Getting these two blue grouse, our daily limit, was pretty hard work today, and the 4 1/2 hour round trip adds to the pain a bit, but it sure is a lot more fun than watching overpaid primadonnas doing tribal dances on Astro-turf.

Besides, the Niners played on Thursday, so today was a good day to get off the sofa and take the setter-gang hunting.




TRYING TO SMILE...
I'm sitting on the big rip in the seat of my pants from sliding down the mountain, sitting on my butt for about 40 feet.

It ain't supposed to be easy.

Sounds like a great day anyway. 2 more days until we open here.

he "Spot" is up this way and to the right. The mountain goes almost straight up over to the right; that's where the birds, berries, aspens, and chokecherries are. It's too tough for the road hunters, and not many people out here hunt blues. They pop a few when out on a deer hunt, but the pressure is light.

I take 4-8 birds a season from the spot, depending on the population a given year.




We go up the ridge to the right and up into quakies like these all over the slope. There is a lot of feed all over in decent years...lots of rose hips, red currents, chokecherries and other essential feed. Springs scattered over the slopes, too.



This is a good bet usually.

The dogs were too pooped out for pictures when we got home and went straight to the pen.

Here's young Jenny and her mother, Cookie (Stumpy, as she's affectionately known). This was from the hunt the same spot two weeks ago.

It's an older French Robust #4 16ga. The gun has fallen down some big mountains over the years and took me with it. Seen up close, it looks like everything I've killed with it was clubbed to death.

I have it opened IC and IM, the perfect upland chokes for my country.

I'd get a nice light 20ga 3" chambers with a 28" barrel and use I/C & I/M chokes for upland. This gives you a light gun that swings well; that's why I like the 28" over the 26" barrels...personal choice, as I'm a bigger guy, and smaller/shorter guns get a bit lost in my hands.

Another great choice is a Simson SXS in 16ga. They're essentially Merkels at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost. One with 27" +or- barrels opened to i/c and i/m is a fantastic Classic double for the uplander.

Nice blues, a favorite of mine to hunt. We've been lucky and got a few so far this season.