scolopaxmatt
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Posts posted by scolopaxmatt
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Pretty tough to retrieve woodcock without a dog.
No way. As long as you keep your eyes open after the shot and mark them down it's not too bad. And don't give up too soon. Haven't left one for dead yet.
I've heard of dogs not liking to retrieve woodcock, anyone seen that or know anything about it?
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A freebie! Now that's the way to go. A trip to our local human society (SPCA) finds mostly pit bull mixes in the boxes. Max appears to be enjoying semi retirement.
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I dont know if I agree with that. They are pretty tricky but you describe it like it is calling pull to shoot clays, then again some people (anti hunters) characterize dove hunting with clay shooting which is pretty ridiculous...
Why dont you go to the dog pound and get a bird dog? Or buy one for a hundred bucks. Maybe you are referring to the expense of caring, feeding, and training, or are you caught up in that expensive bloodline folklore? I would agree with your choice of an english setter though...
Having never hunted doves I can't speak to that first part, but I sure would like to be able to hunt them here in my own backyard. I'll agree they can be tricky, just not as tricky as a lightening fast grouse or a hot footed pheasant.
If we're talking pheasant, there's a bird that demands a good dog. I get lucky a few times each season and take a few home but a canine would even out the odds.
When the time comes, the pound is definitely the route I'll take. I figure if I can find a mutt with some hunting blood in him, get my hands on him early enough, I stand a fair chance of having an adequate hunting partner. At the moment I already have a hound mouth the feed and further additions to the pack have been vetoed so to speak. I've tried to turn my greyhound into a bird dog, but he simply won't have it. A great companion, but not much prey drive.
The bloodline business is a bit out of hand. I don't want a field trial dog anyways. For my particular style of hunting I want a boot brushing hunting pal more than a wide ranging bird murdering machine. If someone were to gift a purebred washout my way, well that's a different story.
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Wait a second, are you saying that hunting woodcock with dogs makes it unsporting? Thats a new one....
Not at all. Curmudgeon said doing so is ALMOST unsporting. I tend to agree. The birds sit so tight it takes the fun and spontanaity out of it.
That being said, if I could afford a nice Llewellin setter I'd most certainly have one.
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"Without its daydreams, the self is apt to shrink and wither to the size and estimation of others."
Michael Pollan
"A Place of my Own: the Education of an Amateur Builder"
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Having done most of my bird hunting over springers, I found woodcock to be almost unsporting. Except for Mike's explanation about having accustomed himself to faster birds, I'm having trouble understanding why woodcock would be someone's first choice.
The simple answer is that they taste the best of all the upland birds. If you don't hunt over dogs the game is nowhere near "unsporting".
It then becomes a slow, deliberate examination of suitable habitat that climaxes in the erratic twittering and twisting of that beautiful brown bird. This also calls for real restraint. You've got to let the bird get out a bit so you don't chew it up with a load of 8's.
The bird is also downright fascinating. He's a weird looking little fellow with an upside down brain and eyes like black holes.
But, as I'm sure you've guessed, I'm not exactly able to remain objective on this particular point.
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"It is what it is..."
Have a little imagination please.
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Wanton greed. There's no other reason for this whole thing. Does anyone actually hunt with a .22 anymore? Great for sunning rabbits and the occasional squirrel but more a practice round than sporting in my opinion.
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Squirrels. Really? They're glorified mice but tastier. Clearly this guy has never had a squirrel in his attic.
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You have the terminology wrong, Dan...
If you shoot them on the wing, they are called GROUSE.
If you shoot them on the ground or off a limb, they are called PARTRIDGE....<<grin>>...
YES.
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It would take a better man than I to turn down a sitting duck. They taste good and it'll probably be the best look I'm likely to get.
Pygmy, I'm glad you said it so I didn't have to; woodcock can be embarrassingly easy to hit.
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Despite a deep love of woodcock, I would have to agree. The grouse is easily the hardest to take down.
They seem to attain top speed instantaneously which only gives you the shortest of seconds to put a bead on them. I guess that's why they call it snap shooting.
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Here's one for the bird hunters on this site, few though they seem to be, guaranteed to start a fight per Tap Tapply.
Of these three game birds, which is the hardest to hit and why:
His royal majesty, the Ruffed Grouse.
All dressed up with nowhere to go, the Ringneck Pheasant.
Or the freak with the beak, the American Woodcock.
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I can't recall anyone ever asking me why I owned a firearm.
Why I insist on using them is another matter however.
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That's deep man. Like a Zen koan.
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Thanks jjb. You nailed it.
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Essentially, yes. It is close to the states property line so the parcel for sale might be weighted more on the front end, sort of sloping towards I 81 but I can't be sure.
Getting supplies on site wouldn't be impossible if you had an atv or wheeler. The pond, now that would be something else altogether.
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Boy, this whole thing got out of hand. Fast.
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Honestly, I can't believe that place is still for sale. I think it's been on the market for almost 3 years.
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That cabin is just over the property line on the right side of the clear cut on top. An old logging road basically runs right into the back yard. If I had the money, I'd call it home. The site is sloped but not dangerously so. How you would get to it is another matter. You'd have to take the logging road up to the clear cut and turn right, but that's almost impossible because of a huge bedrock cap and a few well placed boulders.
But hey man, where there's a will there's a way and that's a pretty fair price.
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It's pretty nice. Awfully steep though. There's an old logging road that goes up one side and down the other where I ran into a family hayride. Anything other than a tractor isn't making the whole trip. The top is a real nice clear cut that's coming back in scrub oak. That's where the stands are.
I don't hunt deer myself, but where there's stands there's usually deer. As for pressure, I would assume it sees a lot as it's a stones throw from Cortland. I've only run into hikers and ginseng hunters myself.
There's also a couple of old crumbling foundations and stone walls with plenty of productive (except last year) old apple trees. Best apples I've ever eaten in fact.
Hoxie Gorge gave me my first grouse so I'm not exactly unbiased, but I love the place. I could go on, but won't. If there's anything else I can point you to I'd be glad to help.
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What a wonderfully terrible piece of legislation.
I must admit, the system works.
But not for you or I.
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No. I'll stick with cursing.
It's not so much the snow. I like snow. But the temperatures we've been having up here... Not fit for man or beast as a great man once said.
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I understand this is nothing new. And that it doesn't concern our neck of the woods.
But.
One small step is all it takes and could make all the difference. The more the merrier.
Picking a Fight
in Small Game and Predator Hunting
Posted
I'd take that invitation. As for the free puppy, I'd unfortunately have to turn it down. A friend that breeds and trains drahthaars offered me a finished dog that came back to her from Montana last spring. Considering the work her own dog does, it damn near broke my heart to say no to that one. If I hadn't been sure it would eat the cat and the greyhound both, I might have said yes.
What breed do you hunt over?