Patidge Shortnin
 

Got out today for a little Grouse Hunting with My Buddy Rich and his Pointer ! Decided to start a little later in the morning giving the ground time to warm up a bit ,started moving Birds almost right off ! I connected on the first Bird of the morning , we moved a few more but had no more shooting today I was shooting my little OO Framed VH , 28 Gauge and Rich was carrying his Fox Model B 410 ! Was a beautiful day here in Pa. to be in the woods after the Mr. Patridge ! The second photo is from last weeks hunt , Rich with the little 410 and the only Bird moved the entire morning !

nice and taken with a little 410..charlie

Late season pa'tridge are the hardest birds to knock down and you guys did it with those little guns. What a challenge you set for yourselves and what an excellent showing you made!!

Nice work Russ!
I have fond memories of wild Pats in Vt.
In Utah, the biggest challenge when jumping Ruffies is to hit them before they land on a branch.:nono:

Dean ,Rich inherited the Little 410 from a Great Uncle a few years ago,He was so tickled with it ,he just stuck with it till he could crush foot released targets then put his old 12 Gauge Ithaca away and has carried the 410 for Pheasant ,Grouse and Woodcock since ! As for the VH 28 , I had bought the DHE 30" Barreled 28 and loved the looks of the gun but it wasn't a Grouse Gun ,just fine in the field where you had more time but for Old Ruff , I really like the 26" Barreled 28 V Grade and generally I shoot it well ! At 5 and a half lbs. it is a real Joy to carry ! Some times I take the 410 but seem to spend too much time worrying about the gun and not enough time worrying about the Grouse ,Works Great for Pheasant in more open areas where I don't really concern myself with brush and crab apple and white thorn ,you know those Heavenly places Old Ruff calls home :rotf:!!!!!!!!!

Yup, I sure do know those formidable places - but we need those kinds of places so we'll know we earned every grouse we shot.

I've got a VHE 28 gauge with 26" barrels too about the same weight. It is a magic wand... most times.

My first 28 was a VHE Straight Grip with a Checkered Butt ,Splinter Forend and Honed barrels ,it was really lite !!!!!!!!!! It was a wand but it wasn't magic in my hands ! When I bought it ,I didn't know the barrels had been cleaned up ,it still had decent wall thickness I suppose ,but I couldn't hit anything that was moving at any rate of speed because I couldn't keep up with the game ! Going straight away or rising was okay but East and West ,they were safe ! I sold it to a Buddy who loved the gun and said ,he didn't care about the honing as it would never be shot again !:shock:!!!!!!! I have never owned a Repro 28 but have been tempted a few times ,at the price of them ,I think about a nice original 20 Gauge and there we go again :rotf:, most of the Guys really seem to like them though !