Three Months Until the Opener

Just felt the first twitch in my trigger finger. Always happens around mid July. Anybody in the pheasant areas (MN) seeing any broods/promising signs of a good hatch? Seems like so far so good???

Need rain badly. Drought isn’t helping here.

gim wrote:

Need rain badly. Drought isn’t helping here.

Seems like that has been the story line the past few years.

I heard lots and lots of drumming this spring in the north woods. More than I can remember the last several years. I’m hoping that’s a good sign. The drought has definitely not helped any of the grouse and pheasant populations though. These dry conditions seem to be showing up every year nowadays.

I’m extra excited for this season because I have a pup who just turned 1 that I’ve been training the last year and I can’t wait to get in the woods with her. I still have my older 9 year old golden but this pup has twice the drive and marking ability that my older dog had at that age and she has a real good nose. The future is really bright with this one. I’m running her in junior test hunts later this summer.

Here she is with a grouse I froze last fall specifically for training with her. I waited all year to thaw it and use it for training and today was the day.

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dirk-w. wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
Need rain badly. Drought isn’t helping here.

Seems like that has been the story line the past few years.

Sure has. Some parts of South Dakota (the northern half) are in pretty good shape and have received adequate rain recently. I think most of North Dakota is in good shape too.

Good looking pup there Gitchi

Gitchi nice looking pup! How is the training going?
I believe northern minnesota has been fairing a bit better with the rain than the Southern half.
Dry conditions are good for nesting, but we are well beyond that now. We need rain and we need it bad.
Every time there is a chance of rain it never happens. We were gone all last week in Houston and only managed .10″ of rain in that time and there were days they were calling for soaker rains!
I did talk to a couple guys in the St Stephen area yesterday and they had been seeing some broods and this is hardly good pheasant area around here. In all my years of living here I can count on 2 hands all the pheasants I have seen within 10 miles of my house. One was in my dang yard!

CaptainMusky wrote:

and there were days they were calling for soaker rains!

Yep, they predict t storms and nothing happens. Just like yesterday. Not a drop. These rainless summers are getting pretty old.

They sure are Gim! Head into winter with a deficit again is never a good thing. While in Houston we had a rain that we desperately need here! Probably 3 inches over the course of half a day. A real soaker.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Gitchi nice looking pup! How is the training going?

thanks guys. Training has been going pretty well. There’s ups and downs of course, but I’m very happy with the progress and where she is at. We just finished up force fetch which is always a big hurdle to get over. I train with her almost daily at the local retriever club and am lucky to have the help of some of the best dog trainers in the area. She is a very good marker and can stomp on marks 150+ yards out.

This dog has a prey drive that is unmatched to any other dog I’ve owned which has me very excited. I’m counting the days until I can get her in the woods and down to South Dakota. I’m looking forward to having 2 dogs in the field this year.

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Gitchi Gummi wrote:

This dog has a prey drive that is unmatched to any other dog I’ve owned which has me very excited.

That is awesome! That is something you cannot train too! That is very encouraging and good luck this season. Sounds like its going to be a real good companion in the field.

Not Pheasant but grouse.
Taken on 1 of the ATV trails around the Leech lake area.
Saw 5 different broods in mid June.
All 5 walked out on the trail and you could see the weeds moving behind them and got glimpses of their chicks.

I think they like the sound of the wheeler.

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Seen a few roosters lately and a few small pheasants but judging by the billion little grasshoppers i seen mowing trails sunday aint many eating them.

If there are lots of grasshoppers that is a great sign. That will certainly help with water shortage because they can get hydration by feasting on them.

It’s looking good down here in the Worthington area. Weather has been perfect for hatching. No cold rains no storms. I have been seeing some broods lately since they have been mowing ditches and waterways. Everything from two thirds grown to just little peepers. Jeremy is right on with the grasshopper assessment. They are everywhere right now. Could use some rain like everyone else but I would say the hatch is looking a lot like last and last year was pretty dang good.

Right now I’m thinking that it has been, overall, no dryer than the past few years, so we’re going to have decent numbers barring catastrophe. Grasshoppers are good….

Even tho its a unreliable and non-scientific count, the MN grouse drumming reports have been published and show an overall increase from last year. Specifically the NE and central numbers are up and the NW and SE are slightly down.

I still wish SD did their roadside counts, even tho they were deemed by many to be not very representative of the population, as a numbers guy it was fun to look at.

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/wildlife/grouse/reports/ruffed/rgrouse_survey_2023.pdf

Anyone know where we are in the “7 year cycle” for grouse? It seems that numbers have been fairly decent the last several years.

Anyone tried to shoot birds with a red dot sight mounted?

minrod wrote:

Anyone tried to shoot birds with a red dot sight mounted?

My buddy had the holosight on his beretta and he really liked it.

minrod wrote:

Anyone tried to shoot birds with a red dot sight mounted?

I think that’d make it even harder to shoot birds on the wing, at least for me, I shoot with both eyes open and think it would throw me off.

I’d be all for it for turkey hunting tho.

Gitchi, I would be the same way as you. My buddy liked it, but when I shouldered his gun I hated it. The FOV is tiny and crossing shots would be tough.

Here in Meeker county I have yet to see any small pheasants. I have seen a lot of adults though.

yeah, put it on for my turkey gun but would like to double up with it this fall for turkey and grouse if possible.

minrod wrote:

yeah, put it on for my turkey gun but would like to double up with it this fall for turkey and grouse if possible.

You use the same shotgun for grouse as you do for turkeys??

gim wrote:

You use the same shotgun for grouse as you do for turkeys??

Why not? Just swap out the choke tube. Heck some people dont even change the tube for turkeys and just use modified.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Why not? Just swap out the choke tube. Heck some people dont even change the tube for turkeys and just use modified.

I guess its possible but to me they are at complete opposite ends of the shotgun spectrum. A grouse is a small flying bird and a turkey is the biggest bird out there and you shoot it standing still.

I would never even consider using a modified for a turkey, or a full choke for a grouse. I need maximum power for a turkey in the most condensed pattern possible.

My turkey gun is built for power and to absorb recoil. My grouse gun is literally on the complete 180 of that. Its light and built for speed. Fast light loads at a moving target through timber. Not to mention its a 20 gauge and my turkey gun is a 12 that uses 3.5 inch shells.

Then there’s the weight too. I wouldn’t want to carry around a heavy turkey gun in the grouse woods.

Ive seen a few on the trails while wheeling in NW Wis. This will be a transitional year for me too but opposite Gitchi. My old pointer is 13 and she will likely not see much action again. She was my Grouse dog. My young Golden has not shown the same ability but I know for a fact she has a great nose. She just needs to get serious.

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My new gun is lighter than the gun I used before (Girsan vs Beretta A390). Heck, its a semi auto 12 gauge and its lighter than the pump 20 gauge I have that is over 30 years old. I dont even use 3.5 inch shells for turkeys (or should I say my kids). My old gun was only a 3 inch so that is all I could use. Turkey hunting the birds can be very dang close. My kids shot all of theirs within 15 yards and there would be very little difference in pattern between a modified and a full choke at that range. We did however have a full turkey tube in there, but I do know guys that use modified you just need to know the capabilities of the gun and shoot accordingly. It really only takes one pellet to bring down a turkey provided its in the right place. A grouse you can sneeze on and it folds right up.

switching to a light gun for upland hunting is the best thing I’ve ever done for my ability to shoot upland birds. I switched to a 20 ga O/U about 6 years ago and haven’t looked back. My grouse gun is a 26″ 20 ga Franchi Instinct @ 5.2 lbs and my pheasant gun is 28″ 20 ga citori.

The lighter gun makes a world of difference. Quicker to shoulder. Easier to aim. Less fatigue carrying it around all day.