Grousen
 

Well after last Saturdays ,Hunting With Parker " post and we discussed the virtues of the Browning BSS 20 Ga. ,I decided to take it this morning and give it a little exercise ! Now in the last picture ,does anyone know what kind of Tree produces this " Fruit " ? Russ

Hazel nuts? Russ your last few photo's seem to be devoid of "The Hat" is it okay?...:)

HAZEL NUTS ! Thanks Dave ,I don't recall ever running into these before but there were a lot of trees full of them where we were today ! The " Hat " Is fine ,Would you like a picture ,I have been wearing a different one with the weather change ! Russ

I was just concerned about it welfare........:rotf:

Thank you Dave ! Hey , I don't think these are Hazel Nuts ,I said to my Wife ,Dave S. thinks they might be Hazel Nuts and She said ,No ,I cut one open and they are full of tiny seeds that look like little Feathers ,any one else have a guess ???????

This is what they look like inside ! Notice how they hang down from the branch by threads ,the lower limbs didn't have any of this Fruit but the tops of the Trees were hanging full ,also the Bark of the Tree was similar to a Hickory !Any one else ever see these ?

Nice hunt Russ, I have no idea what the nuts are however. I went Pheasant hunting today with Daisy. Gunner was there with his Parker and we managed two birds on a scratch hunt. Not a bad morning. Our Grouse season is done for the year:crying:

Our Grouse season wraps up next weekend Rich ,then I suppose maybe some Put and Take Pheasants at a local Private Preserve ! We fell into a nice deal a couple of years back when I bought a bunch of Chuckers from this Gentleman and he invited us to give it a try ! It is Private but late in the Season ,they will take on some outside hunters """ ME """ and a couple of my Buddies ! I Booked a hunt late and we all had a Great time ! It's fun just getting out and we all carry 410's shoot only Points and just have a Fun day ! Russ

Rich ,I forgot to mention ,Sounds like you had a Pretty Good Day out Yourself ! CONGRATS. on the nice Hunt with The Gunners Gun !

This was a preserve setting but the birds are excellent. Daisy worked a hen a good hundred yards befor she flushed.

Thanks for reminding me I need to send my Fox 410 out to get the chokes opened. It just slips my feebel mind. I think I'll go with IC/M if I don't like it I'll sell it or trade it off:eek:

When ever I take Gunners Parker out it's like he's along for the hunt and he always is.

Too bad they don't make spreaders for the 410 ,that would be the ticket ! I wish I had a local Smith that was good at measuring Choke ,Rich My gun is unbelievable on Birds ,did you talk with Chuck and see if he has any info. on the Chokes of my Parker as we discussed !

No I forgot that also but I can ask him as we will once again be in negotiations:whistle: Have you patterned yours? I remember you thought it was IC/M.

Russ;
Your mystery fruit is from a Sycamore but also could be from a hybrid called London Planetree introduced here years ago. Delicious when consumed with Wild Turkey 101:rotf:

Russ, fruit looks like Sycamore to me.

Craig

Rich ,I have never Patterned mine and the Galazan Brass Gauge measures it ,IC and Mod. but before I would recommend those Chokes ,Measurements would be wise ! I may be meeting with Chuck in the near future as well ,if he could measure the chokes ,I would gladly take it along and he could give us the measurements !

The seeds you are wondering about are from American Sycamore. I would be interested to know if the bird you shot had any in its crop.

Russ,
those are from Sycamore trees. I hunted the steep and the deep along the Ohio River(in Ohio) this weekend. I carried the Sterlingworth pin gun on Sat. and took 1 shot over Betty's point and took a nice cock grouse. That gun was designed for the uplands. It has Fox's lightest barrels that they put on a 12 guage (4 wt) and it is choked cyl/mod which was offered according to the old Fox literature. Still, at the end of the day I was wishing for one of my light 16's or 20's. MY camera went on the fritz this weekend so all of the great pic's I took cant seem to be downloaded.
Like to get together some time and shoot some clays.
Harold

Morning Harold , I knew that Old fox had a lot more Hunting time left in her !The Gun feels great in hand ,must be those light Barrels ! Good Shooting ,was the first shot you took out of the new gun at a Grouse and you got it ,now that's impressive ! The only Clay shooting I have ever done was in the back yard ,Hand Thrower or Foot release Trap , I have never shot a " Formal " Round of Trap or Skeet or any of the Newer Games ,but I would enjoy giving it a Go ! Best ; Russ

Gary ,No Sycamore Seeds in the Crop , seems they were still hanging onto the tree ,I shot these couple down with my 20 Ga. I couldn't find even one on the Ground for inspection and the trees were full ! Russ

"Cock Grouse" - I've never figured out how to tell the boys from the girls in Bonasa umbellus

It is generally accepted that the black band across the ends of the tail feathers in a cock bird will be an unbroken, solid band while the two center feathers in the hen will be mottled and the band will be interrupted by those two feathers.

Actually, it is not too hard to do once the bird is in hand. As Dean stated, the unbroken tail band works most of the time. Also the length of the tail feathers-- if they are over 5 7/8" it is a cock bird--under 5 1/2 it is a hen--inbetween, well then look at the other characteristics. A cock generally also has an orange patch along the upper eyelid area.
The best way, is when cleaning the bird, look at the anatomy-- a cock bird will have 2 small bean shaped testes along its lower back, while a hen will have a light colored foamy looking area-the ovaries. I had the pleasure of hunting for years with a grouse biologist, and every grouse taken was a learning experiance.
As far as telling them apart on the wing, even this eye doctor cant prescribe glasses good enough to do that.

Well ,There you go Harold ,I was figuring just hanging out with you should improve my eye sight and my shooting abilities :rotf: !!!