After going to bed at 11:30 Friday night it was hard to get up when the alarm went of a 3:00 am.  I had to make some good time to meet some friends for what was to be two days of hard hunting for sharptail and huns.  The weather had cooled off this week and I was looking forward to some good conditions.  We hit the hills hard and found a few birds.  The birds we found were jumpy and didn’t want to hold well for the dogs.  We were able to hunt a long time due to the cooler temps.

The next morning Lola and I both realized that we had over done things the day before.  She had a sore front leg and my back didn’t want me to stand upright.  I had to put us both on the injured reserve list and pack up to head home early.  As of Monday morning, we both seem to have recovered.  We’ll be back in action by the weekend.

Here’s a few photos from the day…

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I headed out last weekend for Sharptail Grouse.  These birds are one of my favorite and offer a challenging hunt.  I was able to meet up with some good friends.  We camped, hunted, and enjoyed some fine dining in an airstream trailer.  Conditions were tough is was very hot.  I was able to find a bird or two.

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An Adventure in Idaho.

Day One:

I had to run up to Idaho to pick up Lola. I took off early Friday morning with no real plans. I figured I would grab Lola explore a few places. I had the whole weekend to find birds and explore new places. Based on my research I had a few places in mind to try. I had one particular goal in mind. I wanted to shoot some huns. For some reason, huns have been my nemesis. I’ve only found them a couple of times and can’t seem to connect with the shot when I do.

I drove into some beautiful country and explored several places. I ended up wishing better prepared with maps or my laptop to know what what private and what was not. At one point, I ended up a lot further West than I had planned….

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09/18/2010-09/19/2010

The alarm went of at 2:30am Saturday Morning.  Wow that was early.  My buddy Caleb picked me up and we were off to see about finding some Sage Boomers.  We were to meet up with some friends, Andrew and the Goob.  We had a lot of miles to travel.  It’s always good fun traveling with Caleb.

I had sent Lola up to Rich Heaton and Tina was tending to the pups, so I was dogless. Luckily Dave was kind enough to let me borrow Roxy who I had sold to him a few months back as a started dog. So Roxy (English Pointer), Oprah (German Wire Hair), Jonesy (Gordon Setter)  and The Dude (Gordon Setter) were all ready to roll.

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09/11/2010-09/12/2010

I had a great time with Lola on the Grouse opener here in Utah.  I had done quite a bit of research with maps. I knew the general area that I wanted to go.  I was given some great info from a friend (thanks). I had taken the time to find the GPS coordinates for a few spots I wanted to be sure and check out. I even knew right where I wanted to camp.  I was going solo, so I left duplicate copies with my wife so she could give them to the search posse if I didn’t come back.  I felt pretty well prepared.  Until it came time to leave and I couldn’t find my GPS.   There’s another reason I need to get a Garmin Astro.  My Etrex Legend has disappeared.

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I got a chance to get a way with a couple of good friends on a Halloween hunt.  I knocked down a sharpie early but then the birds were scarce. We wore out our boots for a while, then Lola pointed one. It flushed wild and I was able to hit it. After 5 or 6 hunts this year, it was the first bird I had shot over Lola. In fact the first one I have shot over her at all. I was a proud papa when she went out top speed and scooped it up. She came right to me again at top speed and delivered to hand.

Sharptail Hunt

Sharptail Grouse Hunt.

I wanted to go check out an area that I hadn’t been to before. I did my internet recon (google maps), and found a few likely spots. I wasn’t sure what was around this spot, or if it was all private land. I set the alarm for 5am, and when it went off I just couldn’t get up. After waking up late I decided I should still make the trip. It was a long drive. I scouted out a few spots and finally decided to hunt a nice looking area. I turned Roxy loose and we were off. We got a whole 100 yards from the Jeep and up came 25-30 Sharpies all at once. I quickly dropped one and took another shot. I was watching to see where they would go so I could possibly work them again. Suddenly one peeled off and made a U-turn right back toward me. It went down just in front of us. A double! Roxy scooped it up and brought it almost all the way back. In the excitement of seeing that second bird drop, I wasn’t sure where the first bird had fallen. We walked toward the area and Roxy was able to locate the bird.


It took me longer to put my boots on than that hunt lasted. I was actually kind of bummed out that my hunt was over so quickly. It was good to get my younger dog into some birds and some sharpies for dinner.

Roxy's Sharptail Grouse

Sharptailin’

I’ve spent the last couple of weekends hunting Sharptail Grouse with some great friends.   It’s been fun to get the dogs out running.  Good friends, good dogs, and good times.  Thanks for letting me tag along!

I went out in search of a Sage Grouse lek this morning. I was lucky enough to find it. What an incredible experience. I watch for almost two hours. These are some amazing birds.