admin

Written by: Matt LarisonPlain City, OH A true story about hard lessons learned, friendship, and great grouse dogs. Some of the names have been changed out of respect for their identity. I wrote in hopes that it will prevent at least one other person and or their dog from ever going through something like this… It was Monday, October 30th, 2017, and I was fortunate enough to be in Northern Michigan with two of my best friends.  It was the start of what would become an annual grouse and woodcock hunt.  Prior days spent hunting had been awesome working my son’s 4 year old...

Read More

Written by: Darryl JamesSouthfield, MI Like all adventures, this one started with a conversation over a meal. A very good friend and hunting buddy, Dr. Gil and I had been out shooting a round of sporting clays and were having lunch at a favorite little burger bar, The Cozy Inn. Over Cozy burgers and pop, Dr. Gil asked if I were interested in heading north for a guided grouse and woodcock hunt Dr. Gil said that he had gotten a phone number of a guide who sets up grouse camp each September in a state forest area, and we could do...

Read More

Written by: Warren ColemanEast Calais, VT  All the grouse and woodcock I’ve watched fly away are a distant memory now.  Instead, when my friends and I want birds in front of the gun Boone gets to slip on the bell and we follow his lead. Living only twenty minutes from the Vermont state capital I can walk out my front door and consistently find enough grouse and woodcock for training a young bird dog.  In fact, the woods just beyond our vegetable garden reliably hold a few woodcock all summer long.  With this as his puppy playground and plenty of wild birds...

Read More

Written by: Glenn BurgmeierSoutheast Wisconsin Featured image provide by Art Fair entry “A New Day for Ruffed Grouse in Tennessee” courtesy of Heather Calfee Seals I was a beginning grouse hunter so it was a challenge to find good covers and prepare to make the trip. I   was never really filled with woodsman type knowledge and was terrified of being lost. I would scour over maps and try to find recent logging areas. After a few days of research, I’d be ready to go. Usually it was a Friday after work. I’d come home, throw gear in the truck, get dog food and load...

Read More

Written by: Mark ReeseIrvine, KY This is a story about my first dog as a young boy growing up. Our love of hunting together led me to a life of quail and ruffed grouse hunting with seventeen English Setters by my side through the years. At present I have six here on the farm with three of them being retired. This involvement has led to a life outdoors with many thoughts and adventures. I write a weekly column for the Estill County Citizen Voice and Times and have just completed my first book A Life’s Journey Outdoors which is a collection of these...

Read More

Written by: Jared BaughHowell, MI Featured image provide by Art Fair entry “Winter’s Rest” courtesy of Michael Kensinger The morning had not gone as I had planned for or certainly expected. The sky was clear, leading to a stunning array of colors in orange, red, purple, and blue. All seemed to serpentine across a watercolor sky. I had watched the artistry unfold with my back against the big cedar, a good twenty feet off the ground. I had hiked in the dark, down the old two track, deep into the Michigan forest. Using October’s full moon glow to navigate the trail to my destination. The...

Read More