reporting on a week in Western Maine
 

I just finished a week-long hunt out of Bosebuck Camps, in the Western Mountains of Maine. It was the tenth traditional Maine sporting camp I have sampled in ten successive years, hunting by now five different watersheds in the State. Some of those camps I have returned to for hunting and/or fishing more than once. None were duds; some remain favorites.

All ten have been “American plan” camps, that is, the management provides three meals daily for the guests, in contrast with “housekeeping” camps.

Last year reportedly was an exceptional one for Grouse numbers in that section. Other Maine areas are doing better this year, I am told, which may account for my having seen only three trucks in the covers containing hunters, save those five used by the 14 guests in our camp. But, that’s not a bad trade-off.

Hunting alone, and with no dog, in an area I have never been to, but with directions to covers provided by the camp owner, in six days I moved [correction: 39; not 44] Ruffed Grouse; took shots at six, missed five, and bagged one. As with fishing, there is a huge difference between one and none.

We were really lucky with the weather. Three days of the six hunting days were overcast and damp, but perfectly hunt-able, except for about 5 hours total of actual rain.


And, three days of the six were pristine – cloudless blue sky; frosty mornings, a high of 50 degree temps – just right for dogs and people on foot on undulating if not rough terrain.


Each day of the six hunted we had barely the occasional perceptible breeze. Hard to believe that in such wild, mountainous country there could be such stillness for the entire week during which hunting was legal (no Sunday hunting allowed in Maine; and yesterday was indeed windy and wet.)

I carried the 16-gauge, 0-frame, 26-inch barreled, cylinder/mod-choked VH, shipped in 1907 from the Meriden to Iver Johnson Sporting Goods, Boston, doing in 2021 what it was intended to do.

Sounds like a very enjoyable week spent doing what you like best Russell.





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I think I would like to hunt Main in fall 2023. My Ruby has aged and will be 11 this Feb. She has one more big hunt on her plate this November then its retirement....)-: so I will need a pup ASAP. Thank you for the post, I enjoy reading them....Kenny SXS Ohio

Russell, you are a contemporary Frank Woolner (sans his autoloader with the synthetic barrel), walking up your birds. I'm glad to see that so many folks use a 26" barreled gun.

I hope your Maine tradition continues for many years to come. Thanks for posting.

I appreciate this post. Took our first trip to Maine, and one of our party was very displeased with the number of birds we encountered, seemingly believing you walk into Maine and hammer a limit every day easily. I have been hearing it didn't compare to last year. Next year I'm going later as we had all the leaves and temps near 70. And perusing my 25 years of journals I don't find that I flushed more birds with a dog than without (except pheasant) but I sure enjoy working over a dog. Great job walking them up.

Russel I have been hunting about 60 miles south of there since 1985. The first year out of a camp owned by friends a flush rate of 35 to 40 birds a day was normal. This held for about 10 years and woodcock were hunted first in the AM. then grouse the rest of the day. Please do not ask about success rates on grouse.

My sons grew up hunting this area where we never had to use a vehicle and could walk our legs off in good cover. Fast forward to last week and the camp has been sold and we are day tripping. Flushed 2 grouse and 3 woodcock and the boys( now in their 50s got a few but i came home with a clean pair of barrels.

The building of second homes and retirement homes in the best abandoned farm land and a notable decrease in bird numbers over the years is lamentable but at 75 i i think i love it as much now as i ever did.

We have spent the afternoons looking for new covers, traveling a good distance but finding the numbers low and those we meet saying they find the same. Newcomers to the sport are very happy with 6 to 8 a day and i say nothing about the old days in fear they will not believe me. We still will continue to search and there is no other hunting that compares with it.

Andy:

Thanks for your comments and report.

I have enjoyed late-season hunting up there, despite the possibility of encountering snow. But, even with a two-wheel-drive Toyota Tacoma truck I have thus far made it out of the woods, even as late as Thanksgiving week, with tire chains added, if needed.

On hunts without a guide and his dogs, as during this year, many shot opportunities are eschewed. As much satisfaction as one can have in the alternative of finding and stalking, unaided, the “King of Gamebirds”, you can’t beat having a dog for game-recovery.

I can certainly attest to that last statement Russell.





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Agreed. I posted yesterday about my young setters first grouse in another thread. I surely would have lost the bird had she not morphed into a ferret and found it in a huge pile of dead tree tops from a logging operation. Damn near played Twister to lay on it and reach down and grab it, but without Raisin's nose I never would have found it.