Bird season opens today!

[waksupi]

I took a trip up to the ridge above the cabin this morning. Lots of grouse it seemed, as I ran across three coveys. I managed to miss two, and found this stupid one. Of course, he wouldn't fall somewhere handy, but managed to bounce and tumble down a steep mountainside a fair distance.

Click picture for larger image.

[northmn]

Great fun! Our season opens Sept 13. Will have a light weight 12 ga fowler ready by that time (May not have finish on it but its been shot). Don't know if you are a purist and shoot only flying, but I sometimes like to let them stop walking and stand still when shooting a flinter. Grouse around here are getting spookier every year. Used to hold for point over my guns dogs, now they run worse than pheasants. Don't really sit much either. That bird should make good eating too.

Northmn

[JeffinNZ]

Gotta be happy about a bird with the flinter.

Oh, they seldom fall somewhere handy. The hunting gods idea of a joke me thinks.

[waksupi]

I will most certainly ground sluice when possible. This one was just unfortunate enough to inadvertantly fly into the path of a load of #8 shot. I hadn't used shot for awhile, and missed my first one, by aiming too low. Patterned the gun on a clay bank, and then was in business.

[rugerman1]

... Patterned the gun on a clay bank, and then was in business.

Ric,,,so you willfully &wantingly polluted terra firma by shooting the evil lead shot into that poor,defenseless clay bank?Think of all the baby condors,do-do birds and spotted owls that might be in danger someday:veryconfu
Shame on you,mister redcoat!:kidding:

[waksupi]

Ric,,,so you willfully &wantingly polluted terra firma by shooting the evil lead shot into that poor,defenseless clay bank?Think of all the baby condors,do-do birds and spotted owls that might be in danger someday:veryconfu
Shame on you,mister redcoat!:kidding:

I will pay for my sins. I am dying, as I type this. The government tells me so. A piece of shot found it's way into my mouth, and had to be spit out. No doubt, as we converse, the teaming toxins are flowing through my body, and I shall be fortunate to see the morn.

Screw the condors.

[Mumblypeg]

Rest easy that won't kill you tonight, I've been spitting out shot all my life. I even have some stuck in flesh, aint got me yet.

[oldhickory]

Nice outfit you have there! I haven't even gotten around to sighting in my .54 flinter yet! Seems like there's always some cartrige gun in the way.

The only M/L shotgunning I've ever tried was with an old U.S. 1842 Harpersferry musket...The results were dismal using reclaimed shot and newspaper wadding in the old girl. She was deadly with a ball at 50yds though!

[northmn]

If that NW gun is the one I think it is, it has seen a little use. Thats the fun of a ML flintlock fowler. You can justify making meat ground swatting or flying. Flying is a real treat when it happens. One person wrote of the joys of using a flinlock on woodcock. Said all the fun was there and he didn't get too many woodcock, which he said was OK. Explained his favorite recipe for woodcock was to take one woodcock and 5 lbs of hamburger.

Northmn

[waksupi]

I went out again this morning, and had a bit of luck. I only got up one covey of grouse, and missed my chance. I then went to another drainage, and found a few snowshoe hares around, so got one for supper. I was sort of leary of shooting one this early in the year, but knew there had been some hard freezes at that elevation. The liver looked good, so should be good eating, assuming it isn't a fifty year old hare. Here's a pic.

[JeffinNZ]

I take it that is a baby hare. This is an adult doe from my end of the planet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/JeffinNZ/Shooting%20stuff/Hare.jpg

If I hold a fully grown NZ hare by the 'ankles' its ears will touch the ground.

[Bigjohn]

Geez, Jeff! You certainly know how to wipe the smile off someones face. [smilie=1:

Tell 'em the truth; ya feed 'em on steroids; dont ya? :mrgreen:

John.

[waksupi]

Heck, I want to eat them, not ride them!~

That type of ignition system will never catch on, anyhow!

[JeffinNZ]

Oh the caplock is only my secondary piece. I built an Isaac Haines .40cal some years back and it is preferred weapon. Hares don't like Isaac much either.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/JeffinNZ/Shooting%20stuff/IHhare301205.jpg

Sorry, hijacking your thread with fur.

[waksupi]

Well, I can see that hare is actually dead, being shot with a flintlock. I suspect those critters shot with anything else, are just faking it!
I'm going out again in the morning, and don't know if I'm going to stick with small game with the smoothbore, or try for elk with the bow.

[9.3X62AL]

That's right, Ric--shoot the condors, and nuke the Amish too.

Jeff, your NZ hares look a lot like a less raggedy version of our jackrabbit--a game species that even a coyote has to hold his nose to eat. Coyotes hunt in packs because jacks are so tough it's a committee project to reduce them to manageable, edible portion sizes.

[JeffinNZ]

Nothing wrong with hare meat. Poor man's venison. Seriously.

[northmn]

I believe that about your E. Hares. A snowshoe rabbit is its own special challenge for eating. We have tnem in MN. A Young one is edible, an older one is best made into a stew with about a match of beef and lots of beef boullion to cover up the taste. They are nothing like a cottontail. They also fluctuate like grouse. Haven't seen many in recent years. May also be the coyotes. I ahve to wait a couple of weeks to take out my flint smoothbore (if its built yet)

Northmn

[waksupi]

True story, on the showshoes. I did see another one, with a beard below his knees, and didn't take a shot at that one. The one I did shoot, still had milk on it's chin from nursing, so I knew it was young.

[I Haines]

Don't know if you are a purist and shoot only flying, but I sometimes like to let them stop walking and stand still when shooting a flinter.
Northmn

Ya mean they fly? :)

Dove opener was Sept 1 here. After puttin up my CF gun I used my 10 ga ML double to take 4 birds with 8 shots. IH

[waksupi]

And a couple fool hens today. These ones WERE ground sluiced, and the second was even kind enought to stand around while I reloaded. I can recharge pretty fast, as I have some charges of shot made up into paper cartridges. Nice for a quick follow up type shot, but they do tend to foul the bore more than just using the card wads. And, I still use the card wads with these.

[JeffinNZ]

I have GOT to get into upland game! Do you use a dog? I have a [mostly] black lab though I suspect she would not know a chukar/quail/pheasant if they fell on her head (which is quite likely).

[Bigjohn]

I have a PEDERSOLI Brown Bess Musket, which I sent to Alan at GRRW in ADELAIDE to have the plastic type finish removed, stock bent and a few other adjustments.

I have shot a duck and a couple of rabbits with it over the years and need to get out and do more hunting with it.

As for hunting dogs, well my terrier believes in the hands on approach and won't wait for the shot. I would be spending most of my hunting time picking shot out of her r#@r end.

John.

[waksupi]

Big John, you have a Green River Rifle Works in Oz? Please, do tell.
No dog here to hunt with. I still miss my old Chesepeake. She would hunt anything I put her on.

[Bigjohn]

Yes, we sure do. They have been in business since the 1980's; only a small business. Alan is the only member of the team left so he and his wife, Jen now run the shop.

Alan builds firearms to order as well as selling firearms from other sources. He use to use H.T. BUGG barrels when requested until Trevor died. They are some of the best M/L barrels ever made in Australia; tack drivers if the shooter could do his bit.

Basically, Alan earns his living making, modifying, repairing firearms and selling the little bits that go with them.

When you walk in you are in the workshop/sales area.

John.

[northmn]

Jeff, I use a dog on pheasants and ducks. Need one to find the pheasants to shoot them and get them after they are shot, and can't swim so need a retriever for ducks. For grouse I sometimes like one, often don't. Grouse used to tree for a dog, now in my neck of the woods they fly towards the next county. I have to drive to get pheasants. You would have to see the grouse woods to appreciate them. Have a Golden retriever pup thats shows promise, and a sort of lab. Also had Chesapeaks. One would dive under water to get ducks if they dove in front of him. Don't think a dog would work well with my flinter on grouse. That is a challenge in itself.

Northmn

[LIMPINGJ]

Jeff what is the peep sight you have on your flintlock? I am in the process of gathering the parts for a 40 cal but need to make or purchase some kind of peep sight as I am not to good with open sights anymore.

[JeffinNZ]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/JeffinNZ/Shooting%20stuff/sight.jpg

http://www.logcabinonline.com/ Item 50100 on the sights page.

[PatMarlin]

Ric- you are lookin' about in your late 20's in those pics.

I gotta shave this beard... :mrgreen:

[PatMarlin]

Jeff- what is that rifle in you first pic?

[waksupi]

Pat, meat keeps good in the mountains.

[PatMarlin]

:mrgreen:

[Boz330]

And a couple fool hens today. These ones WERE ground sluiced, and the second was even kind enought to stand around while I reloaded. I can recharge pretty fast, as I have some charges of shot made up into paper cartridges. Nice for a quick follow up type shot, but they do tend to foul the bore more than just using the card wads. And, I still use the card wads with these.

Rick, that sure is some pretty country behind you there. Are those Blue Grouse?It was 1987 when I was out there in the Stemple Pass area Elk hunting and we saw a lot of Blue Grouse mostly standing still. They didn't seem to get to upset about people, unlike the Elk. Spent 2 weeks up on the divide and saw 1 cow Elk and a half dozen muley does, of course only had permits for Bulls and Bucks. Still one of the best vacations I've ever had.
Well Friendship is coming up next week and I have to go drool on the Trade Guns again. This is getting frustrating, got a bill for tractor repair yesterday, just about the cost of the Trade Gun I've been lusting after. Oh well maybe next year will be a little better. Need to go through the safe and cull some of my non shooters and put the money in what tickles my fancy right now.

Bob

[JeffinNZ]

Jeff- what is that rifle in you first pic?

Yes, both the Wesson cap and the Haines flinter are mine.

[waksupi]

Boz, the first one is a blue, the other two are ruffs. The ruffs are pretty stupid. They are dumb enough, it has been made illegal to kill them with sticks and stones, but rifle, shotgun, bow, slingshot, most anything else is legal.

[northmn]

Funny how areas differ. Our Ruffed grouse used to be kind of stupid in that one could get them with a rifle. Now they sometimes get up far enough down the trail so that a rifle is about all that will reach them. Minnesota has been listed as one of the top ruffed grouse states and we have hunters flocking in from all over. Used to see a few spruce grouse. They were stupid. Bird season opens this weekend, 12 gauge fowler won't be ready quite yet.

Northmn