Hun-ology

There are basically 4 species of upland birds to hunt here in eastern Montana: sharptail grouse, Hungarian partridge (huns), pheasant, and sage grouse. Birds seem to be in good numbers and are scattered across the vast countryside. Each hunter seems to have their favorite species and for different reasons.

Sharptail are the most frequently seen birds. Even driving down the road it is common for a group to flush in front of the truck and fly into a field. Early season (September) sharptails are usually scattered plentifully and can provide good training experience for dogs. At this time, late October, there are no grasshoppers and the sharptail have bunched up for winter around here and are now very difficult to get them pinned. Sharptail are easy to shoot and, as I learned, easy to drop with a single shot. They make you feel good as a shooter. However, their meat is dark and bloody and not our favorite so we do not focus on them.

Pheasant are always fun birds to shoot. We will be focusing on them ( and quail) later in Kansas. But here in MT they seem to be scattered in modest numbers. I was very surprised to learn that Montana has an aggressive stocking program and the F&G website provides a map of the release sites. Certain areas of the state, such as the Plentywood area, are particularly heavily stocked/released and many hunters are drawn there for the large number of phez that can be found as a result. Neither of us is interested in hunting released birds so we have not gone up there but have enjoyed the occasional encounters we have since they are good eating.

Sage grouse are a challenging bird, both for their habits and habitat. Sage is their food source and are found in areas that are often very rough and rocky. We have not yet headed to any sage grouse areas and may run out of time up here before doing so this year. Mike says they are very good to eat, I guess I'll have to wait until next year to find out.

Huns. Oh yeah. They are fun! These birds are smaller than a grouse but larger than a quail. They are a covey bird and when they flush they make a surprising screeching noise. They are true survivalists and wicked smart. When they flush the covey stays tight together and flies very low over or around the nearest hill or terrain before landing and can be difficult to locate again. I think that these are best tasting birds here and we are really focusing on them. It is important to not shoot more than a couple from a group to not put the groups survival at risk. Mike has hunted these birds a lot and we have been pretty successful in locating groups and especially in relocating after flushing. We call this schooling by these little birds "Hun-ology" and I am an eager student.

The spot where I shot my first Hun





"Got 'em, Jack?"





Posted using BlogPress from my iPad