Went Grouse hunting in south central ND on Sunday, 30 mph winds, 90 degree heat. Not the best hunting conditions. Walked and walked and walked some more, with no avail!
Eventually saw 1 grouse, that will live another day! The dogs were pretty hot, worked 1 off and 1 on. They were glad to be out, though.
Hope our next hunt is better.
Grouse Hunt
grouse hunt
Well the South Dakota season started a little better than that. We were hunting west of Pierre on large walkin tracts. For the most part Sat and Sunday were windy and hot. 40 plus winds and 85 degrees. My Gordons took the conditions quite well but you could tell which dogs did not get much conditioning before the season opened. I always carry at least a quart of water on each hunting session so I can give the dogs a drink or two. Monday and Tuesday were quite different. Monday started out 77 degrees at 8 am. At 10:30 am the temp had dropped 15 degrees with a mist then it started to really rain. Tuesday started 50 degrees and of and on rain. We saw quite a few grouse in some areas and none in others. With some very good dog work and luck in the shooting department we managed to take ten grouse in four days, that was split between three hunters and four dogs. SdGord