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After work today I took the dog for a stroll. It is not getting dark now till around 9 so the dog and I have lots of time to bop around in the woods. Well the snow was slushy and waist deep in places which made moving in the open a bit difficult, so we stuck to the trees. It was a fairly steep hill covered in spruce and birch when I heard the flutter of grouse wings and the dog yip with excitement. We both went in search of the bird, Salty Dog looking low and I looking high.
About a half hour later I slowly came around a tree and the bird was perfectly silhouetted against the snow, sitting on a near naked branch with nothing to bounce a ball off of on the way there. He was facing directly away from me. Those of you who hunt grouse in AK know that this is a rare occurrence. As soon as I got into range he tucked his head and hunkered down.
He knew I was there. I knew he was there. My dog knew I could see something and froze, staring in the direction I was looking. Five long minutes passed by before he lifted his head to crane his neck around to look at me. I got to full draw and froze. He ruffled his feathers and turned his head farther to the left trying to see what I was doing.
I released. I knew the noise it would make before it even left the pouch. Sometimes you can feel a great shot.
Thwack!
Right in the base of the skull, dead bird. The grouse toppled out of the tree and the dog pinned him down in the hollow under the blowdown near the base of his roost.
I was in knee deep slushy snow so my closing the 16 yards was slow. Salty didn't chew him up, He just plucked his belly.
We walked for a couple more hours enjoying the spring heat (38 degrees Fahrenheit ABOVE!) and the sunshine. We made a fire and ate our hard earned meal. I ate the breasts and salty at the gizzard and heart.
Catch and cook video to follow.
Pics for now!
About a half hour later I slowly came around a tree and the bird was perfectly silhouetted against the snow, sitting on a near naked branch with nothing to bounce a ball off of on the way there. He was facing directly away from me. Those of you who hunt grouse in AK know that this is a rare occurrence. As soon as I got into range he tucked his head and hunkered down.
He knew I was there. I knew he was there. My dog knew I could see something and froze, staring in the direction I was looking. Five long minutes passed by before he lifted his head to crane his neck around to look at me. I got to full draw and froze. He ruffled his feathers and turned his head farther to the left trying to see what I was doing.
I released. I knew the noise it would make before it even left the pouch. Sometimes you can feel a great shot.
Thwack!
Right in the base of the skull, dead bird. The grouse toppled out of the tree and the dog pinned him down in the hollow under the blowdown near the base of his roost.
I was in knee deep slushy snow so my closing the 16 yards was slow. Salty didn't chew him up, He just plucked his belly.
We walked for a couple more hours enjoying the spring heat (38 degrees Fahrenheit ABOVE!) and the sunshine. We made a fire and ate our hard earned meal. I ate the breasts and salty at the gizzard and heart.
Catch and cook video to follow.
Pics for now!

