A Red Letter Day

[Cold Spring]

I’m calling this a Red Letter Day but its 24 hour period actually stretched over two days.

A friend and I hunted the PA mountains last week (northwest of Hausmann's) and just couldn't find the birds. Only one random/wild bird all day.

Back up to that area on Wednesday and solo hunted late afternoon, stayed overnight at the cabin, and hit it again for about 5 hours Thursday in some light rain on and off. It was quiet walking and I hunted four big coverts between the two days, limiting out by 3 pm. This is walk up hunting on old woods roads and century-old RR beds. Both Foxes are 20-bores, a Utica Sterly and a New Britain XE Special. I took the Sterly because rain was predicted but both guns got caught in passing showers. That XE has proven to be very lucky gun and she took three of the four birds. Check out the second bird from the right that has a reddish ruff, only the second one I’ve taken in my haunts here in northern PA. The two birds I cropped both had 100% buds from twigs ..... no berries, nuts, ferns or pieces of green leaves. That grouse and the one on the far left are now in freezer for a “Fox gets the Game” hanging mount for my room.

Cell phone pic, not the best