Ken you're good to go!
Paddler is a funny guy. Another liberal I can't really take seriously.
Paddler you mean to tell me that a guy of your means and sophistication has only "read"about New England grouse hunting? You mean you never got your white ass on a plane and came to Maine to hunt grouse? It's a big state and there's grouse border to border...plenty of room to rove around without guides...assuming you can keep from getting lost.
You don't even need a dog....if you know what you're doing, to find grouse. Read some Frank Woolner and Burton Spiller before you show up. You know what Spiller said about killing grouse,don't you?..."Guns don't kill grouse; legs do".It's ...how do you call it? Freelance hunting on public ground? That's all we have here! LMAO you western bird hunters like to make a big deal out of nothing.
Cripes at least I got my fat white ass on a plane to sample western bird hunting. I've been in and out of Salt Lake so many times I've lost count. Real wilderness that....more ATV trails running through the Wasatch Front it looks like a big recreational park. LMAO.
Mostly, coming through there, I'm on my way to the same 50,000 acre ranch I've been hunting since 1979-1980. I have a standing invite to hunt the mule deer, antelope, and elk that live there....but there aren't any guides.I get to (how do you say? Freelance hunt on 50,000 acres? Without a guide? Just like I get to do back here. I'll hunt there again this year.
(Wonder how i managed to kill anything out there all these years,since I don't know what I'm doing.
Astonishing.
But sometimes I've been on my way to southern Utah for mule deer. I have had a guide on hand for that....mostly because I needed the outfit for access. Didn't need them to find a mule deer, that's for sure.
Given the logistics, planning a Maine grouse hunt should be a piece of cake.Bring a light 20 that balances well in one hand....you'll need the other free for pushing cover out of the way with your free hand. Hope you don't mind getting that fancy double scratched up a bit.Might get wet, too!
Make sure you stop in an opening so you can mount and swing to shoot. Not much room in there and the break in your cadence is what will make them flush. You'll have 2-4 seconds. Good luck.
BTW.....one bird for three shells expended is considered top notch shooting because it's pretty hard shooting,and a true double is reason to call everyone to brag. My fat white ass has pulled it off three times.
But...if you really want to do something "hard" and achieve one of Gassetts true "trophies",bring a rifle,and try...on your own...to kill a mature Maine whitetail buck.I'll give you 5 years to kill a 200 pound+buck. No worries....you won't do it.
Bring a compass or GPS. You open country boys will get your asses lost 100 yards off a tote road.
[bleep] western liberal philosophers....make me LMAO.