Another first, this time for Mike

After breeding Tweed down in PA we headed to Vermont where we hope the weather holds long enough for us to get in some ruffed grouse hunting. With all campgrounds closed here in the north, we are parked in the drive of gracious friends and we are taking care of their dogs while they are away to warm islands for vacation. Mike wrote this post following a successful hunt.

Took Jack and Dee out today and hunted a cover that a fellow UJer told me about.


Had 11 flushes, 7 points and 2 shots in a 3 hour hunt.






Dee, my almost 2 year old, pointed and retrieved the bird I shot.



LD suggested that I bell my dogs, the first time I had hunted them with bells and it made a big difference. If I had not belled them, I would have never known they were on point. The cover I hunted was thick with hemlock and that seemed to be where the birds were. One time I heard Dee's bell go silent and I knew he was just a short distance from me, but was in a thicket of hemlock. I busted in there and actually saw the grouse on the ground, but when it flushed, it was too thick for a shot. Jack had a number of nice points including a nice point on a bird that had ran out and he pointed it at about 20 yards. Wide open shot, but a little out of my prairie range.

All in all, it was a very cool hunt and look forward to a few more before the weather gets to bad, or the season closes.





And, oh yeah, it is nice to not have to haul water around for the dogs.


-MS

--------------



http://firelightreflections.blogspot.com/



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad