I've been out with my dogs several times for a variety of birds. Hunting has been pretty good. Ruffs, Sage grouse, Sharptails, Chukars, Huns.

That's a good looking ugly dog.

Congrats looks like you have been pretty successful.
Shot my first and only sage grouse last year. They were suprisingly harder to hit then I thought a bird that size would be. Of course I might just be saying that since I missed the first one I got up.

Real niiiice! I love that terrain.....didn't know there were ruffs out there though. Wish my wirehaired were coming out to MT with me next month.

Funny about the ugly thing.......I'd say 50% of people say "she's beautiful" when they see her and the other 50% say "she's ugly". WTF do they know?

I've been out for mountain grouse ( ruff, blue, and franklin.) a couple of times this year with my springers seems like fairly good numbers of birds this year in NW MT. Norton you definitely should bring your wirehair to Mt pheasant season opened yesterday!

dukxdog, those are some fine pics and great looking dogs and times out. Man, I'm jealous. That jealousy will fade come TH (MA opener) but great stuff, and thanks for sharing. I want to get more into the upland bird game out west, and I think you just helped ignite the fire anew...

BTW, I like a man who doesn't limit himself to shooting only one gun. Doing so is like having vanilla ice cream every time. Good, yeah, but having pistachio with hot fudge is very good, too. Nice to have options! Whatcha' shooting, as far as the two holers? Loads?

Also, what kinds of places should a couple of bird hunters start looking at to get into some of that kind of action (public land) as far as holding many/all of the species mentioned? Can they all be found in one state? Have shotgun, will travel! TIA for any help.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Real niiiice! I love that terrain.....didn't know there were ruffs out there though. Wish my wirehaired were coming out to MT with me next month.

Funny about the ugly thing.......I'd say 50% of people say "she's beautiful" when they see her and the other 50% say "she's ugly". WTF do they know?

Norton where in Mt. are you hunting?

quote:

Funny about the ugly thing.......I'd say 50% of people say "she's beautiful" when they see her and the other 50% say "she's ugly". WTF do they know?

All I know is that when she comes back with one of my birds, she's beautiful. When she doesn't, well, I'll shoot another so she can be beautiful again soon enough.

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:Whatcha' shooting, as far as the two holers? Loads?

Sidelock is a 16ga J. Blanch & Son made in London 1906. 28" barrels weighs 6lbs.


The boxlock is a 16ga Heym made in 1932. This one has 2 1/2" chambers so I load paper hulls and roll crimp them. It weighs 5 3/4lbs.


I love shooting both of these guns.

Wow wow wow. Great looking guns, and apparently you shoot them as good as they look. Thanks for that.

quote:

Originally posted by Sevenxbjt:
Norton where in Mt. are you hunting?

Malta for whitetail and birds....then near Pompei's Pillar for ducks.

I hunted Malta last year for antelope and birds. Who you hunting with?

quote:

Originally posted by Sevenxbjt:
I hunted Malta last year for antelope and birds. Who you hunting with?

A good buddy of mine...........

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:

quote:

Originally posted by Sevenxbjt:
I hunted Malta last year for antelope and birds. Who you hunting with?

A good buddy of mine...........

I see, I hunted with Bishop Guide Service. They had really good dogs and LOTS of sharpies and huns. Thought judging by the size of Malta, you might be hunting with the same gentleman.

quote:

Originally posted by Sevenxbjt:

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:

quote:

Originally posted by Sevenxbjt:
I hunted Malta last year for antelope and birds. Who you hunting with?

A good buddy of mine...........

I see, I hunted with Bishop Guide Service. They had really good dogs and LOTS of sharpies and huns. Thought judging by the size of Malta, you might be hunting with the same gentleman.

I'll ask about him when I'm up there, my bud probably grew up with the guy(or his son or his cousin or his whatever).....my whitetail from last year is at the taxi in Malta, mature 5-point(as they say in MT)but no monster.....

I will look and see who did my antelope, he was a local guy. I did a Sage Grouse too, but they had me send him to a guy in Billings, thought might be a little better bird man.

As far as exact location, we were hunting on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Good luck up there and be safe.....

I got back last night from 5 days of pheasant hunting around Glendive, Montana. Didn't limit every day but didn't have a blank day and limited more than not. The sharpies aren't down along the river yet.

465H&H

boondoggle:

As an Eastern "tenderfoot" I want to advise you to be very careful about telling a Westerner that his dog is ugly. I have a funny feeling that those guys take "Love me, love my dog" very seriously!

Been killing woodcock and pheasants these last couple of weeks with regularity.....but I haven't jumped one single grouse yet. Heading a bit further north Friday, hopefully there'll be a few around. Those damned things have my number!

quote:

Originally posted by Gerrypeters375:
boondoggle:

As an Eastern "tenderfoot" I want to advise you to be very careful about telling a Westerner that his dog is ugly. I have a funny feeling that those guys take "Love me, love my dog" very seriously!

This tenderfoot knows the benefit of hunting with a GWP, or a VDD, that are also playfully, but respectfully, known as an ugly dog. Once the current lab passes on we'll have a GWP to do the work that the boykin has trouble with. Remember life is too short not to have an ugly dog.

boondoggle:

I was just kidding. I love all dogs and never found any dog to be "ugly". (BTW, I agree that while the Lab is a nice dog (like all dogs)he will lose favor in the AKC ratings sooner or later. ( I go back far enough to remember when the English Cocker Spaniel was No.1 -and my "Lucky" (some years later in the ratings) put up and retrieved ruffed grouse as to make him the super No.1 dog in my memory - and I don't tolerate any argument about it!)

Nice little New England midday in the woods....

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Nice little New England midday in the woods....

You used the BB teal load for the 4th timberdoodle from the left, I see...

Nice pile, bud.

The last woodcock I killed was about 15 years ago. We rarely saw them in the Mid-South then, so I was real proud of it and happily announced to the old timer I was hunting with that I would have it mounted. I'd have done it under a glass bell with some natural habitat of some sort in with it. He looked it over and said, well, I hate to tell you, but they do come bigger than that.

I looked at my poor little example of a woodcock and felt like "oh, I guess I shouldn't have it mounted then" and didn't.

I never got a shot at another one. Anyway, that fellow was a great guy and great hunting partner, but long gone now...it's just one of those little things you remember..

Forget the woodcock....this is what I'm after....finally found a spot close to home that seems to have a bunch.

Grouse decoy to a Mojo?

GREAAAAT stuff!

JW

quote:

Originally posted by boondoggle:
Grouse decoy to a Mojo?

LOL! Good eye! Norty, you holding out on me!?!