrilling to me than shooting grouse. I have found many over the years but find myself always searching for the next and rarely going back to the already found. Hunting has to be an adventure to me. In my travels I have found many beaver ponds and marshes with good populations of ducks. I will renew my jump shooting of ducks this year. I was at a huge beaver pond way back in the mountains this year. Must be a half mile long and had 5 beaver houses although not all were active. There were many different types of ducks and some I did not recognize. Standing beside the pond and the slashing sounds of duck wings overhead really fired up the duck hunting fever. Lacie our border collie often accompanies me. She is good at jumping grouse but extremely gun shy. I never shoot when she is along and somehow it is more fun than when I can shoot. All in all though deer hunting is the main passion...rabbit hunting behind dogs with a 22 pistol is a close second though...oh the sound of a beagles voice turning and coming back your way!

Hope you enjoy your South Jawja Romp. It will probably be nice by then. Btw if its in the 50's or better consider some sort of snake protection. Those rascals will come out and sun themselves. Its pretty rare and I used to never even think about wearing snake boots when quail hunting since the area I used to hunt did not have many bad snakes and it was always cold enough, never a thought. South Georgia and Florida its almost anytime when weather is 50+. Once in early February hunting in South Georgia dogs were on point and shooters walked in to flush. Thick bramble cover about waist high and hard to see where your feet were going, though walking in at the ready was not looking at the ground but looking for shooting lanes and anticipating the flush. Covey breaks as I am still on the move and I get a pair, actually was hunting with Parker and one of few times I ever doubled with it. Guide looks at me and says he missed. I said no way I got both birds, and he said he lost track and he was looking down at the ground and when he let me know "lucky for you that fellow right there on the ground missed you".

I look down at just the right time to see rattles of a big snake slinking back down into a hole under an old pine stump. It freaked me and the guide out since neither of us even thought about snake boots. Guide knew the area and even assumed it was too cold and did not wear snake protection, that changed his mind since it was sunny and low 50's out. Seems, according to guide that caught the action out corner of his eye, as I walked, hesitated, then took another step forward to shoot the snake whiffed right as I moved my step forward.

I am not afraid of snakes but respect the hell out of them. Odds are greatly in your favor to never get bit much less die from a bite and more likely to be killed by a lightening strike, but I try and avoid getting struck by lightening and snakes more so now then I ever did. My rule is that in deep south if its high 40's and know its warming then snake gear comes out. I have some heavy Orvis leather snake boots and wearing them and walking alot is a work out but I guess worth it. Just read were someone got knicked in florida this fall by rattler and about $100k later and pretty long hospital stay they were in the clear.

BTW I like the cache of your trilogy and it has a little more air of prestige but it reminds me of some of the same components for a successful weekend based on the Redneck Trilogy.

1. Burning Gas
2. Shooting Guns
3. Drinking Beer

Hopefully it safely goes off in that order, but more times than not, the order gets reversed some. However, as a rule of thumb shooting guns is always in the middle.

Seasons over???
 

Wild roosters and wild chukars are the staple for me, I love them both. Growing up in the west we hunted almost all game birds. I'm getting ready to go to Arizona next week on a three species quail hunt.The season is still going and the temperatures are nice. I shot several quail when I lived there, but I want to mount a pair of each this time.

You know Rich, you laughed at me last year with me wearing my Filson chaps (after being told they killed to over four foot rattlers in the previous two weeks) so this year I think I may wear them again.............:shock: