Freshman Question

[somethingbenign]

So was talking with a co-worker about upland hunting this past couple months and how I keep trying for pheasant but bring back quail. He stopped me and asked why we refer to birds like pheasant, grouse, quail, ect as upland birds. I did some searching but couldn't find an answer. I'm guessing it has to do with waterfowl being in the low areas where the water gathers and these birds being in the higher (relative to the surrounding area) elevation or the "up land." That correct?

 

[Starter52]

Sounds good to me.

 

[jmr40]

I've been hunting since the 1970's and never thought about it. But in my defense I've had no real opportunity to actually hunt upland game. I've taken a few quail, but they were targets of opportunity while hunting something else.

 

[Milt1]

May be a regional definition as we in the south don't talk about upland bird hunting.

 

[entropy]

The definition was around way before this, but steel shot helped make the difference more apparent. If you can use lead lead shot for it still, it's upland bird. Waterfowl, to include snipe, grebes, etc. (where legal-not all states have seasons on such birds) require steel shot. Of course, in the more 'woke' states, steel shot is required for all of it.......

Quail taste good, too, BTW.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I did some searching but couldn't find an answer. I'm guessing it has to do with waterfowl being in the low areas where the water gathers and these birds being in the higher (relative to the surrounding area) elevation or the "up land." That correct?

Yes that is quite correct, using archaic terminology, "upland" vs. "wetland". Why they didn't use "dryland" is one of those odd things that you find. "Waterfowl" instead of "waterbirds",...."fusil" and "fowler" were quite well used 250 years ago, yet we refer to the guns as "shotguns"....but it's not just with guns for we park on "driveways" but drive on "parkways".

LD

 

[buck460XVR]

So was talking with a co-worker about upland hunting this past couple months and how I keep trying for pheasant but bring back quail. He stopped me and asked why we refer to birds like pheasant, grouse, quail, ect as upland birds. I did some searching but couldn't find an answer.

Google is your friend......

Upland game bird is an American term which refers to non-water fowl game birds hunted with pointing breeds, flushing spaniels, and retrievers.

 

[somethingbenign]

Google is your friend......

That doesn't answer the question of why "upland" vs say "dry fowl" or "non-water." I did Google beforehand and did not find an answer to my satisfaction. If asking questions and educating each other is now a bad thing then why does this forum even exist?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

There is often no rhyme nor absolute reason...., why is it a hoagie, a submarine aka "sub", or a grinder sandwich?
Why is a water fountain a "bubbler" in some parts of the USA? Why is it an "egg cream" when there are no eggs nor cream in the beverage?
Why is it a "threshold" when "to thresh" is a verb, NOT a noun?
Waistcoats when first devised went half way down the thigh, not stopping at the waist....but we didn't call them thigh coats...
Where does the word "frizzen" originate, because when the flintlock was state-of-the-art, it was called a hammer and later a steel?
"Womb" and "tomb" rhyme, but "comb" does not rhyme with them. Same for the words "come" and "some" but not "home".....
Why is the word "victuals" pronounced vit-alls ???

LD

 

[.308 Norma]

"Womb" and "tomb" rhyme, but "comb" does not rhyme with them. Same for the words "come" and "some" but not "home".....

Yep, I "dearly" love "deer" hunting.

 

[courtgreene]

A grinder is called a grinder because the meat is ground before being put on the sandwich. As for hoagies and subs? No idea.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

A grinder is called a grinder because the meat is ground before being put on the sandwich.

Makes sense, except that the only "grinder" I ever had was sliced ham and cheese, with lettuce and tomato....and I would've called it a sub, while the college student with me told me it was a "Hoagie"...

A Sloppy Joe on a burger bun is a Sloppy Joe, but on a hotdog roll it's a "steamer"....

LD

 

[buck460XVR]

That doesn't answer the question of why "upland" vs say "dry fowl" or "non-water." I did Google beforehand and did not find an answer to my satisfaction. If asking questions and educating each other is now a bad thing then why does this forum even exist?

Of course it does......as per Google,

Popular upland birds that are found across the country include turkeys, pheasants, grouse, and quail. The term “upland” refers to where they are often found.

Upland hunting is wingshooting that occurs on land at a higher elevation than the alluvial plain or stream terrace.

With the technology we have and the huge amount of information available with that technology, you really think someone here has a better idea of where the term came from than Google? You think someone here invented it and can tell you why they decided on those exact words? No, the term predates anyone here, and odds are, as most of us suspect, the term "upland" was used to clearly differentiate from game birds found on water. You know....land/water? Anything you get from here will be anecdotal, heresay, made up.....or gotten from Google, with the latter being the most accurate. There are a ton of mysteries in life and this is probably one of them.

Forums like this, exist for the most part, for information gleaned from personal experience. Opinions are much more common on them than actual facts. One only has to go to the "Which gun for Bear" or ".45 colt or .44 Mag?" threads to see that. Even on the reloading forums, folks double check information given on powder charges from "published" sources. Maybe, one would have better luck going to a English/Grammar forum for definitions of the English language.

 

[whughett]

The term “upland” hunting as I used it referred to any small game hunting. Correct me but I recall seeing the term on shot shell boxes with fur and fowl depicted.

 

[courtgreene]

Makes sense, except that the only "grinder" I ever had was sliced ham and cheese, with lettuce and tomato....and I would've called it a sub, while the college student with me told me it was a "Hoagie"...

A Sloppy Joe on a burger bun is a Sloppy Joe, but on a hotdog roll it's a "steamer"....

LD

yeah I think they just liked the name and stuck it on the menu. When I’ve had grinders they took cooked sandwich meat and ground/shredded it. Thus, the name. All this other stuff? Well, language is odd.