Back to Hunting

Despite all the problems of the weekend and an early morning appointment yesterday.  Tony and I got out during the middle of the day for a few hours and ran three dogs.  We went to one of the spots we regularly train in where there are a good number of grouse and woodcock.  In three hours we moved about 30 birds (half grouse and half woodcock).  The grouse in this cover have become especially wary and seem to be staying on the ground and running as their primary escape.  We did not have one bird flush on the initial point and since we were running three derbies most of the birds flushed well away from the guns during the relocation by the dogs.  Although it is not uncommon for grouse to run on us, I think these birds have learned that this is the best way to escape the dogs and are running even more than normal.  I work today and Tony works tomorrow but Friday we are planning to hunt an area that has not had the pressure today's spot has had.  It will be interesting to see if the grouse are a little less wary.

When Katie got home we took Jack out to a neighborhood cover and he had four woodcock finds in less then 30 minutes.  It's always fun to run Jack, especially when there's no pressure to perform.  He rarely goes birdless and goes places the young dogs miss.  He seems to remember every spot he's ever pointed a bird and checks those spots as he flies around familiar covers.  He'll be nine soon and may just be a hunting dog for the rest of his life.