Woodcock?… I Don’t Know, What Do You Think?
 

Will this bring the flight birds down into Vermont’s NEK?

I sure hope so because we just arrived at
“Grouse Camp” and there aren’t any grouse to be found.






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Gosh, Dean, I’m not sure it matters. That is so beautiful one might forget about hunting (okay, probably not, so, yes, may it be a sure sign there’ll be a Fall of ‘cock in your coverts!)

Be sure to keep us posted and include photos of Grace. Enjoy your time in Tinkhamtown.

Looking at some of my reloads I brought… I sure hope the other 12 have powder…. :shock:





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Good luck!

all the tricks
 

Wow, you didn't miss a trick there! :rotf:

Dean- Spent the first three weeks of October just east of you. My four buddies and I, who have been hunting up there for a long time, don't recall the grouse numbers being this low. We've had terrific numbers of grouse the past several years. On the other hand, we were running into flight birds almost from the first day of the season. I didn't believe they were at first but finally after a few days my buddies convinced me that they were migratory birds moving down from Canada. Had pretty consistent flights from then on. Typically, we don't see flight birds until the 2cd or 3rd week.
Ultimately, the numbers are not important but rather, the comradery, good camp food and some fun dogs to hunt with. Have fun!

One woodcock point by Gracie and it flushed directly toward Jamie’s position through the alders. It never lifted more than 6 feet or so and of course I didn’t even raise my gun.
We had one grouse flush wild at about 60 yards and that was it for a 2.5 hour hunt.
And these are coverts that have historically produced a LOT of points and birds brought to bag. This is truly the worst year ever for grouse here in the NEK and the woodcock flights have not dropped in yet.






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Dean. We were in the Grand Lake Stream area on October 16th. I put up 6-7 woodock on my own, my buddies put up about the same. On the 17th the four of us put up about 25. On the 18th we put up 40+ On the 19th another 30ish. These are rough numbers but we were in the thick of the flight so they have to be coming! Leens Lodge was seeing a hell of a lot too, we stopped in just to see the place. Most of the folks we ran into that week agreed the flights were moving well. It picked up on the 17th after two days of rain on the 15-16th. If I remember correctly we ran into a guide who said the winds went from a southerly to a northerly wind somewhere in the middle of those two days of rain and that's what he looks for.

We were up to the Rangely area a week ago.
Our first day was a record day for us 6 wood cock and 5 grouse. Lost count on how many more we pushed up. The 2nd day was more normal day but a lot of flushed grouse, and wood cock.
The only thing that was strange is in that area a lot of people road hunt the birds, not my kind of hunting but ….. This year we did not see one road bird and I think that it may have had people think the bird numbers where down.

Ha❗️So we went flying down 93 (a super highway) at about 75 mph on our way to The Home Depot in Littleton, NH to buy four 94 lb. bags of Portland cenent for our host, Tom Simons, who was deep into a project. He’s building a stone garage for his truck and camper….
Anyway… tight against the median, pecking grit from the rumble strip was a handsome grouse, which would be the only grouse we actually saw today.





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Well, my 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition World’s Fair 28” 20 gauge GH Parker has remained unfired so far this weekend. Maybe today will be a different story as the temp dipped to 35 from a high yesterday of 76.
I brought three Parkers to grouse camp hoping to put each of them to some use but…

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Now that’s a garage

It sure is - the man is amazing… Here’s his house.


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Dean you're complaining about bird numbers while roughing it in that mansion?
I feel for you.

For those ignorant of what NEK means (like me), I searched and the only reasonable thing I found is North East Kingdom (??????).

Nice pics, Dean.

I’d live in a tent and heat it with cans of Sterno and eat beans if we had the numbers of birds we had 10 or 12 years ago.





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I think I could be quite content, after a long day following bird dogs, sitting down with a wee dram of single malt and stare at that gun rack of Dean's. Yup would warm me up inside and out. Or if I didn't have scotch I'd want an ice cold glass of whole milk and some home made chocolate cookies warm out of the oven...

There I fixed it for you Chris

Woodcock flights hit northern PA yesterday afternoon.

YAY!!!

How does one know this?

Get in good cover with a good dog. And, maintain communication with other like minded dog people. Especially setter folks.

The reason I really asked Gary was we’ve had nothing but solid rain here on NY PA border for 48 hours and I don’t know anyone who’s been out since Saturday. Today looks dandy but I have a four letter word to do: work

The rain eased up enough Sunday afternoon for a quick dog run. Moved six woodecock in a 1 acre patch within 100 yards of my house. As soon as I got back inside the phone range and a good friend said he encountered the same at his house. He hunted Monday afternoon and moved 7 wc and 1 grouse in an hour.

I will confirm this aftternoon as I plan to run a good wc cover.

Work, that is a dirty word this time if year!!

Well I guess they must have bypassed my VT coverts, or when they fell into them I must have been at home. I was at home in Mass on the 23rd through the 26th and then yesterday and today...BUMMER!!

The best woodcock flight I've ever encountered was a decade ago when Dave and Danny Suponski came up from CT to hunt with me and we moved 14 woodcock in 15 or 20 minutes and several grouse too. And that was before I had Gracie, and I fear I may never again have such an experience...
We moved a ton of birds that weekend!





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I'm back home in SC after a great few weeks in NH. I can't wait for Dec 18th when the woodcock season opens here. Of course being new down here I'm like a Martian on Venus and have not figured out the flights or their preferred covert yet. But I do run into them here while the dogs hunt for quail and have been lucky to take a couple. Find them in the damndest places...

“Woodcock are where you find them.” is an old Yankee mantra. ☺️





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