38 Years of Minnesota Grouse

[mobirdhunter]

We are about to end our first week of hunting in Northern Minnesota, our 38th if my count is correct. So many familiar sites, but also some new additions to this wonderful country.

Bird numbers seem down, although daily conditions -- especially weather -- contribute much to the flush count. Our first day was a good one with 15 flushes and three birds taken, two over our puppy Rill. We were joined on our second day by PGCA member Dean Weber and his big, burly lab, Oz, a wonderfully dispositioned addition to the hunt. Try as we might, we could not produce the right mix of conditions to provide Dean with the retrieve he wanted for his boy, but hunting with Dean, and the wonderful conversations at evening dinners, has been a highlight of our trip.

Another highlight was a dinner one evening at the cabin of Bruce Day and his wife, Katie. Joe Weidle, another PGCA member, prepared us a wonderful dinner and Elaine and I enjoyed learning more about the backgrounds of these fine people over wine and seafood gumbo. I marvel over the stories that Bruce, Joe, Katie, and Dean shared with us of their personal histories. What a wonderful time we had. Of course we did some Parker show and tell, and I fell hard for Bruce's beautiful small bore DH with 24 inch barrels, a checkered butt, round knob grip, and some of the most beautiful wood I've seen on that grade. I swear I dreamt of that little gun for two nights after handling it.

Dean brought guns to blood (and I hope he brings them back next year), and among them the big brother to a newly acquired BHE 20 of mine. His 16 gauge BHE was breathtaking, with some of the finest condition I've ever had the chance to see on a 1904 gun. Shouldering his 16 bore Purdey was another highlight of the trip for me.

We look forward to the next week, and I'll see if I can't blood a new gun, and get my go-to grouse gun of years ago back into action.

This trip has reminded me of how much I love the Northwoods, and how fortunate I am to be associated with such fine people as I meet in the PGCA.

Photos:

1 & 2: We've not had lots of chances, and bird numbers seem lower that the last two years, but taking birds over Rill's points has been a bright spot in our hunt. We'll have have to work on retrieving, but finding, pointing and holding grouse is an accomplishment as I see it.

3, 4, & 5: A trip highlight has been hunting with Dean Weber. Dean is an engaging personality, a guy who loves fine doubles and hunting, and, what endeared him to Elaine and me, his love of dogs.

6, 7, & 8: I can't resist including photos of the landscape. This country, and this time of year, recalls past years, past dogs, and the younger version of yours truly. I am older now, and showing my age, but I still love the beauty of this wonderful North country.

9. Little Rill gets a toweling after a wet morning hunt. She has flashes of promise and is wonderfully biddable. She's a joy to hunt over.

10. Fall color is breathtaking, and even though we are in the late stages of the color, it still makes us stop and appreciate the show that Nature puts on.

11. We took two beautifully colored young birds on our morning hunt on this warm day. Rill pointed both. The gun for the week was what I call "Reggie's Gun," a uniquely appointed 1918 CHE 20 (Craig, the little brother to the 1918 DHE you recently posted) that fits me like a glove. We've flushed 12-15 birds a day on our hunt, with many wild flushes. Locals talk about the Spring rains that obviously took their toll on grouse broods. Still, a bad day in Minnesota is a good day in many other places.