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solanderdog
11-01-2010, 10:03 AM
Just got back from my first hunting trip. My father-in-law got his moose and I shot three grouse. This is the first grouse I shot, but not the first I shot at. All in all, I liked the shotguns and the bird hunting best. I think I'll leave the moose hunting for the ol' man. Tastes good though!

http://www.ducktea.com/images/1stgrouse.jpg
blacktail_junkie
11-01-2010, 10:19 AM
Congrats on the first bird
macdaddy10
11-01-2010, 10:51 AM
Nice one. Looks like a female spruce grouse??
solanderdog
11-01-2010, 11:41 AM
Thanks guys. I'm pretty new to all of this and I've no idea about the sex. I was thinking it was a Franklin (Spruce) as were the other two. I was up in 6-4, north of Ootsa Lake.
mxracer328
11-01-2010, 12:44 PM
looks like lunch to me, congrats on your first chicken
Twobucks
11-01-2010, 01:04 PM
I think I was more excited about my first grouse than my first deer - tell you what, they're a lot less work!

Well done - hope there's many more to come!
Spirit's Master
11-01-2010, 01:57 PM
Nice work on your first birds. The first taste is always free. Good luck trying to kick your new addiction.

Was your dog involved in the retrieves?



cwf
solanderdog
11-01-2010, 04:10 PM
looks like lunch to me, congrats on your first chicken

Thanks, I actually had it for dinner that night back in camp. It was excellent.
solanderdog
11-01-2010, 04:12 PM
I think I was more excited about my first grouse than my first deer - tell you what, they're a lot less work!

Well done - hope there's many more to come!

Thanks, I hope so too. I really enjoyed that bit of it the hunting trip and can spending a lot of time in the future trying to get semi-competent at it.
solanderdog
11-01-2010, 04:18 PM
Nice work on your first birds. The first taste is always free. Good luck trying to kick your new addiction.

Was your dog involved in the retrieves?


I think I'm going to let myself succumb to this addiction.

No, my dog is even less of a hunter than I am. He and I took a day trip last year, but it was a bit of a disaster. Neither of us knew what we were doing. My father-in-law has been asking me to go moose hunting him for 18 years and I decided to go up there and give it a go. So, the trip was really more about the moose hunt than the grouse for him and he's not much into dogs either. So I left the dog at home to keep my wife company. Anyway, it was a good experience and I can't wait for next year to set out on my own and look for more birds.
grumps
11-01-2010, 10:12 PM
me thinks it,s a ruffed did it have a black band on it,s tail
solanderdog
11-02-2010, 07:47 AM
me thinks it,s a ruffed did it have a black band on it,s tail

If I remember correctly, and there's no guarantee that I do, the very edge of the tail feathers were black. There was no colour below the black. I wish I'd taken better/more pictures for identification. But, I think I was slightly in shock that it had really worked and wasn't thinking.
240droptop
11-04-2010, 11:26 AM
mmm chicken
groove
11-30-2010, 01:30 AM
Welcome to the great outdoors!
solanderdog
11-30-2010, 07:26 AM
Welcome to the great outdoors!

Thanks. I can hardly wait until next season. Not sure what I'm going to do with myself. Normally, I go fishing, but all I can think about these days is grouse. It's going to be a long wait.
Barnes_270
11-30-2010, 11:28 AM
That's a female spruce grouse for sure. I've been shooting them since I was 10.

I've shot quite a few in the Ootsa Lake area too - the fall of 1987 was a banner year in that area. My dad, brother and I came home with 87 grouse that year (three short of the possession limit) for a one-week trip. My brother would walk 20ft in the bush on one side of a logging road, me 20 ft on the other side, and dad drove the truck about 50 yards behind us. Whenever we popped one we'd just toss it on the road for dad to clean and keep going. Good times. I also got a moose near there the next year - Marlin 336 in 30/30, iron sights, 125yrds. Good times!
Barnes_270
11-30-2010, 01:04 PM
forgot to say congrats on your first chicken! Hunting (and eating) them is addictive, you know!
solanderdog
12-01-2010, 10:18 AM
forgot to say congrats on your first chicken! Hunting (and eating) them is addictive, you know!

Thanks for your comments. That certainly is a beautiful area.
x-hare
12-01-2010, 10:48 AM
Here's one I got == I say Female Spruce

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj176/x-hare_photos/IMGP4781.jpgAnd a few more roosting on the Tailgate of my truck.
Way easyier than packing out a Moose
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj176/x-hare_photos/IMGP4743.jpg
aliagha
12-02-2010, 08:28 PM
wow, beautiful birds
Grizzlydick
12-05-2010, 06:05 PM
To funny, reading your post we could have me in there. I went threw the same thing as you did this year. Only difference was my buddy, not father in law and area. Enjoyed it big time. Could see me with a dog, think that would be pretty neat to do. Oh, other difference is age, 55 here.
Never to late to learn.
Griz
solanderdog
12-05-2010, 06:31 PM
To funny, reading your post we could have me in there. I went threw the same thing as you did this year. Only difference was my buddy, not father in law and area. Enjoyed it big time. Could see me with a dog, think that would be pretty neat to do. Oh, other difference is age, 55 here.
Never to late to learn.
Griz

Yes, I agree about dogs. I really want to do that in the future.

I hope you're right about "never too late to learn" as I'm only a mere 13 years behind you!