By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Author Workman is a grouse hunting fanatic, and he’ll be out there on the opener, looking for more fool hens like this one, taken with a shot from his 20-gauge Franchi.
Some memories fade with the years, others are burned into your mind so that they never lose their importance; that first girlfriend or boyfriend, your first car, the first day on your first job…and the first time you press the trigger on live game.
My dad traded with somebody for a rather well-used 16-gauge single-shot Harrington & Richardson shotgun with an exposed hammer and no front bead. It had a fixed full choke, the barrel kind of wobbled a bit, the finish was pretty much shot and the stock needed some work.
But it was mine, and with that old scattergun, I shot my first grouse…and immediately turned it into a mess. The experience didn’t dampen my spirits. It sharpened my instincts, which was something of an experience for a 12-year-old kid, or maybe I was only 11 at the time.
That shotgun put several more grouse in the bag over the next few years until, at age 19 or 20, I saved enough from my first few paychecks to buy a double-barrel side-by-side Beretta. It was used, but not very much. Its previous owner had complained it didn’t fit, which at the time seemed kind of dumb, because one grasp and rise to my shoulder made that fixed-choke beauty fit like it was tailor-made. The bores were chrome-lined and smooth as glass, and the bluing was almost 100 percent with a nickel finish on the roll-engraved receiver.
Those memories come back now as the first yellow leaves beckon me back to the high country, where “men are men, legs are tired and blue grouse are still dumber than rocks.”
Upland bird hunting is just over the horizon for shotgunner across the landscape. Whether the game is mourning doves, early waterfowl, quail, chukar, pheasants or grouse, it’s time to get busy and hone your skills.
Trust me, those birds will know what you’re up to the moment the first shot is fired, and they want none of it.
Out here in the Pacific Northwest, grouse and dove seasons crank up Sept. 1, and between now and then I will have pulled from the gun safe my double-barrel shotguns to run a mop and oiled patch down the bores, give them a rub with an oily cloth, pulled the forends to clean any lingering dust from the underside of the barrels, and given the actions a good squirt of oil.
This is also the time to be perusing the Sports sections of newspapers, or mailers from local sporting goods stores for bargains on shotgun shells and other accessories.
Oh, and you did purchase a hunting license already, right?
Break out your shotguns and start cleaning them up. Remove the choke tubes and scour out the bores to remove any lingering crud from last year, or dust from sitting in the gun safe for several months.
Big game seasons are still weeks away, but there is no time like the present to break out all of your hunting knives, give them a good wash and check the edges to make sure they are sharp. I sharpen all of my knives with a diamond stone, and they are keen enough to shave with.
Nothing dulls a knife faster than cutting through deer or elk hair. Or sheep, goat or caribou hair. Or skinning a bear. That’s why I keep a little round diamond sharpener in my backpack, plus a spare knife or two.
A knife comes in handy when field dressing upland birds. I breast my gamebirds back in camp or at home, but in the field, get the innards out as soon as is humanly possible in order to cool the meat and prevent internal juices from tainting the meat.
Many years ago, I learned to take an ice chest with plastic bags to put birds inside and then cool them off. Nothing but a bag or two of ice goes in that cooler. My lunch, beverages and other things are in a separate ice chest.
Get a box of rubber or vinyl gloves, and wear them while cleaning your birds.
Keep a regulations pamphlet handy in your vehicle. Keep a separate copy at home.
If your game is doves, buy lots of shells, and then buy more than you think you will need. I’m convinced doves were invented by people who own stock in ammunition companies, and the same suspicion might apply to quail.
If you hunt with a double-gun with interchangeable choke tubes, my advice is to have an Improved Cylinder choke in your first barrel and a Modified in your second barrel.
Shotshell selection
Most experienced shotgunners have their preferences when it comes to shot size, and I like No. 6 for big blue grouse or pheasant, while No. 7 ½ does nicely on chukar or Hungarian partridge and ruffed grouse.
Earlier this year when I hunted quail with a pal, I took along the 7 ½ shot and could have opted for No. 8. I know some guys who use the same shot size, or even down to No. 9 for mourning doves.
The important thing is to know what patterns well out of your gun and stick with it. What works once will work again. This isn’t rocket science, even though the birds you’re chasing may take off like rockets!
I’ve learned a few things over the years about different gamebirds. Grouse try to put something between themselves and whatever is chasing them, typically getting around the backside of a tree, but then they will land on a limb to see if you’re following. Many a dumb fool hen has landed in my bag courtesy of a .22-caliber pistol shot.
Chukar, which live in scabrock, hilly country in my part of the world almost invariably head downhill when flushed to gain air speed. You should start getting in shape right now because chukar take a heck of a lot of walking.
Quail seem to explode in different directions if you flush a covey, so stay on one bird and fire, and let the others land for later pursuit.
Mourning doves are the devil’s spawn; wickedly fast so swinging on them has to be quick and the few times I hunted the little buggers I had to lead them quite a bit more than the grouse I’m more used to shooting.
And pheasants seem to rocket up and then head straightaway regardless which direction they move, once they’re flushed. They are not inclined, at least in my experience, to weave and dart around like other birds, but they’re faster than they look, and I want a shot string that will reach out there and tag them as they’re heading away.
Waterfowl seasons are still weeks, if not a couple of months away except in some special cases, so now is a good time to stock up on steel. I know guys who faithfully use No. 2 or 4 steel, or BB and BBB loads for geese.
In preparation for this article, I checked some online sources and there appears to be plenty of ammunition available, but still I wouldn’t dally.
