sdkidaho

Mine always worked fine. I never used 3" for dove though as the 2-3/4" should work just fine.

Are your quail that big? I was thinking they were a smaller bird for some reason.

Well, I hadn't planned on doing any hunting this weekend as I'm on call for work but as I was sitting at the counter in the kitchen, enjoying a piece of chocolate cake, I decided I needed some nice cold milk to go with it. After filling up my glass I looked out my kitchen window into my field and noticed some birds sneaking along in the field - huns, had to be huns. I've been worried that all the construction going on around us had driven them off as I haven't seen them this year as often as the past couple of years, but I figured I would go take a look since it was opening day for partridge. I grabbed the shotgun and snuck around the house and over to the edge of the yard and popped up and three of them took off. I was able to shoot one. Man, what a beautiful bird. It's the first hun I've ever taken. I think it's a younger bird as I thought their breast feathers were a bit more grey, but this bird has the prettiest tones of red coloring. Very good looking. I know, I know - that isn't a Benelli. Sorry guys.

Ha! I'll be sure try and be in every picture of birds I put up this year! And maybe some others as well!

Around here you have to draw for a permit, but apparently they don't get a lot of interest and have permits available after the general draw has taken place. We can two a day for a total of nine of them in a two week season. I keep hearing how good they are to eat so if that turns out to be true I might have to do this agian next year.

No worries!

Didn't weigh it or measure the wingspan. I can reach almost six feet, finger tip to finger tip, and so he's probably close to seven feet across. And I thought the red on the head indicated an adult bird as well, but I'm guessing it must be the brown flecks in the feathers that shows it's not quite adult?

They have a beautiful head on them: It was a great experience and one I really had never even thought about trying. I'm looking forward to trying some crane! Darby

Man they are a big bird!

I know it isn't exactly waterfowl but I wasn't sure where else to put this. I talked to a guy I had recently met on Tuesday and he offered to take me Sandhill Crane hunting. I hadn't ever really thought about going for one and so I took him up on the offer and last night after work we went out. We walked for a ways to get to where we needed to be and sat on a small pile of lava rocks and began to wait for the cranes to hopefully fly past us. We watched geese taking off and ducks and then came the first group of cranes. Six or seven I think, but they were flying to far away to think about shooting, and then here came a pair of cranes right for us. He noted to me that they were flying faster than what they appeared to be doing and to lead them a bit. Once they got close enough I gave them a six to eight foot lead and shot. We were barely there five minutes I'll bet and here was a Sandhill Crane crumpling up and plummeting to earth. What an experience. I know they aren't really that easy to hunt but essentially he had done his homework and knew where they would be and where they would be heading and at what time. Props definitely go to him because everything I read the night before told me they weren't an easy bird to get. I hope you guys don't mind a few pictures. Here is the crane, just as it landed: Me and the crane:

We bumped a bird on Friday and man he was a rocket. I didn't even have time to mount the gun. He lived to see another day but we enjoyed the time up in the mountains. Even at 65 degrees it was warm enough to lay down in the creek for a break.

Payload. ........

Here is a clip from an article about where to find grouse: Grouse seasons open in September in most northern states. Going hunting then is more a testament to tradition than it is to wanting to kill grouse. Foliage is thick, dense and green. But if you insist on subjecting yourself to this kind of brutality, you might as well give yourself the best chance at finding birds. Look at the thermometer and you'll realize that one of the best places to look for early-season grouse is near rivers and streams. Waterways provide cool summer oases for grouse, and you usually won't find them far from the same habitat come early fall. During especially dry years, the moist soils found along rivers and streams may be one of the few places you're going to find the types of vegetation that produce the fruits and berries grouse love so much. Another reason early-season grouse can be found along waterways is that the thick vegetation protects grouse broods from predators. Moist soils produce lush habitat that is ideal for protecting young broods, and the temperate environment produces a lot of high-protein invertebrates that are critical to young grouse growth and survival. Working along river bottoms and creeks can be a good tactic because grouse can often be found in or close to their brood habitat. Grouse are often still in broods or family groups in September and October, and can be concentrated and difficult to find. Perseverance can pay off. You might hunt several prime coverts without success and then bust several coveys in a short period of time. The trick is to keep at it. When you do run into some birds, you'll usually find a bunch, and chasing down singles after the flock is broken up can produce quick shooting.

For grouse I really like to hunt up a draw that has water coming down it, even it's only a small stream. I look for rose-hips and snow-berries (I'm not sure if that is the actual names for those berries or not) as I notice that grouse seem to feed on those and the leaves from those bushes. They really like the thick cover it seems but you can definitely catch them out in the open from time to time. And when I say out in the open that would still be up in the timber, just perhaps not buried under all the brush. They feed along the forest floor, leaves, grasses, berries and bugs, so you'll find them wandering around foraging for food. I'll hike up the draw and let the dog work the area and eventually he'll hit on a trail where the bird has come down to water. I've had better luck in the morning, usually from 9:30 to noon seems to be when I get most of my birds, though I'm sure you can find them all day long. I'm definitely no expert though - hopefully some of the other guys will chime in. Hunting them with a dog is "much" easier though. The ones we got we would have never found without the dog.

Here's my cousin with Uli and our birds:

We started out at 8:00 a.m. and it was 50 degrees then, but by the time we got back to the truck a little after noon, it was probably 80-85 degrees. We definitely did some sweating as we hiked around but we had a great time. It's only the second season I've been out with the dog and that was our first real birds that we've taken since we started hunting with him. Had we not had him we would have never known they were there - he did awesome.

Opening day was Saturday - took the dog out and we wound up with three ruffed grouse. It was a great morning hunt.

Does that work on the Nova as well?

The user that had that posted up removed it. Wonder why?

Cool! ....

I had found that site and was wondering if that was where you had gotten them. Cool stuff.

I figured it was expensive stuff. Where did you get your plans for your boat? Us dunder-heads need a step by step picture show with directions as you build your boat!

Camo fiberglass. Kinda cool. Not sure what kind of fiberglass you are going to use or if camo is even a good idea on top of the water.

Bummer - was hoping for more pics!

Dude that sucks. Sorry to hear they did that to you guys.