Montana Prairie Grouse

[Bruce Day]

Four of us in Montana, stopped by the Little Big Horn Battlefield where the boys from Michigan didn't fare so well, then to the Missouri Breaks for sage grouse, then to Fergis County for sharptails, prairie chickens and Hungarian partridge.

Hot, too hot, high 70's and low 80's past noon, so we started early and quit early. Lots of water, even standing in the sage brush flats.

My bird dog pulled off a nail sheath so I booted her for a couple days. She couldn't stand the boots so I finally took them off and she ran on the raw nail. Dick's Gordon got cut, so he stitched him up. The heat was tough on the dogs and hunters.

Some fishing for browns. The streams were on, and it would have been a great time to do some dedicated fishing.

Dr Dick Dow, Todd Kaltenbach, Russ Lindsay and me. The van is Dick's custom 4 wheel drive Ford Sportmobile. Bed, shower, mini kitchen. The Chevy is my old 1994 Suburban, 240,000 miles and good for another 10 years or until it hits a deer, whichever comes first. My next one is getting a deer/brush/gate guard when new.