Upland Bird Hunt Chapter | Pennslyvania
by Emily Sliski, RGS & AWS Engagement Coordinator – Mid-Atlantic Region
Tom Mcpherson doesn’t simply dabble in grouse hunting and bird dogs – he throws himself into it wholeheartedly. For Tom, the uplands aren’t a pastime; they define his seasons, shapes who he is and serve as the foundation for his connections to the conservation community he’s helping to build. So how does an obsession with all things grouse hunting start? For Tom, it started with a fly-tying vice and the need for feathers.
Born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, about an hour north of Pittsburgh, Tom grew up in the traditions of hunting and fishing. His dad was an avid outdoorsman who introduced Tom early on to the woods and streams of western Pennsylvania. “I’ve got pictures of me holding up stringers of trout when I was little,” he says. “I was exposed pretty young.”
Fishing was his first obsession. As a teenager and into college at the Indian University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his nursing degree, Tom became borderline consumed with fly-fishing. He chased wild trout from Pennsylvania’s central mountains to the tributaries of Lake Ontario, even making trips throughout the Appalachian range. “I actually had a bucket list for wild trout all the way up and down the Appalachians,” he says.
It was this passion for fly-fishing that led him, indirectly, to bird hunting. He tied his own flies, and a few of his special patterns called for ruffed grouse feathers. He and his Uncle John spend years scrouging grouse feathers, picking up roadkill birds, and lowkey pestering contacts for extras. Eventually, this challenging search for feathers sparked something bigger. “I got tired of asking for feathers all the time. I figured, why not just start grouse hunting myself?”
That decision set off a chain reaction. He’d hunted over bird dogs before on pheasant preserve hunts, but when it came to buying his very first bird dog there was no hesitation in the breed. In his words, “I wanted to be a grouse hunter, so I bought an English setter.” Shortly after he and his wife settled into their first house, Tom got his first setter, Timber. “Literally, as soon as we closed on the house, I called a breeder and got on a wait list.” Six months after getting Timber, he added a second setter, River.
Learning to train and hunt over bird dogs opened a whole new world for Tom. He threw himself into it the same way he had with fishing – reading, networking, experimenting, trial and error. He found a local mentor who gave initial guidance on dog training, did a few hunt tests and field trials, but Tom wanted to be in the woods hunting. It was his desire to learn more about grouse habitat that led him to RGS & AWS. “I heard Tim Flannigan on a podcast talking about this book,” he recalls. “I thought, he’s a Pennsylvania guy, I’ll just email him on a whim.” A few emails back and forth, and Tom found himself attending a chukar challenge with the Upland Bird Hunt Chapter. And, while the chapter is a few hours away from Butler, it’s the one he’s most involved in to this day.
One of Tom’s biggest contributions to RGS & AWS has been his initiative to launch the Future Hunters and Handlers Program – designed to give newcomers a leg up as they navigate bird dogs, habitat and upland hunting. The idea grew out of his own experience starting from scratch and the fact that the grouse hunting world isn’t always the easiest for a newcomer to break into it. “I didn’t know anything at first. I kept thinking, what would’ve helped me back then? How do we make this easier for the next person?”
When the program attendance started to plateau after a few years of the Upland Bird Hunt Chapter, Tom offered to mentor other chapters on how to set up their own Future Hunter and Handler event. The program’s now been offered in several other locations across the state, growing in community and education. The next level of Future Hunters and Handlers has also been initiated and is called Train the Trainer. These sessions pair new bird dog owners with experienced handlers to give tips and tricks for training. “You can be the best dog trainer in the world, but if you can’t talk to people or make them feel comfortable, it doesn’t do much good. We want folks to come back, to feel like they belong here.”
Community comes up often when Tom talks about hunting and conservation. He fondly recalls those who’ve shaped his experience – his Uncle John, hunting and dog training, friends he’s met through RGS & AWS events, role models – he’s quick to credit others for shaping his journey. “I feel really fortunate,” he says. “It’s crazy to think that some guy from Butler, Pennsylvania, ends up meeting and hunting with the people I have. Doors just opened because I got involved.”
As much as he loves hunting himself, Tom is equally as passionate about bringing others into the fold. His creation of Future Hunters and Handlers is evident of that as is his openness to invite others to join him on a hunt or spend time encouraging a new grouse hunter. “I don’t know why,” he admits. “I just like pulling people in, showing them what this is all.”
This attitude has made him a standout member and cornerstone volunteer of his local chapter where he serves in various roles – formal and informal. Whether organizing events, mentoring new hunters or helping raise funds for habitat work, Tom sees volunteering not as an obligation but as a natural extension of what he loves. “I’m out there hunting birds. I want to give back, help make more habitat, bring more people in. It just makes sense.”
Today, Tom’s added to his string of English setters, including Piper, his standout female who, he says (and this author agrees), “puts the odds in my favor every time we hunt.” He’s begun a breeding program focused on exceptional grouse dogs – so exceptional that he wants every litter to be one where “it’d be hard not to keep a pup because they’re all that good.”
Looking ahead, Tom hopes to keep expanding his involvement – breeding and training bird dogs, building a small boarding kennel, maybe even scaling back his nursing shifts to free up more time for the uplands. True to form, he plans to dive in headfirst, just as he has with every other passion so far. All along the way, he’ll look for ways to bring others in and introduce them to the uplands.
For Tom McPherson, that’s the only way to do this: jump in, learn all you can and bring others into the journey. Whether it’s chasing wild trout (which has become second fiddle to grouse hunting these days), training bird dogs or mentoring new hunters, he believes the outdoors give what you put into it and then some. “I’ve met great people, hunting amazing places and learned so much,” he says. “All because I needed grouse feathers, said yes and got involved.”
