In our grouse book we talk about agonizing over whether to get a first grouse gun with 28″ or 26″ barrels. Would the extra 2 inches be a disadvantage in tight cover or because of the higher weight? Should we try to find one of the rare 24″ guns?
Saw this piece on shotgunlife.com a while back about hunting what sounds like a Hawaiian game farm/preserve for birds. None are native, but at least some are wild. Read it and wondered: Would we do it? Meaning, would you go there for that? Check out a few highlights, then you decide:
Once in a while we run across articles or op-eds like the one that appeared recently in the Des Moines Register. The points generally are that lead is no longer necessary in ammo thanks to lead alternatives, and that lead in game harms wildlife and people: No matter how careful one is with cleaning the […]
It’s the offseason, time to work on shooting and try to plug gear holes. One such hole we haven’t been able to plug in years of trying is waterproof gloves.
Starting next year, the bane of bird dogs and foresters will have no place to hide in Pennsylvania: The state Board of Game Commissioners recently voted to establish a season for porcupines. As the Commission reported, “Under the new season, hunters can take porcupines from Sept. 1 through March 31. The daily limit is six and […]
Here we go again, another report about the number of bird hunters trending down. But this time it’s in a newspaper in the bird-hunting stronghold of the U.S. – South Dakota – which makes it worth comment. An editorial in The Daily Republic newspaper wonders why the numbers are trending down. For us, the answer […]
“Conservation easement.” Not the world’s sexiest term. For example this scenario: “Tim Lincecum, you just won the World Series, what are you going to do with your bonus?” “I’m gonna buy a conservation easement!” [Sound of a balloon deflating.] Yep, don’t think that’s making SportsCenter, which is one reason
Maybe it’s different out in the vast open expanses of the Midwest and West, but out here in the wooded East, you need a GPS…and we’d encourage you to have one wherever you hunt. In fact, you and whoever you hunt with should each have one. A good one. The GPS we’ve used for years […]
If you get The Upland Almanac – we guess the “The” is pronounced like “The” Ohio State University (lol) – you will have seen the following table in the Flushes section of the Spring 2011 issue. Question is, what does it tell us?
We’ve been kicking around ideas for years to create more ruffed grouse habitat – quickly. The Ruffed Grouse Society does a great job and we heartily support it, but we kept thinking there had to be a faster way. Well, we found one, and today we’re proud to announce what that is.
And which dog is better… by Larry Rich, a fellow Serious bird hunter Over the years I’ve seen, heard and at times been lucky enough to intercept a grouse in a variety of situations, and over quite a few different dogs. Employing a little empathy and reasoning, I’ve come to have an opinion on how […]
A recent post on the Pheasants Forever website quotes Steve Smith, head editor of Pointing Dog Journal and Retriever Journal, as saying the following to the question of “if you could have only one” dog: “If your idea of a good time is a German shorthair pointing, relocating, pointing, relocating all the way down a […]
Grouse man of letters Burton Spiller said in one of his books that a good grouse dog must run with its head held high. We remembered that passage recently when looking at a recent article in a Wisconsin newspaper, which read in part: > Some bird dogs can detect the very subtle scent of [birds] […]
In a future post we’ll talk about gear we’re still looking for, things we need as Serious birders but are as yet unavailable on the market. Thankfully, one item we crossed off the list this year is rain jackets. We make no bones about the fact that we absolutely believe LL Bean makes many of […]
How many things do you remember from college? Maybe not much, especially if it was at night with some suds in hand…. Yet it was on just such a night something happened that I (Jay) do remember – and, in fact, several of us remember it well enough to quote from. It was an off-the-cuff […]
If you can hunt pheasants or grouse right outside your door, it’s probably not spring yet. But for the rest of us, spring is either here or sticking its toe in the door. Spring means nesting gamebirds, and we’ve all read over the years how wet or dry springs can affect nesting success. On the […]
Would you pay $100 for a 1 in 1,000 (or less) chance at winning a unique shotgun with an MSRP of $5,000 – or $7,850 or $9,000? Nice odds. Brendan would because we’re talking about the recently announced Ruffed Grouse Society annual fundraiser/gun raffle, and he’s already bought his ticket. Before you answer for yourself, […]
Bob St. Pierre at Pheasants Forever is one of the best writers in the bird world, and recently put up another interesting post, this one about the two things that have given him shooting confidence: > A good dog. > A skeet choke. Let’s talk about the latter. We’ll start with a couple Hosannahs. Next, […]
The Ruffed Grouse Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a few other groups recently announced “at least 10” projects to help improve woodcock habitat in Wisconsin. Any such work is much appreciated by us birdmen since unfortunately woodies are in the same boat as many gamebirds: populations are trending down. “With a steady […]
When I (Jay) make my annual pilgrimage to the mall to buy “clothes not needed for hunting,” I have a tough time. I’m not a single size. I’m between a large and a medium up top, my waist is too small and legs too long for many off the rack pants, even my feet are […]
Just read this article on hunting ruffies in MN this year. So much of it, while well-intentioned, is wrong. Here goes: > The good news is, counts were up 34 percent this spring in parts of northern Minnesota. Counts remained stable in southern Minnesota. This COULD mean that there’s more easy birds (young ones) early […]
Lessons from 2012 Maine-NH Hunt
Don’t know if we’ve fully recovered yet from our not-quite-a-week of hunting Maine and New Hampshire for ruffies and woodies. We all actually bailed 2 days early, having put in 5 consecutive days instead of our usual 7. Felt like wimps about it, but hey, we were BEAT…from 5 days of the most brutal hunting […]
No Grouse Comeback in SW Penn?
Sounds like ruffed grouse will never be as much a part of the landscape of southern Pennsylvania as they once will. “Never” sounds ominous. Permanent. But that’s the conclusion of an article by Bob Frye in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Why should you care if you don’t live or hunt in PA? Reasons: > Pennsylvania is […]
Hey: All Ruffies Drum Differently!
Did you know that? Not until now…. This info won’t help us hunting, but it’s interesting – and makes sense. Here’s more, from newscientist.com: Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds. Humans and many other animals, particularly birds, can be identified by their voices. But no one had looked […]
Ran across this quote from an article about Iowa’s pheasant count: > “I haven’t even gone pheasant hunting the last couple of years because the birds just weren’t there,†said Tim Wolf, a 61-year-old bank president who lives in Waukee. YES THEY WERE! They most definitely were there. Maybe not like this… > “But I’ve […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids
Ah the UK, the land that gave the world 17 pieces of silverware on the table, animal rights and other questionable stuff. Okay, it wasn’t all bad – that’s where our bird hunting came from too. But it’s different here…or there, depending on your perspective. Here’s some recent bird news plus some interesting vids. Katie […]
Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?
We make it a point to try not to get suckered by political hoo-ha, so that’s not what this is about. We ran across a blog post on the Discovery-owned treehugger.com titled “Why Does Congress Hate Pheasants?” and a related one, “Do Tea Party, Heritage Foundation Oppose Hunting?” Interesting stuff, written by the same gent, […]
Quail, the most beleaguered of our beloved gamebirds, is getting a helping hand in Kansas. Or rather, a bigger helping hand. The state just announced that it’s “launching a new quail restoration initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations at a landscape level.” Here’s more: > Includes the designation of two […]
Worms and Birds: What Else Don’t We Know?
Believe we’ve talked about this at least once, but a recent Wall Street Journal article on the plight of Texas quail got us thinking about it again. Here’s the applicable stuff: …Rolling Hills Quail Research Ranch, a 4,700-acre spread an hour west of Abilene. Last month, researchers there found that the levels of parasitic worms […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Lone Star Outdoor news recently carried an article on a speech given by Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Rotan, Texas. Seems that a major threat to quail, at least in the Lone Star state, may be an eyeball worm. News to us! Highlights: > Especially mysterious were the continued […]
