Opening Day Grouse 51 years ago

[Pygmy]

I know most of you are pumped for the opener of  bow season, but October  1st just got me reminiscing about the grouse opener 51 years ago when I shot my first limit of  grouse.

The season opened on a Monday, and my buddy and I both skipped school ( with the permission of our parents) to hunt.

We had no dogs, but the grouse population was high here in southern Steuben County back then..We simply lined up side by side and walked through cover, taking the shots as they came.

We walked nearly all day..We were young and tough then...

My gun was a Rem 11-48  16 gauge choked modified, and my buddy had a Rem M31   16 gauge pump choked modified...

I killed a limit of 4 grouse that day with 8 shots...My buddy killed 3..I don't remember how many times he shot, but it wasn't many.  I also killed the only woodcock we flushed that day.. he took me 4 shots...Missed him twice on the first  flush and then re-flushed him and killed him on the second shot.

I only recall one time since then that I have killed 4 grouse in one day..

Edited September 29, 2016 by Pygmy

[Pygmy]

I just re-did my math....It was 51 years ago, rather than the 41 I first posted..

DANG  !!  I AM getting old !...<<grin>>...

[Cabin Fever]

Ahhh, good times! Still chasing them? Those critters seem to out-fly my shot!

[nycredneck]

Got any pics to post up? I like seeing old hunting photo's.

[agross]

Great story.  I will be out chsing the king this weekend with my dog in between bow hunts in the am and pm.   Hoping for 4 flushes in a day let alone 4 kills.  Those must have been the days. 

[airedale]

Pygmy as a fellow school skipper myself I hunted Grouse much the same way when a young fellow, two or three of us would line up and walk slow through cover trying to flush anything holding up. Woodcock seem to favor a lot of the same habitat that Grouse are found in. Old over grown apple orchards were some of my favorite places to hunt those two birds. Limiting out on Grouse is a pretty fair accomplishment in my book, I have had some pretty good days but I have never limited out.

Me and my hunting buddy have had the trap thrower out the past couple of weeks firing up the doubles getting some practice in anticipation for the upcoming bird seasons, I sure don't shoot like I did when I was a young buck, hopefully I will settle in. The good part is these days  I have a dog to do the dirty work getting into the heavy cover and do the flushing.

Al

Edited September 30, 2016 by airedale

[Pygmy]

I think I only ever limited out one time other than  that aforementioned opening day.

I had springers ( 3 different ones) from the mid 70s up unto the 1990s.  We had good bird numbers through the 80s, and then the numbers started dwindling in the early 90s.

Much of the cover that I used to hunt has become too mature  for good grouse habitat.  It also seems that the more scarce the birds become, the more wary they become.  Most of the birds I flush nowadays  are HEARD but seldom SEEN.

I  still get an occasional shot at grouse while rabbit hunting,  but as for  doing a lot of walking bird hunting, I just don't have the legs for it anymore.