Early Birds on the Prairie
Early Birds on the Prairie
By Larry Brown, Gun Dog Forum Columnist
Let’s say your thing is hunting grouse and woodcock. Then let’s add that you’ve learned—maybe quicker than I did—that even though grouse and/or woodcock season may be open in September, your chances of getting anything approaching an open shot are pretty slim. It’s a time of year when our friends with flushing dogs stand a better chance. Walk a trail while Spot the springer or Blackie the Lab beats the brush. If the bird they flush pops out on the trail, you’ve got a chance. Meanwhile, the masochistic pointing dog crowd is reduced to plunging into the thick stuff to respond to Sam the setter’s beeper (don’t even think of trying to find a quiet bell in September woods!), where you may at least hear the flush.
Or… let’s say you’re a pheasant hunter, and you don’t want to wait for mid-October (or later) to start hunting ringnecks. In either case, there’s another option. In my opinion, a better one: load up the dogs and head for the prairies, where you can start hunting in early to mid-September. No need to wait for pheasants, nor to rush things on grouse and woodcock.
The birds I’m going to focus on here are our native grouse: prairie chickens and sharptails. You can include Huns as well in many places. But because Huns are different enough, while chickens and sharpies are much more alike in terms of habits and habitat, I’ll stick with those two species. Although Ben Williams is the recognized world expert on Huns, Ben lives with them year around; some of these birds, he knows their birthdays – I’m a fellow who has to get from here to there to find them, same as you; I need to get there, make a connection, and leave on a short or semi-short schedule. Ben’s column in this issue looks at some of the same things, but mine is from a different angle. Here’s how I do it as an “outsider.”
