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frank
Average Member
841 Posts |
 Posted - 09/29/2008 : 10:29:35
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Well made a trip up to the Mio area for some grouse. Got up ther about 10am Saturday morning, found my budies property and started looking for some grouse cover. Found a nice looking place unloaded the dogs, 20 minutes latter we have a grouse flush with no shots. Continue hunting this area for another 40 minutes with out a flush. Move down to the next likely looking spot, get the dogs in the cover took about 30 minutes this time for a woodcock that I missed twice . Get out of the cover only to find out the road we are on is not the road we are supouse to be on? After trying to find the truck for 45 minutes we finely figure out what we did (or so we thought) decide to hunt the other side of the road back to the truck. We headed north into the woods thinking we have about a 1/2 mile walk back to the truck, about 150 yards into the cover come out on the south side of the road we just left ? Walk the road to the corner and figure out what we did and make it back to the truck. Decide to head into town for a coumpas (both of us forgot ours). Get back to the hunting grounds and hit another cover 5 minutes in my uncle misses a grouse  , continue throu this cover for another 30 minutes when I relize I cant hear my uncle anymore give a yell with no responce hmmmmm? I turn towards the road (he was supose to be between me and the road) come out on the road and head back to the truck yelling every few minutes with out an answer. Oh great this is not good I'm thinking after another 45 minutes of me busting brush I finely find him . Get back to hunting BIRDS to the next road (while keeping a close eye on my uncle) with 2 woodcock fluses. Cross the road and right away my short hair gets birdy and out goes another grouse with out a shot, continue throu the brush about 100 yards and she locks on point 20 feet infront of her out goes another grouse again with out a shot (these are some crafty little birds) just after that one is gone another grouse flushes with a big Miss from me get loaded back up and another grouse goes up again I blow it. By this time its 6:30pm and we decide to head back to town for a room and dinner.
Sunday morning wake up and head back to the same covers we hunted yesterday. The first one we get 1 grouse to flush with out a shot. The secound cover produced a woodcock that I was able to bag (8 shots and 1 woodie to show for it not good) Move over to a new cover and there goes a grouse my uncle never got a shot at. Continue on and his dogs starts getting birdy and there goes grouse number 3 again with out a shot. He moves about 5 feet and out comes another grouse he gets a shot at this one just after reloading another grouse comes out with out a shot. Continue on for about 100yards when I hear a bird get up between my uncle and I, this one is flying right at me my first shot is behind the bird the secound shot I think scores a hit but I'm not sure. Take my dog into the area I think the bird fell and she finely comes out with a grouse  . Hunt for another hour or so and decide to head back home.
Ended the trip with a grouse and woodcock in the bag with 12 grouse and 4 woodcock flushed. Only ended up hunting "birds" for about 6 hours total the whole time we where up, but had a great time and some good laughs for the next time we go up. By the way this is the same Uncle that got ran over by a deer out on the 104 property last year.
Frank Manning
Mid Michigan/Thumb Area
LandManager
frank1968@tds.net
(810)347-5292
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Grouse Hunting
