An H&H hammer 28 and Missouri Woodcock

[mobirdhunter]

We've been prospecting for woodcock here in North Missouri without much luck. We tried our clearcuts at the farm and located only one bird, but it was pointed nicely by Rill. Unfortunately it went out too low for a shot. Friday saw us at a WMA south of us that we had scouted during the Spring migrations earlier this year. I don't know if our birds have moved through after a strong cold spell, but I doubt it. We found a few and managed to shoot one for Rill using a magic wand of a gun -- a lightweight Holland and Holland 28 gauge hammer gun (it also has a later addition set of .410 barrels that have taken dove for me).

I bought this little gun expressly for home covert woodcock. I guess shooting a little bird with an old gun is not anything special for some, but for Elaine and me it was a grand day to take one bird over a special pup-in-training in a place close to home.

Photos:

1. Back when I was working I used to try to escape sleepless nights filled with work worries by imagining hunting woodcock at our farm. It was a nice dream...and has come true.

2. The local wildlife area sits along a small meandering prairie river above a large reservoir. Birds set down along its length in cover that probably does not look like that of those of you who chase 'cock in the east. The birds are where you find them. We find them in wet corn fields, too, and, talking with a local farmer who was harvesting beans from the WMA fields, he told us he flushed some birds in front of his combine.

3. Rill pointed this re-flush. The bird got up out of some big bluestem and she did not see it. The photo makes her appear to be steady to wing and shot, which she is not.

4. Rill is still figuring this hunting thing out. She likes birds, but we're working on having her learn we are not hunting killdeer and migrating tweety birds. The problem is too few game birds...and too many killdeer and tweeties.

5. I used a combination of right barrel #10s with a follow-up of #8s in the left. I hope I get some more chances before the flights move on.