grouse dogs

Why We Hunt, with Member Landon Knittweis

August 4, 2016 by Ruffed Grouse Society

Grousing soon became my religion, one that challenged me to view the world through a lens of ethics, stewardship and conservation, community and wild untrammeled beauty that is the sport.

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On the morning of Sunday March 6, 2016 my roommate and I found ourselves driving towards Winslow Maine. A drab, brown coat of mud, salt and sand paints the roadside snowbanks of the old farm roads. Spring is so close we can taste it, each night I walk the blueberry fields along the ocean at my home in Cutler eagerly looking to see if my woodcock have returned. I’m in the final full semester of my college career, and the world as far as I can see it is my oyster. Friends, colleagues and family had all begun to ask, “What are your plans after school?” I would answer them all with the same patented response I’d been giving since I was seven years old, “I don’t know what my life plan is, but I’m getting a bird dog.”

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Why We Hunt, with Member Dave Veldman

July 25, 2016 by Ruffed Grouse Society

To this day, some of my best memories in the upland woods come from hunting with those there for nothing more than the fun and camaraderie that came with a fall day in the grouse woods.

As I am now peering on the dawn of my 20th season in the grouse woods, I have a great deal on which to look back and be thankful. I didn’t grow up in a hunting family. I did have the fortune of being raised with trips to the family farm which fostered my appreciation for the great outdoors. Once I was old enough to take the hunters safety course, I took it upon myself to find friends and others to enable my time in the woods. Heck, I didn’t see my first grouse till I was 15 years old, and even then, I wasn’t entirely sure at what I had shot. I was out alone squirrel hunting, and when the bird flushed, I instinctively mounted my Mossberg 500 20-gauge pump and pulled the trigger. The bird hadn’t flown too far, and somehow I connected. I had seen pictures, but at the time, it was just one more animal to fill the day’s bag. I had no real appreciation for the what, when and where finesse of chasing ol’ ruff.

All Rights Reserved Copyright David Veldman 2015

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Training in the Dog Days of Summer

July 22, 2016 by Meadow Kouffeld

Working your dog in the off-season with training partners helps ensure you get the most out of your fall.

Working your dog in the off-season is a good way to ensure you get the most out of your fall. Find some training partners, develop relationships with them, and if you don’t know anyone, reach out to others in your area that might have birds, equipment and access to training grounds.

Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society members are a dedicated group of hunters and conservationists, and attending an RGS or AWS birds and brew event, meet and greet, fun hunt, shoot or banquet can be a great resource to find like-minded hunters that have a passion for good dog work and time in the field pursuing birds.

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Book Review – A Grouse Hunter’s Almanac

June 28, 2016 by Ruffed Grouse Society

A GROUSE HUNTER’S ALMANAC

The Other Kind of Hunting

By Mark Parman

Published 2010 – University of Wisconsin Press

Mark Parman has been a longtime contributor of classic grouse and woodcock hunting stories to the Ruffed Grouse Society magazine. A favorite Parman articles is “What He Carried”, which was published in the fall 2013 issue and features an introspective story about the possessions and superstitions that make grouse and woodcock hunters a unique group. The story starts with, “Each possession (of a grouse hunter) brings with it reminders of special days gone by.” If you are a grouse hunter, you understand this inexplicable phenomenon. The story talks about the symbols of grouse hunting that captivate us all throughout the year. He writes, “In late winter, he notes a grouse feather floating across the wood floor of his living room or kitchen, escapees from his gamebag, or he finds one stuck to the wet nose of his dog. He doesn’t mind the feathers. He picks one up, twirls the rachis in his fingers and is carried back to October.” Has this happened to any of you during bitter cold January? I suspect it has.

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Purina Pro Plan Tips – Prevent Soft-Tissue Injuries

June 13, 2016 by Purina Pro Plan

Condition Your Bird Dog to Help Prevent Soft-Tissue Injuries

Crashing through the tag alder, tripping over a drumming log, or putting an ankle between a rock and a hard place are hazards that make pursuing the king of game birds both challenging and appealing. It’s no wonder our canine athletes come down with aches, pains and strains, yet it’s amazing they’re willing to persevere, often relying on heart and sheer desire.

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Staff Meeting & Info Updates

June 13, 2016 by Ruffed Grouse Society

RGS and AWS staff and their dogs convened at headquarters in Pittsburgh last week to plan for the future of habitat programs, membership, events and communications.

STAFF MEETING

RGS and AWS staff and some of their grouse dogs convened at headquarters near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last week to plan for the future of habitat programs, membership initiatives, events and communications. Numerous presentations and break-out sessions allow staff to collaborate planning at the national level and also specific to their regions. Biologists, regional directors and headquarters staff are able to meet and plan in-person and brainstorm ways to create and implement more effective and efficient programs that enhance healthy forests that support abundant wildlife and preserve our sporting traditions for future generations.

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Day 1 Redux of the Grouse Camp Tour

January 4, 2016 by Ruffed Grouse Society

Day 1 of the inaugural RGS Grouse Camp Tour took place on October 19, 2015 in central Minnesota. RGS Staff, Matt Soberg, Seth Heasley, and Nick Larson met up with local member and chapter committee member Aaron Regier. The day was spent following him and his setter female “Wren” around some of his favorite public hunting spots.

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