Grouse

birddoginQ · Jan 15, 2010

Took the opportunity with the beautiful east Tennessee day to get out a walk the woods a bit with the bird dog. With zero places to quail hunt now I have decided to spend all my remaining season chasing grouse. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have set out to seriously hunt nothing but grouse. I wasn't even sure until recently if my dog would point a grouse.

Well today was epic. First point....bird down...5 others take flight from near by. Walk a while more and see one flush well in front of the dog....then another.....then another to light in a tree. Belle ran around a bit and then pointed at the base of the tree. Flush the bird out....2 down. Decided to send the dog down through a rhododendron thicket along a small spring. Belle pointed in some nasty thick stuff and I flush the bird up to the gentleman I was with. 3 Down. My dogs first successful hunt and we have 1 limit. Moved a few more birds with no shot, but all told one incredible day.

Hunted with an older gentleman who has been around dogs and birds a long time. Learned a lot today and got to watch my dog put on a show. All birds killed or pointed period where by her. Had 2 setters out along with my short hair (Belle).

ROD · Jan 16, 2010

that was a great hunt

spitndrum · Jan 16, 2010

Awesome!

grouser · Jan 16, 2010

Good hunt, and that is a handsome dog, how longhave you been working him?

birddoginQ · Jan 16, 2010

Thanks grouser. I have had Belle since she was a pup. I got her 4.5 years ago. I did not hunt at the time nor did I have any idea how to work with a bird dog. I met a guy who offered to help me work with her and took him up on it when she was almost a year old. We have worked only on quail since then. Hunted a lot her first two years. But the opportunities have gotten few and far between. We have a small place to turn a few birds out on to work, but have lost all places to hunt wild birds other than WMA's. All are now subdivisions. We have turned out maybe 2 or 3 times for grouse while quail hunting in areas where there may have been a grouse or two. So Friday was a big surprise. She is a great companion dog, and makes me proud from time to time in the field.