Great Bird Hunting Trip - North Maine Woods

[Picher]

My son and I had a fabulous three-day bird hunting trip to the North Maine Woods, near Chesuncook Lake, etc. We limited out in two days, getting four apiece the first day.

On the second day, I was lucky to see a couple of grouse on one side of the road, but by the time we could exit the truck and load up, one went across the road into some high grass. I fired at the one I could see, then fired into the grass. When the dog and I got to the first bird, we found two; one on each side of the road. Then another bird flushed to my left and I nailed it in the air. With only one bird to go, for me, we motored along and my son got three birds, two with one shot! We drove along the Golden Road, and seeing a grouse in a side road, sent the dog in and it flushed a grouse which both of us hit at nearly the same time, but mine was the first shot. My quota was full and my son got the next bird to finish his quota...at exactly 12:00 noon.

Having bagged a total of eight birds each for a day and a half's hunting, we headed back to the camper, then home. Best bird hunting trip...ever!!! Picture: Abby with one of her retrieves.
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[huntsman]

So it’s road hunting with a dog to retrieve?

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I fired at the one I could see, then fired into the grass.

What?

 

[mrmike7189]

looks nice.....I am heading up to Maine in a couple weeks. How is the weather?

 

[Picher]

MRMIKE: It's been kinda windy for a couple of days, but not cold yet. A couple of weeks make a heck of a difference, especially up North, but down here, it should be very nice, except for occasional rain. We usually get snow by the third week in November, but the first snow may not last long. I'm planning to tag my deer early this year, since I was drawn for an any-deer permit. I'll hunt bucks for the first week or so, then a doe may fall to my "wonderous wifle".

 

[Speedo66]

You don't fire into the grass for deer also, do you?

 

[Picher]

What?

There was about an 18" wide ribbon of grassy weeds between the gravel road and the heavier wooded perimeter. Took a shot with #6 birdshot in my 20 gauge, just in case the one that ran there was still lurking...it was! I was quite surprised to get that one. Most grouse we encounter in the roads are shot on the ground because if they take a few steps into the pucker-brush, they will be lost. I wouldn't shoot a high-powered rifle that way, but about everyone who goes home with birds do it often.

I used to insist on shooting birds that flew...until I was over 60. Now, at 74, I shoot them where I see them, and often they're on the ground.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Now, at 74, I shoot them where I see them,

Hope you're still shooting them at 94.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Is Abby a Wire Haired Pointing Griffon? (Excellent dog!) One of our sons have two.... Love 'em!

 

[Picher]

So it’s road hunting with a dog to retrieve?

A combination of road and woods hunting, but when walking, we keep one guy near the road, so we don't get turned-around, which is easy to do in these cut-over areas that tend to look the same. There are lots of difficult walking areas, due to the wood harvest operations that leave a lot of dead branches and blow-downs to negotiate among the new growth. Birds love it, so that's why we go, but being many hours to medical assistance, are careful about safety, especially at my age.

 

[Picher]

Is Abby a Wire Haired Pointing Griffon? (Excellent dog!) One of our sons have two.... Love 'em!

Yes, she is and this is only her second year of hunting. It's tough to get dogs to point grouse because they flush so easily, but she's really getting into it and it's really fun to hunt with her. She flushes birds in tangled areas where we wouldn't get shots before and we're getting more birds as the result. There aren't many easy flight shots, though, as grouse most often flush into the woods, where we can't get a decent wing-shot.

 

[huntsman]

Sounds like a good time, grouse and woodcock over a pointer was my passion in the 80’s.

But I doubt I could bust the thick cover now even if we still had birds to chase.

 

[Picher]

You don't fire into the grass for deer also, do you?

That was uncalled for, IMHO.

 

[Speedo66]

That was uncalled for, IMHO.

Sorry, my sarcasm got the better of me. I was taught certain things are not sporting, such as you don't shoot at a squirrel once it reaches it's nest, you don't throw "sound" shots at deer you can't see, and you don't shoot flying game birds on the ground.

If I couldn't flush a bird out of a patch of grass, I personally would not shoot the grass.

 

[wankerjake]

Loved the Maine woods, hope to go back someday.

Sounds like a good trip to me.

 

[Picher]

My son is going back up there tomorrow with his teen son. I opted out for a couple of reasons. First, the weather has turned bad and they may get 6" of snow thursday, then rain and wind on Friday. A retired coworker passed away a couple of weeks ago and the services are Friday, so I decided to stay and attend. It's also a good thing for a father and teen son to bond and I don't want to be a third wheel.

 

[Picher]

So it’s road hunting with a dog to retrieve?

Lots of birds are seen when driving along major haul roads, but mostly along old tributary logging roads, walking several of them...one or two guys in the woods with the dog, and one (me) in the road. I like to walk the roads and send the dog, a Wire-Haired Pointing Griffon, ahead to point/flush birds. She's only a couple of years old, but has a great nose and lately, she's pointing grouse well, which is one of the toughest things for a dog to do, since they don't hold as well as other birds, like pheasant and woodcock, but hold better up North than around here, where they're jumpy, probably due to the many coyotes.

Walking (Hunting) in the woods in Central Maine, where we live, it's very slow, maybe flush one or two birds in a day, when hunting with a good dog, and they flush very wild here, sometimes from hardwood trees, over a hundred yards away. We also have many more ticks down here, so I don't like walking around in pucker-brush. (Got Lyme disease about 5 months ago, so am quite careful.)

 

[mrmike7189]

I had lyme 20 years ago. I often wonder what it has done to my joints. Will I be healthy in my old age?
(who knows.)
I expect some snow in 2 weeks when I get up to maine. It looks like you had perfect fall weather. Enjoyed your posts. (nice looking dog!)

 

[Picher]

I had lyme 20 years ago. I often wonder what it has done to my joints. Will I be healthy in my old age?
(who knows.)
I expect some snow in 2 weeks when I get up to maine. It looks like you had perfect fall weather. Enjoyed your posts. (nice looking dog!)

I'm not sure how your Lyme disease may bother you in the future, but am not aware of any long-term effects that people might have from the infection.

 

[DownEaster]

While shooting grouse that are standing on a dirt road with a shotgun is legal in Maine, it is very low on the hunting ethics scale.