Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Is anybody, OUT THERE?!

First time here and the topic is blank! So I'll start it. Love to upland bird hunt and got started 10 years ago Grouse hunting. I am now known as "Lady Grouse Hunter" and love it! Those road chickens better hide cause the season is closing in!

Hi Lady Grouse Hunter..as with you it's my first time here.i just came over from the Alloutdoors forum and like'd what I seen here,So I thought I'd make a new home here.

Hi. Another AO Coffee Shop person. Is this where we talk about bird, dogs, and shotguns?

Welcome everybody. As you can see from my number of posts, I've been around for a while. Many of us are refugees from Shooters/Hunters. I love to hunt grouse. Unfortunately we don't have many here in Kalifornia. But, it does get me into the high country, and, sometimes, I get to chase Ptarmigin while I'm there. Any Mtn. Quail hunters here ? E

I have three Brittanys and hunt quail,pheasant and grouse.The areas I get to are Ks.,Iowa,Mi.,Mn.,SD. and of course here in Indiana.<P>------------------<BR>Birddog of Indiana

Welcome to all the new faces! Need anything, please email. I'm always available.<P>I have a Springer pup that will be a year old next month. He's in his fourth month of formal training, and he's gonna be a winner!<P>I hunt upland game to excess, my wife would claim. Mostly, in order of season, doves, quail (valley, Gambel's, mountain), chukar, pheasant, and bandtails, mostly in Southern California and old Mexico. I bring a shotgun and get into sharptails and Huns (as well as ringnecks) as often as I can in Montana. Will be going out to Arizona this year and hopefully will get into some Mearns and scaled quail.<P>I've been using a Belgian Auto-5 12 gauge for 25 years-plus, until I finally tried the Belgian Sweet Sixteen my Dad has been shoving in my face for ten. As usual, he was right on about the Sweet Sixteen (he moved on to Spanish doubles years ago).<P>Looking forward to Jack's (Springer) first full season on Mexico ringnecks and Gambel's in front of that Sweet Sixteen, I can tell you. It just doesn't get any better!<P>Any shotgun reloaders making the rounds yet?<P>Rick Bin

Thanks Rick..as to the reloaders question I always have my Hornady 366 ready to get going.Generally keep about 75 boxes of reloads ready.<P>------------------<BR>Birddog of Indiana

Now we're getting somewhere. The guys around the hunting campfire are a salty bunch of dogs who sometimes sound as if they needed a little more socializing on the playground (I'm taking my ball and leaving-good, go back where you came from--- kind of nonsense). Rick: I'd rather carry a 16 in the field than just about anything else. I have an odd addiction. I love old "hardware store" guns. I enjoy scraping up cruddy old Higgins and Crescent arms double guns, get them working correctly (I'm no gunsmith however) and give them a second run. If they could talk, I like to think about the midwestern families that these guns fed. Prairie chicken, dove, duck and small game. I too run a springer. Trained him myself, in my own odd way. After 7 years of terrorizing, bold flushes, I figured I couldn't possibly create a blinker, he loves to hunt to much. So I trained him to Honor and even back my wirehair. What a hoot. He looks and works like a typical springer, and will flush if another dog isn't pointing his track, but if he comes up on a pointer who is locked, he tightens up. It is quite a sight and something I don't recommend any flushing trainer attempt to do. I'm just blessed with a good dog and got lucky with his trainability .<BR> John, birddog, lady grouse. What do you say we adopt this as the forum that we were used to at A/O?

I be new here.Coming over from AO.<BR>Chukar hunting is my thing.<P>------------------<BR>

i prefer waterfowl, but living in sd, you can't not hunt pheasants. grouse and huns are enjoyed by me, as well.<P>just picked up a 12 ga o/u at a gun show, can't wait to try it out on pheasants this year. much lighter, quicker to shoulder, and points so much better than my 870 super mag. expect to get my hands on a 12ga sxs this fall.<P>why can't i seem to find these guns in 20 ga. and get what i want????<P>------------------<BR>Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that.

I guess Ithaca is coming out with a new series of sxs guns this fall. They used to make a nice double gun. We'll see how this one is. It should be available in a 20. What type of 12 did ou get. My only 20 is a browning citori. Can't go wrong with her. It is a real consistent gun, although my preference is 16. <BR>I can't see how you aren't busy busting ducks in the fall. You gottem' all. They swing west of Mn. right at the canadian border. I ish I had the problem of keeping myself busy with S.D. pheasants. I have to work mighty darnhard to limit out on Mn. roosters. And huns? Once every fifth time out I might bump them. And then I'm so darned surprised, I rarely get my gun shouldered.

Hi lady. I'm new from AO too. Never hunted grouse just whatever flies over South Texas. I have Vizslas and my wife and I have a bunch of Ruger ou guns. Love 'em, I think they are the Timex of shotguns. Good to be here.

To all you new folks,welcome to the campfire.I hunt woodcock,doves and bobwhite quail in SC.I enjoy hunting quail the most,but unfortunately there numbers are shrinking fast.

irvingdog: the sxs i'm getting is an ithaca. my uncle has had it for a lot of years, and he's getting to where he doesn't hunt much anymore. it's nothing fancy, really, but i want it cuz that is the gun that i used on my first pheasant.<P>as far as the ducks go, oh yeah, there are a lot of them here in the fall! i hunt ducks once or twice a year is all, though, and then focus on the good stuff: giant canadians!<P>i hope ithaca produces these guns, you can sign me up for one!<P>------------------<BR>Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that.

Hey there Irvingdog how far are you from Long Prairie,Mn.?<P>------------------<BR>Birddog of Indiana

I live in a suburb directly north of Minneapolis, so I'm roughly an hour and a half from Long Prairie. However, I have a cabin in Morrison county, on a nice lake called Fishtrap, and that is maybe 30 miles as the crow flies from long prairie. Do you have family up there? It is a nice part of the state and very convienent to access. Close enough to I94 to get there quickly, and far enough away from it to avoid being trampled. Gotta dash, I'm off to fishtrap right now. Walleye and bass beware...............<p>[This message has been edited by irvingdog (edited June 22, 2001).]

Irvingdog..no family there but I do have a good friend that grew up there and now lives about 10 mile from there, Bill Balcom is his name.We used to go to his place back in the 70's and 80's grouse hunting and back then there was aton of birds there.

Lady Grouse Hunter.<P>As with a few other now here, I am a refugee from the dying all outdoors coffee shop forums. I see yer from Maple Valley, I lived on the Cedar River near Maple Valley for about 15 yrs. <P> Soooo, yer the reason that the grouse were all hiding out last season here in Wash. eh? <P>------------------<BR>Scott

Boy everybody I never expected all the responses! Welcome to all! I came over from o.a. as well but am really from huntingnet.com <BR>Eremicus, I'm going to try and find some Mntn. Quail here in Washington this fall, Never hunted them before but it sounds challenging, so while I'm out after Grouse I'll keep a ear open. An tips would be appreciated. What do they sound like anyways? Cafe' Racer I had problems finding birds in my areas also. Did find a<BR>few in Ellensberg though. I think their just rebounding from a low cycle. My friend has seen Quite a few Spruce, Blues & Ruffed in the Granite Falls area on the way to High lakes in recent weeks.

Great to see new faces and the enthusiasm displayed by you refugees. Welcome aboard.<P>I like to shoot anything that is legal and has feathers. Guess I would prefer ducks the most, but a hot dove shoot is about as good as it gets too, or there is the joy of watching a good pair of dogs work a covey of bobs, or what could be better than the wide open spaces of wheat fields dotted with huns, or......<P>Gun of choice in almost any serious hunting situation is a Winchester 101 with tubes, tubed Improved Cylinder and Improved Modified, until it becomes clear that some other combination is better, but it rarely is.<P>Thanks to having to help with and train 3 children in a row, I did not replace my last lab, a sad lack in my life which I am actively trying to overcome. Youngest child is just over 2 now and have a little more time available for dog training.<P>One person mentioned the current acrimony in the Hunters campfire area, believe me, that is really unusual, and, while I am not going to sit here and say there is never any controversy or cross words exchanged, it is usually a pleasant place to kick back and go with the flow, or start you own topic and see what happens, sometimes it is amazing how far off the original thought they can go.<BR>At any rate, glad y'all could stop by, stay awhile and tell me all your pheasant spots. LOL just kidding CAT

Irvingdog, I think we've started something! That sounds like a plan. In just two days it already feels like home...Let those old foagies get cramps around the campfire. But come Labor day weekend this thread WILL be dead! And alot of Doves & Grouse TOO......<BR>Keep it comin' everybody.

Another AO refugee here, figured I would check this out.

Hi K. Hickam, It's aka redrocket from A.O. Nice to see you drop in. Welcome as well. I didn't get the details as to exactly where that drop box is to run dogs at. And can the gals at the trailer show me again where to run dogs along the river. I know you tried to show me but it a big place out there. Hey thanks again for the run on Saturday.

The drop box is right in front of the office, as to where to run the dogs, across the road from the office in the river field is always a good one.

HI YA'LL. Sounds like my kind of folks.<BR>I love to hunt everything but whales but my favorite is bird hunting. I am a big Ithaca fan and own a few. Didn't know about the new s/s and I imagine I'll have to own one if the quality is still there.<P>Good kick off Lady Grouse Hunter, I will be visiting often

Cavey: I've been trying to learn more about that new Ithaca myself. The teasers they put out about it (maybe a year now) weren't enough. I hope to visit the Ithaca arms Mfgr facility this winter. Let me know if you hear something.

Hi RRC checking in as well from AO.

[img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img] welcome aboard RRC & Cavey ahh very interesting name! Make yourselves at home!

Opps! I make my first post on anew site & send it to the wrong place. I started a new posting under Anybody here? I am. Well it should be here. I'll do better next time I promise.

Wow! I gave up on the upland board long ago and now look at all the people. I cut my teeth on pheasants and quail back home in north central KS. Now that I'm in the mountains, I shoot a lot more "road chickens" than anything else. Used to be with a cheap Spanish 20ga double, but lately it's just as likely to be with a 410 single shot.<P>I share Irvingdog's fascination with what everybody else passes over as junk. If it shoots and doesn't blow up and the rattle ain't too annoying, I like to take it to the fields/woods and get breakfast with it. If sporting gentlemen look at it funny, then I'll probably like it. Can't afford those fancy doubles anyway. Is it just me or does it seem like the used gun dealers are a lot prouder of their beatup, reblued, Savages and Ithacas than they used to be? My "Sunday gun" when I'm after the pheasants back home is a Browning BSS that I got for a steal. It's heavy but I like it. -al

Lady Grouse Hunter,<P>I to frequented the Coffee Shop but I also have always visited other sites as well.<P>I have been hunting ruffed grouse for over 40 yrs now and I also hunt woodcock. The 20ga has always been my favorite shotgun for my hunting of these birds. I have two 20ga pumps and also a Itacha SS in 20ga. I on rare occasion hunt with my Rem 12ga 870 but 99% of the time will see me afield with my Rem 20ga 870 with a skeet barrel on it. Yes I bought my 870s before the advent of choke tubes in them. The Itacha SS was my uncles gun and I got it when he passed on. He used to let me use that gun a lot when I was a youngster starting out so it has a lot of sentimental value to it along with my fathers 12ga pump.<P>Good Hunting,<BR>George

Hi everyone. I'm another AO transient looking for a new forum. AO seems to be on it's death bed. This site reminds me of the old AO prior to all of the software "upgrades". I enjoyed the photo posting ability of AO's new software, but it seems the download time of lengthy threads caused some people to lose interest.<P>I chase ruffed grouse, woodcock, bobwhite and ringnecks here in the midwest behind my setters, and enjoy the occasional Septmeber dove shoot. Please don't hesitate to ask me for help on hunting the mid-western states west of Indiana. I've had good success hunting upland birds and turkey in most of the mid-western states over the past 15, and would be glad to share any info I've gleaned along the way.<P>Brad

I'll get my post to the right place this time. Hi everyone, I hunt pheasant, quail, grouse, huns, & chukar, here in Oregon over my Vizsla. My bird guns are Citori 16, Ithaca 37, 16, Citori superlight 20, Brng BPS upland 20ga, mod 12 28ga, & Lefever 16ga. It's good to find a place for us uplanders to gather. See ya around.

Welcome aboard, resent posters! <BR> Wow all those sweet 16's! I'm beginning to wonder about putting up the Browning 12ga.BPS and downsizing to a 20ga. So far I've only damaged acouple of birds with it. But .22's are the way to go for Grouse around the N.W.! [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]

Thought I'D ask a general question whilst all of you are signing on:<P>Many experts and long time hunters say that the 16ga is the ideal guage for upland birds. IS THE 16 BETTER SUITED, ALL AROUND, THAN THE 12 AND 20 FOR UPLAND BIRDS?

Don't know that it is better suited than a 12 ga but it is a damn site better than a 20 ga. My 16 ga is built on a 20 ga frame and I can carry it all day in the hills after chukar and grouse - I have a sweet pet load for it I use a 1 or 1 1/8 oz load of nickle plated 7s and I haven't found a bird capable of flying through it and living if I do my part. So, for me the answer is yes a 16 ga is better - unless of course you have a sweet little Birmingham boxlock that weighs about the same as my 16 ga.

Would you be willing to share that pet load with anothe rreloader from the NW? I'm always looking for what works best. Thanks, Dogman

I use a WW209 primer, SP16 wad, 18.0 grs of Unique, 1 oz of 7s, and a black Remington Hull

Keith,<P>16ga., No way! The lil 20ga, gotta be the more versatile all-rounder for the uplands hands down. Sounds like ya gave up yer pet Brittish-Built hunting loads?<P>#7s??? Do they make a nice pattering noise as they bounce off the rump of that 3yr old rooster bird flying away at 40yds? S/B ok for the small framed birds tho...<P>Just a lil dig, nothing serious. BTW, did ya get yer Red Dog yet? Sometime I would like to come out to Fall City and watch ya work the pup if possible. Those Red Dawgs always catch my eye, and with my Britt gettin old I need to start thinking about a young back-up pointer.<P>Have a good holiday<BR>Scott

K. Hickam thanks for the load info. "Cafe" is that red dog that your talking about a Vizsla? I now have my second one, love em great dogs.

Cafe - The only noise I hear from the rooster getting hit from my 16 ga shooting 7s is a soft thump as they bounce off the ground, - dead. Haven't given up on the Brit loads will probably shoot them in my new 12 ga SxS. <P>Red dog - should be getting the pup in Sept. Looking forward to an Irish setter racing through the woods hunting grouse next year.

Kieth,<BR>Ya gotta quit shooting them planted birds, ya know, the ones that go "Thump" when ya hit em with #7s... ( Nice come-bac tho! ) So yer gettin a 12ga howitzer to go with that Setter? Tell me it aint so! I figured you would be shooting a sweet lil 28 ga. AYA or U-Gar, for them grouse birds. <P>Are ya going to have the pup by the opener? Bet yer excited. Like I said earlier, if you get a chance to work the pup at Carlson's let me know, I would really like to see a Red Dog doing some Hunt-em -ups.

Cafe Racer - I am far to poor of a shot and to set in my ways to use the sweet 28 ga for grouse. When you shoot as marginally as I do you need every bit of shot that is available in a 1 oz or 1 1/8 oz loads that are standard in 12 and 16 ga guns.<P>But, when I get the red you are welcome to come up and take a look see.

Another AO homeless person surfin for s home.Looks nice here far as 20 and 16 tough call.But if I could have only 1 gun for eveything it'd be the 16 get the loads of a 12 without the weight of a 12 for quail or dove or pheasant only give me a 20 with 3/4 oz of #8 for first shots and 1oz of 7 for second shots.

Dogman,<BR> The Reddog Cafe' is talking about is call a<BR>Red Setter. I own one and yes they're great little dogs. These Irish Field setters were brought back over 50 years ago from the ill-faited show dog status. They crossed a dog from Irish bloodlines with a Llewellin Setter and "walah" produced one "Red little Hot Rocket". I had the privelidge to run mine at one of the Carlson's large fields not too long ago and he loved every minute of it! Thanks again Keith!

Thought I would jump in here & add my love for Ruffed grouse hunting! I am retired so I spend every day I can in the woods. The numbers are suppose to be down here in MN but I have found the opposite to be true where I hunt. We will see! MN grouse hunting is one of the best kept secrets!<BR> I also hunt pheasants in MN but the mid season pressure went up last year. <BR>I shoot a Beratta utra-light. I like that 6 lb gun after 40 years using a Browning A5. Golden Retriever is my hunting dog!