Northern hunting adventures

Richard Flanders · 12-21-2009, 02:10 AM

When most people are smart enough to be sitting around the fireplace and Xmas tree petting the hound and sipping some form of good single malt, Trigg and his buddy Derek go out into the wilds and chase grouse. I was in Anchorage and didn't want to seem a wimp so tagged along; I tried of course to talk some sense into them but to no avail and away we went to one of their favorite drumming count areas. Trigg and I walked along a glacial moraine ridge with decent spruce cover and good feed-- buffalo berries, rose hips, high bush cranberries and aspen. Shine got all birdy in one area so we let him sort it out for a bit and I finally went into the untracked snow on the hillside and found a fresh track to follow. I followed it right to the bird and made a decent rising straightaway on her with the beat up old GHE12 I got from Dave Miles... and just when I was going to make a lamp out of it! Guess that will have to wait since it obviously has a few birds left in it.... The snow was knee deep and we only have around 4 hrs of daylight now but it was a good refreshing walk in 25deg temps. Afterwards I made the 350mile drive home in 6hrs. What a great day... and still lots of season to go.

Dean Romig · 12-21-2009, 06:02 AM

That picture with you and Shine looks so much like the spot in Vt where Dave Suponski and I shot at the same grouse. The other two pics are great looking cover but it looks a bit past its prime - but obviously still holds birds. Any day spent in the grouse woods is a great day! Dean

Harry Collins · 12-21-2009, 08:33 AM

Richard,

That "beat up old GHE" looks like a museum piece. The hunt looked like a lot of fun and glad you were able to get out.

Merry Christmas, Harry

Autumn Daze · 12-21-2009, 09:49 AM

Ok Dean,I'll bite...Which time and on what day.....

Richard,Those are great pictures and a memorable day I'll bet.Congratulations!

Dean Romig · 12-21-2009, 11:16 AM

Dave, you flushed it in the thick stuff ant took a shot at it and missed - then it burst out in the clearing in front of me like a station 6 low house and I dropped it with the right barrel of my hammer sixteen. Five minutes later Jamie had to sprint back to camp . . . remember?

Richard Flanders · 12-21-2009, 11:20 AM

Harry: it is indeed a gorgeous little 1-frame damascus gun that is a joy to carry; I just have to taunt Dave whenever I use it as he has been hounding me to get it back for some time....

Dean: Most of the cover in this area doesn't look good to me but does indeed hold birds. The habitat in the second pic is not good at all but two of our group walked this gully for some reason. Trigg and I just crossed it to get back to the good cover on the hillside. There are two drumming spots near to Trigg in the first picture, one a log the other just a dirt hump under a spruce tree; it's an old overgrown road/trail hence the alders and willow. I shot the bird in the spruce trees behind and to my left on a steep hillside(last pic). They don't even look like good cover to me but the birds are there in small numbers. There's decent feed and they can roost in trees. Down in this area they hang out in places I would never guess they would. The crop on this bird was caked with thick fat; never seen anything like it.

Dean Romig · 12-21-2009, 11:56 AM

Probably pecking around the remains of a dead moose and got into the tallow.

Ben Yarian · 12-21-2009, 07:58 PM

Richard, those are great pictures. I would blow the first 2 up and hang them on the wall.

Ben

p.s. not that you don't have a handsome mug, I just like the wilderness scene.