Upper Peninsula--Part 2

[Harold Pickens]

The UP in December, you have got to be kidding! Are you hunting on snowshoes or snowmobiles? Well, as many of us that hunted the Great North woods of Minn., Wis., and Michigan found out, this was the coldest, snowiest October in UP recorded history. I spent the last 2 weeks of October with more snow on the ground than there has been so far in December. With elective surgeries being curtailed due to Covid, I was not needed to do the surgical follow ups for the ophthamology practice I work for. I made the decision late Thurs afternoon, found a place to stay, and pulled out Friday morning for the 800 mile/14 hr trip.
There was no snow on the ground when I got there, and the motel that depends on the snowmobile industry, was empty, except for me. Last year at this time, the owner said that there was 1 1/2' ft of snow on the ground. Friends told me I would need to hunt the swamp edges and heavy cover to find birds. With no snow, I decided to hunt the trail edges of the clear cuts--and the birds were still there. Wild as March hares, often getting up at the fringe of gun range. Multiple flushes were common, 4-6, those being the wildest. Found myself wishing I had brought the F/F PH 20, rather than the cyl/cyl VHE 20 .
I averaged 18 flushes/day and took 10 grouse in 6 days. beside the Parker, I also carried my Manton 20 ga hammer gun with 30" barrels. All 3 dogs did a wonderful job. Temps ranged from 7* low to a high of 28*, with most days in the teens, luckily there was not much wind.
You could not plan a trip like this as an annual event, most yrs would be snowed out. Things like this you just play by ear. I will post pictures and hope ypu enjoy---I sure did.

[Harold Pickens]

With the bitter cold, I really dont want to bring all 3 dogs in the room with me , 1 is fine, 3 is chaos. I have a good little electric heater, and brought a long orange power cord, plug it in and put in in the cap of the truck--kept the temp at 50-60 under the cap despite the cold temps.

[Harold Pickens]

We did get a little snow--less than 1 inch--but it was dry and cold, not the wet heavy snows of October

[Harold Pickens]

My VHE and typical clear cut grouse cover

[Harold Pickens]

This is Fancy, enjoying the last hunt on the last day--wish I was so uninhibited. We moved 11 birds in that last cover, killed 2, and finally put her on heal, cause it got dark, but she was still pointing birds.

[Kentucky Bird Hunter]

Great stuff, Harold! You're right.... the window in the UP at this time of year is quite narrow.

I'm trying to put together a trip to the Grayling area between the holidays, and we will have to work around the snow level. The dogs should be OK, as the hotel will allow them inside, but their work during the day could be quite challenging if the snow gets too deep.

John Dallas, are you around the cabin at that time?

Dave

[mobirdhunter]

Harold, what a great "stolen" hunt -- one that was not planned long in advance. I'm sure you'll remember this one for a long time. Enjoyed the photos, even if I did get a crick in my neck.

[Harold Pickens]

Dave, there was 5" of snow on the ground when I rolled thru Grayling Friday

[Big D]

Dave - We will be coming up probably on the 26th, and will stay through New Year's. Hope we can get together. Will you be staying at Gates?

Minimal snow predicted. Maybe 2" on Christmas eve. We had about 3" on the ground at my place when we left this past Wed

[Kentucky Bird Hunter]

So as not to hijack Harold's thread, I shot you a PM, John.

Dave