First day of grouse season I managed limit of three young blues with my old model 97 and Fed. 1 1/8 6s... My favorite opening day cover let me down again.. I think it has out grown the grouse.. Found this bunch in an area I have never seen grouse the 25 years.. saw some today, but they escaped.. No pictures yet, haven’t figured out my new computer.. Have to get them loaded... Tomorrow I may try for a few doves.. Good luck this fall...

Thanks. I went out with a group on Friday including Senator Rounds and we shot a couple dozen roosters. It was a wet cool day, great to be out in the field again. Grouse season opens Saturday, I can hardly wait. I took a Franchi Affinity in 20ga, and if I don't shoot better with it this weekend, its gonna be dealt.

BK, you might have to make another trip to SF to do that. 🙂

Looking forward to cooler weather though we in Iowa have quite a ways to go yet before our pheasant season which opens on the last weekend of October.

Already also looking forward to our December trip to SD for pheasants. Greatly. 😊

I just might! I bought this for turkey hunting and frankly it failed to impress me then. I thought I'd give it another chance and will on Saturday. I have learned that if a shotgun doesn't fit me, it needs to just go. Plenty do fit...no need to beat my head.

In case, and I don’t know what your price point is, but they do have some 20 ga. Benelli Ethos, and Ultralights on hand. At least they did a couple weeks ago, but I expect shotguns are starting to move now — it’s a fever. 😀

Of course those are in wood and blued steel..which I use for turkeys all the time.

K
Incomplete thought there. In Scheels, that is, along with the new Browning A5 16’s, and many others as you know.

Thanks George, I would probably move this gun in favor of an A5 Light Twenty if I could find one that suited me. Never met an A-5 yet that didn't fit.

BK, off topic here, but related — you might consider one of the new Browning A5’s in a 16. They are light, good looking overall though they made the barrel too long for my tastes (28” in an autoloader) and their trigger has been reviewed as too heavy Though you can check that in the store. 5 chokes.

I don’t know if would fill the turkey-getting roll as well as the 20 as there are very much fewer choices in shells though Fiocchi makes a gooD uplander load as does Federal and Remington.

And Fiocchi picked such a nice color for their 16 shot shells — blue. You gotta keep the important stuff in mind. 😀

Out with the dog last night (not hunting). Got two woodcock flushes in short order and a couple last weekend.

They're here!

Deb & Doug continuing their tradition of always heading out together on opening day of grouse season. This year, on our own property !

They saw 2 & Doug got one, lots of really thick foliage still;

We have been sage grouse shooting the last three days.. Got a limit each day with my old870 12ga. field.. The dogs are loving it.. Too bad it doesn't gone on for months..!!!! Will try and get some photos up when I figure how to load them on this new lap top... The best time of year is here..

Finished our sage grouse hunting yesterday.. On to other things.. Good year.. The dogs had a good time I shot pretty well for not shooting my shotguns since last winter.. Something I must not let happen another year.. Miss shooting.. The last two days I filled my limit with an unbelievable both grouse were killed with one shot.. I have had that happen before once or twice, but never two in a season let alone back to back.. I hope to get some pictures up soon.. My computer is a new one, and we haven't quite figured everything out yet.. Have fun...

I went out yesterday on a preserve hunt.

Weather wayyyy too nice for SD pheasants. 😀

It was actually just fine except for the wind, which was stout at about 30-40.

My and my sidekick have finally gotten into the birds. They were here in August before season and a cold front pushed them out. Looks like the northern birds have finally shown up in the last week and we’ve had a couple pretty good shoots. Almost managed a 15 bird limit this afternoon, shot 14 and found all but one. Gonna have to heat up the frying pan.

Cool pic Tinman. Tell me about your 37, is it a 16 or 20? Looks like a nice old gun.
The one I used yesterday is a prewar 16. I have another 50’s production 16 and a 20 from the 70’s, the prewar is mechanically the same but the wood and metal are so much more nicely fit and finished.

Mine is a pre war 16 gauge too. Great shotgun.

Michigan and some firsts....



First off it was a Springerpallozza and one English Cocker....

Something smells here....

The front Springer is the father of the rest of that clan....But Merlot the Cocker is willing to hang with them.



Took along a young newbee on his first Grouse hunt....and his dog "Bull" put up his the first Grouse for both of them....

As an aside, "Bull" has it all, and them some....Excellent plus nose and a hard flusher...



His Dad also had his pup "Jack" who put up his first Grouse and Woodcock that came back down...




Merlot with a Bird after when we went back to the truck and brought him out
to find a downed Bird, when one of the pups couldn't figure it out....and then on the hunt....





Lunch at the trucks on a hot day....

Nice pic’s Battue. Nice dogs. Good shooting. 👍

Excellent!!!

Atta boy, Merlot! Hard to beat watching that boy hunt cover. I am certainly a fan of his! . Congratulations on the great hunt.

Awesome Battue and great pictures! Keep heading west you are almost to Montana.

Finally got some of my pictures uploaded... Opening day blue grouse and my old model 97.. 1 1/8 - 6s..

My first sage grouse of 2020..

Second day I hunt grouse!! 870 12 ga..

Great pics !! Love the old 97.

Looks like you are shooting well!!!! Congrats....

Sunday the 11th, the dogs and I were out at Moon, SD looking for a ruffed grouse or two. We bumped one but didn't get a shot off. I hope to make it back out there before the season ends. Not alot of them around out there so its a real trophy kind of deal to take one in my mind.

Saturday the 17th, we opened the season like always with friends that are family, east of Agar, SD. I made a tri tip roast and we had yellow jackets and scotchy bars. I think we got about 25 probably, it was too windy and cold to count.

Nice

Sunday the 18th, we went out to some new ground near Harrold SD. Lots of birds moving from the harvested fields into CRP and those that stayed til dark were rewarded with roosters.

Congrats!!!!! Looks like you kept the Dogs busy...Great pic👍

Me and my Pardner wrapped up our 2020 dove season Saturday with 10 birds. Season runs until the end of October and we get the month of December too but a norther blew in Saturday night and the birds headed for Mexico. Been a pretty good year.

Some are more fortunate than others with partners. Congrats 👍

Some are indeed more fortunate. I texted a few friends with small kids on Sunday and all replied busy. I asked if their kids could go, one sent his 9 year old with us. He ate two candy bars and a bag of chips and had two cans of pop in 2 hours. Past that he got a heck of an education. His dad was in my office this morning and told me that if my plan was to make a hunter out of him, I was succeeding at it.

Very nice BK. 👍

First pheasant hunt of the season. Dog and I got out this morning. I made the mistake of letting him hunt too far ahead of me, and two pheasants flushed out of range.

But... He pointed three birds. I took three shots. Dropped three birds.

Also - he accomplished his first retrieve. We've been working on that this summer. He did great! Lots of praise. I made sure he knew that he did great.







I was using 12 gauge, 2 3/4" Kent Fasteel #6's. They worked great, just as they did last year.

So happy to be bird hunting again!

Guy

Great to see you getting the pup out on some birds! Sounds like he's coming along nicely, well done. Hope you guys have a great season!

Congrats Cascade!

I'm sure enjoying all the dog and bird pics fellas, keep em coming!

Very nicely done!! I'm jonesing from some bird hunting action, but life/money are dictating it'll likely be pen raised birds this year...

I'll put up some pictures later. I took a team of great kids pheasant hunting near Arlington for the Governor's Hunt, it was a great time but we had a tough day. 8 hunters got 7 birds. Last night we went over to Harrold again and the snow and cold were brutal. I think we got 12 but no one stood around to take pictures or count birds. Brutal conditions. Going again today, against my better judgment. Down to Hamill, SD. I'll take some pics and report back later.

Outstanding, getting the kids out!

Rainy day Pa Gameland Pheasants....Stocked or not, the Merlot busted azz, and obviously, for 6 hours for these two Birds...Flushed a bunch more....and a couple Buds along with their Dogs accounted for 6 total....

Beautiful pic Battue. That camera you’ve mentioned, or phone?

Sony RX100vii

Where do you hunt a battue?. I’m rite around Berlin. Hunting SGL 082 trying to get my dog her first bird!

Excellent!

GL95 Butler.

Suggestion for first bird. Call Roy at Stony Creek sporting clays close to Berlin. He has a mini preserve and will put out Birds for you.

Other than that you will have to check the various GL for the weekend they stock. However, right now there should be Birds on all of the them. They wise up after a week or so, but boots on the ground should get you into Birds.

She flushed two today. First one was 50 yards out, miss.
Second was in a less than desirable situation and a miss. She got Gun shy so that was that.

Just back from SD.

Great times with good buddies but didn't shoot a rooster in 3 days.

Flushed birds every piece of ground we hunted, but almost exclusively hens, I think we saw 4 roosters in 3 days, none within gun range. We probably flushed 70 hens.

Its my 3rd trip in 4 years to SD, and my 6th in the last 11 years and it seems to be getting worse every year.

Dogs got some great work,so there's that. I might be done with the public land for a while. If I go next year, will go on one of those paid hunts, I guess.

Woodcock are thick here this year. The PP works better on them than grouse as the grouse will not hold at all here in southern NB. Once freeze up happens, they will be gone.

Had some timberdoodle for supper last night.

My SKB is choked IC/M. Seems a bit tight. May get it done in SK/IC.

Classic picture! Looks like a good warm up for the season ahead. You boys have fun!!!

Thanks, will be in touch and let you know.

Been out a few more times but forgot to take pictures in the field. Took my new 1938 3 Shot Sweet Sixteen out and shot it pretty well.

Excellent!!

Not too often around these parts a guy can score a limit of Huns and roosters

Awesome!

My son with the four birds we got today. We missed one. Four times! Still laughing.


Young Maverick is turning into a pretty good hunter! Sorry, no dog photos today. Shame because he worked a lot harder than either of us!

Friend of a friend with some private access today in South Dakota. 13 man limit on wild birds. This will spoil me for when I hit public ground in Kansas next weekend.

Dogs saved the day more than once.

Wow!!

Another great day.

For sure!!

Only pic I took today. Milo with a pair of roosters in his nose. Trailed about 50 yards with multiple point and relocates before they finally flushed 10 yards in front of him. 25-30mph sustained winds is miserable hunting. But 32 birds for 13 hunters (11 actual walkers with 2 playing leap frog the trucks/blocking) in a 2 mile long slough with cat tails in the bottom made for an exciting few hours.

No doubt and it looks like great Dog work....congrats!!!!

Another good day....well done....

Wow! A heck of a day you had there. I bet the pheasant numbers are up in S.D. this year.

We went out Saturday and Sunday. Saturday six of us got 13 or 14 and decided we'd had enough fun, so we quit, had some refreshments and went home.

Sunday we had eight guys go out and we ended up with 22. Again we could have kept going but didn't feel the need. I took a few pictures:







My dog work was fantastic this weekend, super impressed with those two. Lots of excellent close up shots in the dry grass and cattails.

SD trip started out great....got a Buck in Minnesota on I90.

Well I didn't have that pleasure thankfully. Glad you are okay but bet the truck isn't. We got a few in Nebraska but slow start. Dogs did well on the ones we got after. Kansas will be interesting I hope.

Just got back from a trip. Chukar and huns are up. December and January should be fun.

Pheasants tomorrow.

Most of the dogs pictured are wearing shock collars.
My lab is a runner and I would like to slow her down. Is there a
reliable source of accurate information on how and where to use
the collar? Do you use it constantly when hunting?

My girl Remy and I got into some Gambel's Quail this weekend in Arizona.

There are a host of resources on the use of e-collars. I've used them for over 20 years with success and no one I know runs a dog in the field without one.

How you use the collar is to enforce a command you've given and which the dog knows and heard, and ignored. I use tone on my collars almost exclusively, rarely nick them, and almost never have to burn them. They know what the tone means.

Not sure what you mean by "constantly." I use two toots in rapid succession from my mouth, the same cadence as the two toots from the tone on the collar, both to mean "pay attention and come around." Come around means turn back toward me. Others do things differently I'm sure. Dogs and hunters are all different so use what works for you.

Oh no!!!!! In the new Tahoe? Man, I hate hear that.

Wheels are rolling all is good.

Birds? Have you heard the one about the Bird Dog that comes in and humps your leg and then shakes a stick?

Nothing like walking in to flush a pointed......badger.

In Western Kansas right now. No leg humping. Not really even many sticks.

Grouse and Woodcock Hunt in Northern Wisconsin. October 2020.

Wish we had more bobwhites. Just like everybody else wishes.





Dad (ole_270) with a wiley rooster.



Ike got a rooster and a quail, dad got a quail walking out a weedy corner.

Haha...the badger picture. Yikes. Flash tangled up with one once but discretion was the better part of valor that day and he disengaged, wisely.

While deer hunting Saturday, I noted that the ranch I was on had literally thousands of grouse on it. At one point, I looked out into a draw and noted about 50-60 sharptails in two ash trees. So I loaded up my shotgun and walked out there to see what would happen. They lifted off when I got about 60 yards away. I was bummed til I noticed they were flying RIGHT AT ME. I dumped a limit of them, sadly using four shots, and then couldn't find the third bird on my own. Dammit. I was able to fill about ten minutes later and it was super fun. I'll go back for more of that action.

Yesterday we went out to Harrold again, where we were treated to approximately twice as many birds in the grass as last weekend. Despite having over 200 years of hunting experience in the group, we acted like it was our first time. Bad planning. Poor execution. Lousy shooting, Subpar dog work. I think all of us must have just lost our minds at the sheer numbers in one quarter section. I saw well over 1000 birds, easily so. Wow. I think we finished with 12 in hand and called it a day.

Wow. Those numbers are incredible!

We can only hunt the 2 tracks and road ditches, and have been easily seeing 100-200 per day. Most get up out of range, but some don’t. 😎

Those who know the game and have their spots, with good shooting will be home rather quickly.

There are incredible numbers of birds all over the state I think. We had a tremendous lift from Mother Nature this year, and this is the result. Plenty of wheat to nest in, the grass grew tall and strong, its just a heck of a year for birds here.

Wow! What a hunt! I bet Merlot is in rare form! Tell Bobby “Hey” from the Carolina boys.

Merlot went on RR for the day.

The dumb things I do for birds...

But it is fun Tman!!

Birddog Bunkhouse hunt is over....Great time and Birds, Birds, Birds.....Should have killed more, but this is a sample of some that came home.....

Parker 16 Gauge Repro Birds....

Merlot....










Took a few with the old Model 12 16 Gauge favorite....

Had a couple windy days.....



Loooog time Bud....Phil and his Dog Clancy....




His Son Erin.....

Congratulations on the great hunt! It looks like you boys had a blast. I bet the dogs went home tired and well satisfied. Likely you all too! . We may head that way next year, as a new pup might join the team next spring. Thanks for the update, and I’m glad you had a great time. Did Phil get a new shotgun?

Battue, those photos are super.. Give Merlot extra pets from us and a few extra treats.. He looks so loveable.. Nice to have them as best friends also.. Thanks.. Just awesome.. We had a good day, then many not so good.. Best wishes for a great close to 2020,, It has been a rough one so far..

Wilkes....

Yes, great trip with plenty of Birds....but since we are still leaning we spend more time....much more....than necessary to get them. Which is hard on the Dogs. Merlot gets plenty of exercise here at home, but he wore parts of his pads down to bare skin by the end of 10 days....and obviously had sore feet. I picked up some lidocaine gel at the local pharmacy and he hit the ground running again...

Yes, I picked up a Beratta A400 20 gauge for Phil....Sweet, but it doesn't like steel based hulls....Runs fine on brass base but hiccups on steel base....The steel being less flexible doesn't always eject reliably....Some even have problems with them ejecting in O/U's and SxS's....His problems were with Kent steel shells with a steel base...

WCH....

Thanks....Merlot was on the ground for approximately 5.5hours a day....and much of the cover he went thru was thick and often over his head....he slowed down, but when he got a nosefull went back into overdrive.....He is resting up now....

Congrats on a great hunt...you had a good week of weather for sure. Great pictures!

Thanks....

And 10 days wasn’t enough....Lord willing, may work on that for next year😉

Huck's first chuckar (mine, too, for that matter). Found a few quail as well.

Great pics Battue

Took my 1947 Stealth Sweet Sixteen for a spin yesterday.

Excellent! Your pup has the look of "Why are we standing here taking pics? There's roosters to go kill, sheesh..."!

Thanks and good shooting....Your Dog looks like he has more than a little go....Well done....

A little? It’s ridiculous how much energy she has. She usually won’t look at the camera but I got lucky yesterday. We walked at least 6 miles of heavy cover before we found birds and she had plenty left in the tank. I would like to know how many miles they put on compared to their human counterparts

The same! Good looking hunting partner you got there!

I've been told for a ground coverer the average is estimated to be at least times 4....

Tin Cock. Snow Cock? Nv maybe?

HAHA. Good stuff.

This was the first year in 5 years that I have not chased snowCOCK. The TinCOCK is sad.....

That top pic was about 1,000 vertical feet above Thompson Pass, Alaska. I was after white-tailed ptarmigan.
The second pic was after a hundred year snowstorm in Fairbanks. I was just trying to get to spruce grouse on the edge of town that day...

Good stuff? I went into Valdez that night to lick my wounds.

I do believe you'd recognize this place though:

That I do. That was a good trip. I need to get back up there someday...

Plus 1

I love the A-Fives for field work. This morning after looking for the right Sweet 16 to buy for a couple years - I found one. Japan made 1988 with invector chokes.

Deal is done. Shells are ordered. 10 days it should land and then the pheasants will be falling.


😎

Congrats. I need to find another Jap Sweet. I sold the one I had. I kind of have a thing for 16 gauge Auto 5’s

Killed a nice bunch of sharptails Friday. Needing to head back for roosters and bobs soon.

We really got into them yesterday. A five man limit in about 90 minutes. Used my Miroku Sweet Sixteen again. Heavier than I'd like, certainly heavier than my Belgium Sweet but a super Sweet tool for the job at hand. Hundreds and hundreds of pheasants...as long as the weather holds out, its just going to get better. The single rooster in the picture with the dogs had the longest sharpest spurs I've seen, perhaps ever, and I've seen a couple of them over the years. I don't have a fence out there to tie my birds and dogs up to for a picture. I need to work on that some.

I’m green with envy of all of you who hunt the Mecca of the Midwest for Ring Necks.

While Oregon has a lot to offer for hunting and fishing enjoyment. Pheasants aren’t one of them.

I’m slumming away on a pay per bird hunt because our pheasant numbers have been low for many years and the once good places to hunt upland birds are either no trespass or private hunt clubs.

No tears here...I found a place two hours away from my house that has 4 separate properties with a combined total of 560 acres to hunt pheasants.

The owners only allow two groups to hunt per property, per day, with a max of 6 hunters on each property. Today we had 120 acres of corn, wheat, thickets and hills to hunt with 2 groups of 2 hunters. Each group hunts separately.

My pard and I rented a GSP named Wendy to assist in locating birds. The birds are planted early in the AM with a lot of leftovers from missed shots from past hunt days. Plenty of birds were put up. Both hens and roosters.

The roosters and hens ran, cackled, flew, and held tight in the thickest of cover. It felt like the hunts I did as a kid when pheasant hunting was good on the East side of the State.

Size of the birds were pretty good weight wise. Tail feathers were in the 9” to 13” range. I don’t know how fast tail feathers grow or if these birds were juvies or 2nd year birds. I just don’t know.

Pard and I took our 5 birds in a little over two hours after we both shook off the gun rust on a bird each.

It was a lot of fun...But, it still left a lingering feeling in my heart that native birds are just different and better.

My first time using this Benelli M2 20 gauge. Shimmed it correctly to fit me. Excellent point-ability, light as a feather and it ran flawlessly.




😎

Your crew is living large.....fun times....

The results of my last hunt. Of course it happened on Saturday so an after hours visit to the vet. She’s out for two weeks

Poor thing!

Barbed Wire?

😎

I think it was a bent over t-post. Could have been worse

Same thing happened to my girl last year, tear looked identical to that. She hit some barbed wire hidden in the grass. The year before, directly across the draw from the barbed wire, she got tangled up with a porcupine, ugh. We're never hunting that spot again, it's cursed.

We had same thing last year also, healed up nicely. I don't like hunting places with fences and fortunately haven't done much of that this year. Knock on wood. Nice pics from Oregon, looks like a great hunt.

After a busy morning of board meetings and legislative conferences, I went home early afternoon, changed my clothes and grabbed the dogs. Back to the office for a couple hours and then hit the door about 3:45. I started hunting at 4:25 or so, and had two happy dogs and three dead roosters a bit before 5 o'clock. It was a grand evening and the weekend figures to be outstanding.

You can't imagine my envy of being that close to that good of pheasant hunting. Well done.

Bought an old barrel from with a Weaver WVGuy to put on an old Sweet Sixteen. It may be ugly but it worked well today. Fantastic weather here for December. My other dog that got hurt last weekend was pissed when we left. I had a triple on the Huns. First time I’ve ever done that. My oldest came with and he was loving every minute of it.

Simply fantastic...

One of my favorite, though non contemporary ways to blue grouse hunt:



I guess I can throw some Jan 2020 chukar hunts in here.







The above two are somewhere in this mix:

Excellent pictures!

We went out in a big group on Saturday. I didn't count the pheasants but we ended up within a handful either side of sixty. It was a long day and I was tuckered out at the end of it. The Hunt Commander took his job very seriously which kept people safe and kept me chuckling. Nice guy to be sure but obv. ex military, and I'll give him kudos for using "skirmish line" properly in a non combat situation. Lots of fun, and a group I don't usually get together with so it was a great day.

Last night we went over east and eight of us got 12 or 13 plus a prairie chicken. It was too nice a day and the birds had no external stress on them at all, so they didn't want to play pheasant hunting. Oh well, we'll be back and so will they.

Well,done...great pics and something most us don’t get to do. 👍

Out today in central SD. Sorry, no pic’s yet. Was too warm really — high 50’s — and the dogs needed watering every hour. Like to switch shotguns a lot. Carried a Ben UL 20 first hour and didn’t get any shots though the others had them.

Had to switch to my unbloodied Dickinson SxS 16 and that must have been the difference — walked one strip of corn filled with brush and had my limit in a hundred yards. It’s like finding a hole stacked with walleyes.

All in all, it was a beautiful morning if a little too mild. But it certainly beat the December we were here fighting -10* in 10” of snow, so am not complaining.

My previous English Cocker got nearly the same wound in the same spot. Ended up getting re-stitched 3 times and had the cone of shame for 2 weeks. The last time they put in a deep layer and then closed up the surface and it held.

Way to break in a new shotgun....congrats!!!!

Congrats George, thank goodness for party hunting!

T.. Cool. looks like that 16 ga is getting a real work out there.. Spruce grouse!!

Yes, it sure has. It's been getting around.

Your hound TinCock?

No. She could have been "mine" as a drunken one night stand back in my younger days, however.

The horse belongs to me, but not the hound.

Our season finished up the end of November and now we are well into the with drawl syndromes. For us Northern Alberta is release sites with Southern Alberta being a combination of release sites and wild birds (surviving birds that made it through the winter and moved onto private land). We did one pheasant festival (Stettler) and I took a hosted of different people that had never hunted to preserves for their first try on pheasants. They are now hooked and will be active hunters next year so adding newbies is nice.

First pic is Oct in Northern Alb, 2nd and 3rd are hunts towards the end of Nov in the South



As part of the release program they put out a number of melanistic pheasants across the province and we were lucky enough to get one (quite a large bird). Very distinct coloring -- greens, blacks, blues --- but a very weak tail. I was able to get the feathers out to a number of people that tie fly's so this bird will keep giving enjoyment back to the sporting community for sometime.



Now onto planning for trips for next year.

Very cool pictures! Neat report. That bottom one with the black is super cool!

We had a super trip on Saturday. We've been going out in the evenings but decided to try a morning, not knowing whether we'd find the pheasants home or not. A dark morning, some heavy frost, and little wind, and 12 of us took 35 roosters. Our place is a tough hunt for 4-6 guys; much easier for 1-2, and for 10 and up. Anyway, a limit of pheasants is a very successful trip for wild birds in December, weather has really been our friend this year. The hatch, the grass, and now the deep fall have combined to make for very successful trips and frequently done to boot. Hundreds of roosters and lots of season left.




The dogs and I checked our list over on Sunday and found that we could go back out, so we did. A quick limit for us and back to the fireplace. Brrrr.

BK, what loads are u using for these late hunts.. My pheasant hunting days are pretty well over, but just incase.. Great stories and photos..

"And the beat goes on...."

Nice.....

5 layers???? Yea Brrrrrr!!!!!

Sure great going back through this thread to see all the various country, involvement with kids, great looking dogs and shotguns. Puts a fall trip through Montana and South Dakota higher up on my bucket list. Nice job on the field pictures as well .

I started to reply to you guys, and the day got away from me yesterday. It was darn cold on Sunday. The wind was raw.

Short answer: ounce of #6's at 1220 is plenty, year round. No need for more than just regular Hi-Brass shells, and frankly, field loads, as long as they have good hard shot, are perfectly effective.

Based on your current experience, what brands float to the top for field use ?

I only shoot 16ga.

I have been shooting Kent this year and I like them. I have had good success with Federal Game Loads. If I could find a case of Winchester Upland some place, I'd think I'd died and went to heaven.

BK,

Are you typically using #6 and #4 shot on Ringnecks?

My Japan Sweet 16 landed last week. I scored a case of Fed Highbrass game loads #6’s. #4’s were elusive at the time.



😎🦫

Nice shotgun. I love mine. Is yours a 26" barrel? I switch between a Belgium Sweet 16, VR **; a Citori and a Miroku Sweet 16, although I do have some more 16's in the safe. The Miroku gun has gotten the most field time this year. I admit to coveting a buddy's new kinetic A5 Sweet Sixteen. I might have to pick one up.

I just shoot sixes mainly. I do have some fives on hand, see other posts. I do not shoot #4 at pheasants, although many do. I think they're less effective at real world ranges, and they're much more dangerous to others in the field. Until they start making tiny kevlar vests for pheasants, I don't think there's anything to be gained with them. And lots to lose if there's an accident.

Thank you....28” on the 16g barrel.

I have a few humpbacks. A Miroku Light 12, Belgium Light 12, and a Mag 20g. I was missing a 16g for a lot of years until now.

Appreciate the information on shot size. Friday I’m going out with the 16 to see how I do with it.

Kinetic A5...Are you liking it due to less weight? I haven’t touched one. Sorta thought the A5 was just a newer version of the A500. I owned one of those for 3 seconds many years ago. Grins

😎

I thought it felt quite light, sub 6 lbs. I'm interested in the performance on the other end as well. The DS choke tubes are of interest. I do think the Miroku is heavier than it needs to be.

Ive never met a Browning shotgun that didn't work for me. Can't say that for all shotguns. I owned an A500 for a year. I moved on from it because I thought I needed a 101. The 101 was a disaster. Nice shotgun but my cheek took a real beating from it.

Laffin...I’ve owned several “disasters” as well. All stack barrels. I can’t shot an O/U worth a hoot. Too bad - many were such beautiful shotguns.

The Benelli M2 20g has become a favorite. Lightning fast to shoulder and feathers light to carry. I’m a fan.
😎

No birds were harmed in the making of these photos.
This was the most visibility I got that day. Hard to see with that stinging, blowing snow in your eyes even when the clouds finally blew away.





Damn it was cold and miserable. My time would have been better spent at the bar. Oh well.
Tomorrow will be yet another attempt. Wind looks to be better, but a high of -10. Boy oh boy....

As to those temps— that’s when the sorrows out weigh the joys...😉🙂

You obviously have the heart for it....Well done...

Don't your nads get in the way while walking? Though in those temps they're probably nestled against your diaphragm.

My nads get in the way of everything.
Don't be jealous.......

I honestly don't mind the cold if I have the right gear for it. Very few people and the birds hold tight. It is the wind that will take me off the mountain and back to town.

Made it out today. Got two birds on my first walk and thought I was going to have a quick day. Proceeded to miss the next three birds. I cannot hit a straight away bird to save my life this year.

Got 2 rock ptarmagin today. Should have had a bunch more, but my shotgun froze solid at -27. It is being degreased right now and then I'll dry lube (ouch!) it.

I've had rifle firing pins get sluggish and not hit primers hard enough to detonate in the cold, but this was a first for me. It fired twice, once each in two covey flushes but the trigger then iced up and wouldn't move, and the action would also freeze shut. I had to slam it on the ground to open the action after the two times it fired. After that, the trigger wouldn't even budge.

It builds character.

Good deal Win. Pheasants are what I grew up with. Love shooting those things.

I love shooting them too but I need to broaden my horizons and go somewhere to shoot something different. I’ve only shot pheasants, sharptails, and Huns. I need to shoot some different grouse and quail. Would also love to shoot a chukar

Dogs looks to be giving you some serious stink eye.

😬😎

Nice...like the looks of that Dog more with every pic.

Thanks she’s quite the dog. This is her at 8 months old with her first limit.

My 'kinetic drive' Browning Sweet Sixteen seems to work well and it is nice to carry due to the light weight (< 6 lbs). I don't think I shoot it as well as my doubles, like my 20ga Beretta Silverhawk, or my old 16ga M12 but then I've shot them more. As for ammo, good quality shells with hard #6 shot seems to work OK, too. My favorite is the B&P nickel plated #6 stuff that apparently is no longer imported for the 16 gauge. I also use Fiocchi Golden Pheasant loads. Here are two pics showing my Sweet Sixteen with some sage grouse and pheasants taken in 2020, and my Deutsch Drahthaar, Greta vom südlichen Wald.

Great picture. That makes me a little jealous

Brrrr...I've hunted in the -20s and while fun, not that much fun. Brrr.

I'd like to find some B&P somewhere but no luck so far in the 16ga variety.

Six of us got 12 roosters on Saturday, four of us got 3 last night. We just didn't have it timed right either time. It was too early, too still, too warm for hunting, and just too nice to stay home. Yay us.

Fiocchi just bought B&P....

It had warmed up to a balmy 5 below yesterday, where I went with next to no wind.

It was nice.

That is one thing about cold, once accustomed to it, the temps one can regularly handle can be impressive. We went through a stretch in the winter of 2019 where we were -10 to -15 at night, and highs of 2 to 5, for about six weeks straight. Unusual for us, we generally vary from that to in the 40's on a daily basis. By the end of that stretch, I was back to wearing rather light gear. I'd gotten used to it. And temps in the teens felt nice.

Is Fiocci going to fold B&P or continue it?

Doesn't sound like it as of now....

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog...s-the-acquisition-of-baschieri-pellagri/

Yeah, we all saw your truck horde of shotgun shells.

Now, where exactly do you live?

LOL

😎🦫

Horde????...Not even close....Ok a small horde...maybe a mini horde....

Thinking on it....A horde is like Halaku Kahn plundering and pilliging his way thru China...I did nothing more than transport some shotgun shells....

Not even close to a horde....

Them Kahn boys were BA..... (Even on those mini ponies....)

Merlot today with maybe one of our last of the season hunts....Word was out the GC did some stocking....



Bud and his friend finished out the day with a 3 man limit.....Merlot is the only one that retrieves....so he got in some good work...

Great pics Battue, always interesting !

Thanks!!!!

Very nice Battue! Speaking of snow, this is what 6” looks like with 40-50 mph gusts ❄️🙂:

I hope to hunt some more in Iowa yet with a possible SD trip yet.

Merry Christmas to all and God bless us...everyone.

Stay inside.....Hint, Hint...

As you can see, I could be a window-licker. Laffin’

Great pictures. You’ve got a good looking dog

Battue, nice job..

My fall turkey taken in late Oct..

Maggie with my only limit of birds this fall.. Not long till disaster struck!!

I dig the 37 and the real snow shoes!

T cool.. You eat all those you will grow wings and fly.. Nice.. Glad you are in a happy place!!

That's the plan Hazen......I BBQ one every evening and one at lunch usually too, to keep beneath the possession limit. They're good eat'n and every bit as much fun to spot and stalk as deer.

How have you and the step kids been doing?

Me too.
Love that 16 gauge model 37 of mine. Spot and stalking these things on snowshoes is about as much fun as you can find anywhere.

Nice. Ive pretty much chased every game bird with my dog in the lower 48. Even snow cock. I have to get up to Alaska for ptarmigan this year.

Ill have to find my 37 now for some quail

T okay.. Visiting my step daughter... Merry Christmas to you..

That is a big fall turkey WyoCoyoteHunter. Congratulations.

Thanks..

Pretty birds.. upland game birds are works of living art. Tell me if you would your BBQ process for them.

Have you felt a dog was an asset for snowcock? I've hunted them 4-5 times and feel a dog would be a liability for the most part, but have never hunted them that way.

I always figured they'd not hold tight nor long enough for a dog, based on how far they normally flush from people. They usually flush 2-300 yards from me if I am not stalking them.

I fire up the grill and throw a bird on the grate for 10 minutes and let it sit for another 10 or so.

I am not exactly a gourmet cook, but I do have a huge schlong......so I've got that going for me.

Hahahaha funny stuff. i have to look into this snowcock hunting

Saw a few during my brothers mountain goat hunt (Nevada). After reading a some articles then seeing them in person, I fully understand why they're considered the most difficult upland hunt in NA. Unless my dog was 100% staunch on point and whoa, there's no way I'd take one on that hunt. They (the snowcock) live in some amazing country though. The November 2020 issue of Gundog magazine has a good article about them.

This is snowCOCK country:





Looking DOWN at mountain goats makes a guy wonder what the hell he is doing with a shotgun in hand.


They're neat to stalk though, even if you don't have a tag.


Back to upland birds.....

Jesus.


Upland. LOL

Living vicariously through Ted is exhausting.

😬😎🦫

Seriously though, snowCOCK are the ultimate trophy IMO. Not just for birds either. They're more difficult than ANY critter I have chased.
I've hunted them several times and have not actually got one. I hit one in 2018, knocking it sideways but it made it to a 1,000 foot cliff and I never could find it.

I've missed 5 now I think. It is hard to get good form when trying to spin around on loose rock with a cliff on one side and a 80% slope on the other-to get a 50 yard snapshot off.

We gotta get some of these snowcock imported to SD

Well, how about a rooster pheasant in snow? Snowcock, no?

T_Inman, great pics..I now prefer this kind of steep country:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/snowy-pathway-surrounded-by-bare-tree-839462/

Me too...

Nice! You seem to be on a mission to wipeout the ptarmigan up there.

Preserve hunt @ http://wvabirdhunt.com/Home_Page.php today with Joe (CF=ROOF) . Mixed bag pheasants, chukar and quail. Good place and a great pair of Setters who worked well despite the 30 kt gusts.

Pic of one cock



and a post pic of my 20 ga - was tempted to put the 16 ga barrels on but I have a lot more 20 ga on hand "in these troubling times"

Would you ground sluice them if you had the opportunity?

Ground sluice or have the potential for one to go parasailing 2000’ft down the mountain after I waded it up?

Put me down for a ground sluice for the win and a trophy wall hanger.

Grins

😎🦫

You're damn straight I would. It very possibly could tumble into an abyss just as easily as one shot out of the air.
The guy I hunt with has killed 5-6 and half of them looked like they got put into a blender before they stopped tumbling.

Snowcock!!!!


https://shootingsportsman.com/a-quest-for-snowcock/

The dude shot a big male snowCOCK on his first trip in what the Nevada Department of Wildlife considers marginal habitat. Good for him, but man, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit envious!

My favorite is chasing pheasants in the snow. We finally got some here so I took today off. I was done way too fast today.
My old dog is finally healed up and she was impressive as always.

Nice!!!! My brain has been trying to override my hearts impulse to make a long drive....this isn’t helping....

Odd thing was a Bud texted me two days ago and asked if I would consider it....I replied, if you are serious pick the days.

Same. I'd even consider wearing camouflage...and I hate camo.

Battue you better hurry seasons only open for 3 more days here

[quote=battue]Snowcock!!!!

Interesting article, and with a border collie. I admit, I was not familiar at all with what a snowcock was and how hard the hunts were - I got tired just reading about it. 🙂

Headed back to SD this Saturday for some flatland snowcocks. The only thing remotely similar will be my SxS 16.

Win7 — great pic.

SD ends January 31....
Bud called again today....I’m working him...even mentioned your last 3 Birds. 😀

Me either....he is what they look and sound like....

These snowcock are also legal aliens then I presume..🙂. They are beautiful birds. I’ve said before upland birds are works of art, even the turkey, though for some unfathomable reason (to us), the artist left the head unfinished. 🤔😊

You have a month to work with Battue.

They're a really vocal bird no doubt. I've heard that shriek they make several times. They sound as if you're in the Amazon or something.

I’m sorry...I don’t have any pictures of my pheasant hunt yesterday. I am still bummed for being without my phone.

My iPhone6, vintage 2012, decided to shît the bed and die on me before we started hunting, killing any chance at pictures...I did get a new iPhone12 this morning...Winning!

We started the morning with a mixture of light rain and wind. 3 hours later we finished up a couple birds shy of a limit, stopping because of a soaker down pour that wasn’t going to let up.

This hunt was one of the best I’d done in a few years. Not because of the amount of birds shot or exceptional shotgunning done by us, but, because of a couple of GSP that were working out in front of us.

Wendy and Georgi, unrelated GSP’s, cleared brush, thickets, briars, and fields. They both posted up tight on strong points, honored each other and teamed up when directed by their owner.

Aside from this sounding like normalcy for some of you that have incredible Pointers. I have never seen a Pointer make a blind retrieve across a deep, swollen, and swift moving river that was at least 60 yards wide.

Georgi, the younger of the two Pointers by 5 years wasn’t interested in navigating down the steep dike that we were standing on and then swimming in the rapid water...Nope...No way...Not gonna do it!

Wendy, on the other hand, healed up, took a hand direction from Kendel her owner, and busted straight down the dike and into the water.

Wendy kept her head fixed on the spot she was directed for the bird as she swam. The current was fast, taking her down river quickly, but Wendy just kept paddling hard while her head swiveled back to the spot she was told to go, then quickly forward to check her progress being made to land.

I’ve had my Labs do some long and multiple retrieves in my coastal bay inlets where the water would be called rough seas. But, this fast moving river made me a smidge worried for the safety of this older Pointer.

No problem! Wendy hit the other side and climbed up the steep bank that was thick with brush. Jumped her way back to the area she was sent by her owner and had bird in mouth in under a minute.

Now, here is what I thought was unreal. Wendy looked across at us, and instead of driving down the bank and into the water to swim and fight the current. She ran up river and then hit the water using the current to help her land almost exactly where we standing on the dike.

From what I could see from having the high ground vantage point. Wendy, holding the pheasant in her mouth couldn’t see much, if anything. The pheasant covered her head completely. She looked like a dog swimming with a head made of feathers and a wing.

It was as impressive of a retrieve as I’ve ever witnessed. That alone made the hunt for me. Just an incredible hunting dog.

Damn that iPhone6 ! ! !

🦫

On the face of it that was a remarkable retrieve, esp for a GSP, many of which often don’t retrieve well, either by genetics or training. At least the ones I’ve hunted behind.

We have never faced rain on our December pheasant hunts. ❄️🙂

Beautiful weekend in South Dakota again this weekend. On Saturday, I accompanied six social security recipients on a trip over by Highmore. We saw plenty of pheasants but could not get close to many of them due to the conditions, and we took seven birds. We didn't hunt terribly hard. Well I did, the oldsters ran me through the cover while they being crafty from age stood around and waited for me to push them past. My dogs were both kinda banged up still from unknown events, and so the pace was fine with me.

Yesterday it was too nice to stay home and I went over to Harrold by myself, took the dogs along and same conditions were found. We didn't hunt too hard, came home with nada, and were glad to be out in a sweatshirt and bare handed on January 3. Lucky us.

Sounds like a very impressive retrieve for sure. I bet it was great to watch.

That's awesome! I love seeing dogs do stuff like this.

Nice. Good job.

I think the coolest thing about this season is that the dog and I have introduced three new hunters to upland bird hunting!

Two were pheasant hunts, one was for chukar & quail. Such fun!

Guy

Pheasant season closed the first weekend of January here. I forgot to post pictures of my last hunt. I finished the season with one rooster and one hun. The dogs were great was hoping to finish with a limit but didn’t find the birds.