A Couple of Hunts from Last Week

Last Wednesday Emma and I headed north to search for some woodcock. My first stop was at the Duck Pond covert on Wopsy Mt. It's just a small covert, it takes as long to walk to it as it does to hunt it, but it's a favorite spot and usually holds a woodcock or two for me.

Once again the little spot give me a chance. The first 'cock Emma found lifted before I could get to the point, but a little while later she was pointing again.

I circled in front of her and walked in ready for the flush. Suddenly I saw the bird sitting tightly in the leaves. I quickly looked away feeling that it was bad luck to see the bird before the flush and kept walking closer. It took flight but stayed low just clearing Emma's head before winding it's way through the aspens, gone without a shot. That was all the birds that we were to find there today so we moved on to the top of Wopsy Mt. to try an aspen cut. The cut proved to be too close to a busy road to hunt safely so we hunted through some big spruce cover moving two wild flushed grouse.

By now it was mid-day and the temps were rising. I decided to try one more covert the Rifle Range.
It's cover is primarily young aspen that never holds as many 'cock as I think it should but it was close and I thought that I would give it a try.

Today it disappointed me again with no birds present, so we called it a day just glad that we had found at least one bird to point.

Friday we headed to my northern most coverts. First up was the Graham Covert, which had shown us some grouse on previous trips.

Although we hunted it hard, one wild flushed grouse was all that we could find today.
We moved on to the Muth Covert an old field in the middle of big woods that must have been a farm at one time but I've yet to find any sign of a cellarhole.

This cover is becoming one of my favorites and today it didn't disappoint me. Emma had been out of bell range for awhile when I suddenly could just hear her beeper going off on point mode. I hurried through the aspen and came to a large field of goldenrod across which I could make out her white form pointing in the aspen on the other side. I made my way across the field as fast as I could and swung around her to approach her from the side. The woodcock flushed up offering me a good shot which I promptly missed with both barrels. As I later tried to analyze my misses I think I shouldered the gun too soon as the bird lifted through the aspens and lifted my head before I pulled the triggers.........at least that's the excuse I'm using :).  Later Emma found another woodcock but for whatever reason she held point only a short while and then bumped the bird. That was all the Muth Covert had for us today so Emma and I and the little Belgium hammergun  "Colette" worked our way back to the truck. Disappointed with our miss but just happy to have the chance at a bird.