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Small Game and Waterfowl
- Thread Starter Tinker Pearce
- Start date
Don't forget a Federal Duck stamp. (A common error) you should have really good duck and goose shooting near Seattle. I heard the grouse are thick this year. I have already hit 6 phesants with the truck near the ranch here. Sometimes, I drop in on my local game warden and ask his advice. They are very helpful with someone that wants to hunt legally.
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"Don't have a clue". right.
Get a .410 double because they are cool.. and buy a goose down at the goose selling place.
Get a .410 double because they are cool.. and buy a goose down at the goose selling place.
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- Thread Starter
- #4
I'd love to, but have you seen what people are charging for .410 doubles these days? Though it would be a nice compliment to my 16-gauge double and 12-gauge double hammer-gun...
As for buying a goose I may go that route for Christmas dinner; I'm a sucker for traditions.
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I think you can get like a Stevens or something for like one dollar these days. but anyways
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While Grouse aren't considered "Upland" birds here in Washington you can hunt them with a big or small game license....Grouse are very tasty and fun to hunt.
As for shotguns and loads.... I prefer a more open choke ( Modified , Improved Cylinder etc ...) and a field load of 7 1/2 or 6 bird shot....Pick your gauge 12 , 16 or 20... They all work , 20 gauge is my favorite.
Grouse really aren't hard to kill , just hard to hunt.... Lots of walking and then when you get a bird they fall into the thickest brush imaginable.
I really enjoy walking along a old logging road on a crisp fall day with a good gun and lots of beautiful scenery.
Andy
As for shotguns and loads.... I prefer a more open choke ( Modified , Improved Cylinder etc ...) and a field load of 7 1/2 or 6 bird shot....Pick your gauge 12 , 16 or 20... They all work , 20 gauge is my favorite.
Grouse really aren't hard to kill , just hard to hunt.... Lots of walking and then when you get a bird they fall into the thickest brush imaginable.
I really enjoy walking along a old logging road on a crisp fall day with a good gun and lots of beautiful scenery.
Andy
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They seem to like getting down on the logging road just after daylight until about 8:30. Old gravel roads with lots of switchbacks and water in a creek or ditch. Incredibly hard to see unless they are moving. Don't take your goose gun you'll never hit one with it on the fly in the brush lol. It's like trying to bust a rising clay like 5 feet from the trap house. They rise incredibly fast and fly full tilt into the heaviest brush you ever saw. Amazing. I used to use a 20" coach gun I could shoulder quickly and swing in heavy brush. Never saw one out of range. And they are delicious i like the meat more than any other bird I've hunted.
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- Thread Starter
- #8
Sounds like Pairie Chickens- they'd come just to the top of the brush and fly straight away at high speed. I was thinking of using my 16-gauge double (1 bore is Modified) or my 12-gauge 2-1/2" double hammer-gun (both barrels have a Modified choke) but maybe my short-barreled cylinder-bore 12 gauge pump might be better?
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I hunt the forest birds, it is a peaceful pursuit and something I can do by myself.
I would like to hunt ducks but have concluded the gods are against me in that endeavor.
Several things will become apparent stifling the uninitiated to water foul sport.
Not wanting to stifle your enthusiasm, be it known I don't like crowds nor hassles so view the following as such;
1. Private land hunting greatly enhances your ability to be successful, which If Like me, and don't know of any, are either out of luck or will have to pay for the privilege.
2. Public arenas are relatively few, can be crowded, even wait lines, so come with a subset of regulars, some with little patients for interfering beginner interlopers wandering around without a clue.
3. Without a proper dog, well, that will become apparent too.
4. Decoys and other equipment are essential.
I had great fun and success when a salesman took me to Sauvé's Island to a hunt club, an event that cost him 150 bucks I believe.
My advice is to find an experienced and equipped person willing to take on an apprentice and work at it from there.
On your own, you will need patients and persistence, plus a scrap of luck.
I would like to hunt ducks but have concluded the gods are against me in that endeavor.
Several things will become apparent stifling the uninitiated to water foul sport.
Not wanting to stifle your enthusiasm, be it known I don't like crowds nor hassles so view the following as such;
1. Private land hunting greatly enhances your ability to be successful, which If Like me, and don't know of any, are either out of luck or will have to pay for the privilege.
2. Public arenas are relatively few, can be crowded, even wait lines, so come with a subset of regulars, some with little patients for interfering beginner interlopers wandering around without a clue.
3. Without a proper dog, well, that will become apparent too.
4. Decoys and other equipment are essential.
I had great fun and success when a salesman took me to Sauvé's Island to a hunt club, an event that cost him 150 bucks I believe.
My advice is to find an experienced and equipped person willing to take on an apprentice and work at it from there.
On your own, you will need patients and persistence, plus a scrap of luck.
I am not a huge waterfowl hunter. In my experiance, many blind (not eyesight) hunters have had too much to drink before the birds show up ( nothing worse than being around a bunch of drunks) . I enjoy jump shooting them in small rural ponds and streams. I used to hunt the public hunting grounds around the Salt Lake, the hikes were long, I had a great dog and it was enjoyable. We used to get a Swan permit most every year and had one for thanksgiving dinner many years. I am sure there are some great public hunting grounds in the Mosses lake/Potholes areas. If you can get off during the week to avoid the weekend crowds it would be good. We hunted some public areas in south central Washington when I was a kid. Those buggers learned where the public ground was and avoided it quite effectively. Pass shooting of waterfowl is tough in good weather so be prepared to hunt in nasty cold rainy/snowy conditions.
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For grouse I just think the most important thing is a gun that shoulders and pionts well for you. Emphasis on you. There just isn't much time to think if you flush a covey and even a single bird is a real challenge. I'd take the shortest most open choked gun that fits you well and you are well practiced with. Quick and comfortable. If you do flush a covey pick one bird and make sure of that one. Doubles are rare unless you see them first and cheat one on the ground lol.
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There used to be good chukar hunting out in Black Canyon back in the 70's. Just walk the ridges with a good dog and they'll flush.
Did you ever do the community hunt out in George / Quincy? Man, the pheasants where thick back when the beet fields were in.
Over on this side of the water, I remember a Pheasant release site out in Belfair. I know it was still there in the late 90's, but that was almost 20 years ago.
Check the local regs to be sure.
AS for a gun, I've always just used a regular ol' shotgun.
Dad swore by his full choked 12 gauges, but once I talked him into a 20 ga. modified, he forgot all about his other guns (1100 lightweight, in case you're curious).
I had a Stevens 511, which was a "budget" SxS, 20 ga, choked mod./full with 26" barrels. Took down a big cock ducking between a couple of firs at full trot with one shot.
I always hit what I aimed at with that one, but carrying it in the field was like walking around with a 6 lb. 4x4 in my hands.
I sold it about 20 years ago and have regretted it ever since.
However, these days, I've got a little H&R 20 ga. that I had opened up to modified and I'm about as deadly with that gun (when I'm not shooting over it) as I was with the old Stevens, so I don't miss the ol' double barrel too much.
Anyway, I hope that gives you a little insight and reminds you of how you used to do it, back in the good ol' days.
Dean
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