Got my small game license..going hunting with Dad tommorrow!

[Little Loudmouth]

Hey all! Grouse season starts tommorrow here in the U.P. and Dad and I will be hunting tommorrow most likely. I'll be carrying the J.C. Higgins Model 20 mentioned in my sig, loaded with Remington 6 shot. Dad will be carrying...well...I don't know. Ask him. But yeah. This is my first year hunting. Tips?

 

[41mag]

Well,if it tastes good post the recipe?


Have a good time!Stay safe!



On a side note,are the colors changing Up There?

 

[TrapperReady]

With grouse, you probably won't have much warning when they get up. Try to keep alert and ready at all times... making SURE you know where the other members of your hunting party are located.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[kentucky bucky]

Have a great time!

If you are like me, the grouse always come up when you're not expecting them to, and scares the pants of of me! Just to remember to reset your safety if you take it off, watch where your muzzle is pointing, and keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot!
It's wonderful that you have a dad that takes you in the woods. There are thousands of kids who would love to be in your shoes and will never get a chance. These times will be in your collection of "best memories" for the rest of your life, so have fun even if the birds win.

 

[Little Loudmouth]

41mag: yes indeed the colors are changing. It's beautiful up here.

Sadly, it rained all day and kept us from going out to wander in the woods looking for things to kill. Ah well. I'll post results as soon as I have some!

 

[sumpnz]

There are thousands of kids who would love to be in your shoes and will never get a chance.

When I was younger that was me. My dad apparently tried hunting (for deer) once when he was in the Army in the late 60s or early 70s. He had the drop on a buck (not sure if it was rifle or archery, so no idea on the range). He couldn't do it. So, as a consequence he never even thought about taking me hunting. For that matter he never even would let me have an air rifle, let alone a "real" gun.

Edit to add: This year will be my first ever hunting trip (at the age of 27). I was lucky enough to draw a tag for mule deer. Fortunatley I have a buddy from work that will be showing me the ropes. I practically salivating at the thought of venison for dinner.

 

[SkunkApe]

TrapperReady gives the most important tip, about safety. I'll repeat and add to it:

Make certain you know where all members of your group are at all times. When I hunt grouse in a group, we walk in a line, with no member of the group ever getting more than two or three steps ahead of or behind of the line.

Sometimes, when a grouse flushes, but the hunter doesn't shoot, he forgets to put his safety back on. Watch for this.

Be real careful if you come to an edge or open area. Usually grouse fly away from you, but they don't like to fly across wide open spaces, so if you flush them near an edge they'll often fly right back towards you or other hunters in your group. Be careful where you shoot.

Also be careful when you come out of the brush to a (dirt) road. A lot of guys seem to immediately want to walk across it real quick for some reason, getting in front of the others hunters still in the brush.

Take a compass. Use it.

Take water, especially this time of year.

Now that's out of the way, the best tip I ever got for grouse shooting is this: "Hurry up and take your time." Don't snap shoot wildly at the sound of the flush, but use good shooting form and get on the bird, but quick!

Have fun!

Oh, do you have a dog?

 

[TrapperReady]

Good technique SkunkApe. We use a similar approach when pheasant hunting with more than two guys.

One thing I've found very helpful when shooting birds is to take step toward them before you shoot. For example, as I see the bird rise, I'll anchor my right foot and step directly at the bird with my left (I'm a right-handed shooter). This gives my the slightest little pause, helping to keep me from rushing an off-balance shot. It also makes sure that my body is aligned in a manner consistent with how I shoot when I'm not under pressure (ie. on the trap line, or in a box for sporting clays).

I don't know about the UP, but it has been unseasonably warm around here. If you've got a dog, take water for yourself and twice what you think you need for the dog.

 

[Sunray]

Do what your da says and give him great big hug. Take lots of pictures, if you can. If not, don't worry about it. You're going hunting with your da. I'm intensely impressed and envious. My da was long gone by the time I was old enough to do anything with him. Trust me, the time you get to spend with your da is important.

 

[joab]

This is my first year hunting. Tips?

Have fun, stay safe, and take it all in. It's a day you'll remember for the rest of your life. When you're old fat and grey you'll be able to recall in vivid detail individual leaves on the trees and even the way the earth smells.
Not trying to get too corney but your father is giving you a gift that you will keep for the rest of your life which far too many fathers are not doing these days.

There are thousands of kids who would love to be in your shoes and will never get a chance.

There's at least one fat old grey headed man that would also love to be in your shoes

 

[Delmar]

LL, I promise you this is one of those things which will bind you closer to your father for the rest of your life.
I remember getting up on Christmas morning and seeing a Savage 940Y under the tree with my name on it. I was in the 3rd grade and we went rabbit hunting, starting a tradition with my dad and I which lasted until he died. It wasn't the number or the size of the bunnies we bagged-it was the big breakfast at dark o'thirty together, the sounds and smells while we were out, and the dinner the following night.

It took a lot of years for me to catch up to my dad. I can remember wading through deep snow and stomping on brushpiles until I could hardly stand up, and the old man would look at me and say "you look like you could use a break." That changed when I came back from basic training-we had been out there for quite a while, and my dad-then pushing 60, winded and obviously tired looked at me and said, "you look like you could use a break". That was a sad day for me. Always wanted to best him, but when the time came, it just didn't matter anymore.

I have taken the time to take all of my kids hunting-some like it and some don't. That does not matter, nor do I think any different of them for not liking it.

One day, I expect to pass on like everybody does, and my idea of Heaven is to go rabbit hunting with my dad.

 

[Little Loudmouth]

Well, we went out yesterday. I was carrying the J.C. Higgins Model 20 12 gauge mentioned in my sig, dad was carrying his Marlin Model 90 16 gauge OU.

We heard grouse drumming several times, but saw none. Once we heard something crashing in the brush after I went into a little clearing, but we didn't see what it was.

Of course, as soon as we unloaded our guns, we heard a grouse in the woods practically right next to us. We of course loaded up again and went poking about the woods trying to find it. We didn't.

All in all, it was a great day. It didn't matter that we didn't get anything. It just mattered that we were able to get out, and we went hunting.

And, like good rednecks, we were in the woods hunting when the annual Parade of Nations was going on. Who cares about all this sissy paradin' through town when you could be hunting?

 

[Rupestris]

All in all, it was a great day. It didn't matter that we didn't get anything. It just mattered that we were able to get out, and we went hunting.

Sounds like you have a good grasp of hunting already. Some folks never learn that a day in the woods with friends and family is the part that is remembered. Too many go just for the kill or a trophy then complain if they come back without their tag or bag filled, but to each his own.
I want my kids to remember our times in the woods and on the water when I'm gone. And they better do the same for their children or I'll come back and haunt their houses!

 

[joab]

When I was a kid I was obsessed with getting out and going fishing.
My favorite lake was very secluded and peaceful. I would soen hours out there. Most of the time there was no bait or lure at the end of my line cause I didn't want the fish interupting me. Which didn't matter anyway because the lake was so poluted that if I did want any fish I could just wade out and pick up some floaters.

But they were still some of the best fishing days of my life.

Doing is the most important part, getting just adds a little to the fun and makes more work

 

[SkunkApe]

Delmar, great post. Thanks. My Dad (69 years old, I think) has been bird hunting with me for the last six years or so. He lives in Ohio, but drives up to Michigan once or twice each fall for grouse and woodcock hunting. I really enjoy his company.

Little Loudmouth,

You know about the ten-year grouse population cycle, right? We're at the bottom of the cycle right now; you really have to work to find grouse. I hunt woodcock also. I find them more easily, and they're easier to hit. I only put up two grouse this past weekend, but about twelve woodies. Too bad woodcock doesn't open 'til next Saturday.

 

[TrapperReady]

SkunkApe - I've been out for grouse twice this week. Each time, I've put up a several woodcock and a couple of grouse. All of the woodcock would have been easy shots, except the season doesn't open until tomorrow. Of course, when Saturday comes, I'll probably not see them anymore.

I took one off-balance shot at a fleeing grouse on Wednesday, but hit only leaves and twigs. Today, both of the grouse flushed were close by, but I never had a shot. The first one was a classic flush, surprising the crap out of both me and the dog.

My semi-worthless dog is proving to be halfway decent at finding the birds. However, he's more of a flusher, so I've got to work extra hard to stay on him. When we got back to the car on Wednesday, I realized that at some point I'd gotten a bloody nose, my arms were torn up and I had a gash in a pair of leather gloves. We'd had to stop twice and pull thorns from the dog's pads.

I think there's a good reason why the English refer to this type of activity as "rough hunting".

 

[Delmar]

Who cares about all this sissy paradin' through town when you could be hunting?

B-W-A-A-H-A-A-A!

Little Loudmouth, I thinks you been bit by the hunting bug pretty hard! Good for you. I suspect you are going to know and appriciate the definition of "fast food".

Skunkape-I know you know what I'm talking about, and I hope your dad is around for many more seasons so that you can enjoy his company.

My last rabbit hunt with my dad was just outside of a little village called Concord, Michigan, WSW of Jackson. Drove by the place last year on vacation, and I got out and walked around a bit. I could almost see the old man smilin.