Recent Posts

Ever See These Parasites Before?

Ever See These Parasites Before?

When we were in Minnesota last year, we heard tell of a worm-like parasite that was suspected to have been bringing down the grouse population. Never saw it ourselves – probably didn’t kill enough birds (lol) – but recently a compadre of ours sent us these photos of parasitic worms he found in his first […]

October 3, 2011 | By | 10 Replies More
Check Out These Gloves And…

Check Out These Gloves And…

…A Leather Education Recently we heard from a guy named C.H. Judson who owns a company called Wood and Metal. The subject of his missive: gloves. Gloves! A key part of any upland hunter’s gear, and one of the things we’ve had the toughest time finding – to our satisfaction. Admittedly, gloves are tough because […]

September 30, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
SD Not Buying More Bird Land?

SD Not Buying More Bird Land?

We’d bet that in terms of numbers of hunters and dollars raked in, South Dakota is the numero uno destination in the world for bird hunters (including waterfowl). Has to be true for North America, anyway. One reason for that is the sheer number of pheasants in South Dakota, which means lots of good habitat, […]

September 28, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Varying Reports for MN Grouse…

Varying Reports for MN Grouse…

…Surprised?! Is the ruffie hunting in Minnesota off to a slow start or not? Probably depends where, when and how you’re hunting – just like it always does – plus the amount of leafy and green vegetation still there. But nonetheless reports vary. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune: > It’s way too early to call […]

September 27, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
TruckVault and Scott Care: Do You?

TruckVault and Scott Care: Do You?

Of course you care! One of the great things about bird hunting is that it’s tied to habitat and the hunting experience, notably our four-legged buds. It’s not just about hunting and keeping score like, for example, the whitetail scene. A recently announced initiative by Scott Linden, host of the TV show Wingshooting USA, and […]

September 26, 2011 | By | Reply More
2011 Compiled Ruffed Grouse Forecast

2011 Compiled Ruffed Grouse Forecast

Last year we did this and it was a super-popular post, so here it is again. This is a compilation of info from newspaper reports, info from Paul Fuller/Bird Dogs Afield, the Ruffed Grouse Society’s (RGS) forecast and the forecast in the autumn issue of The Upland Almanac – plus a little anecdotal info we’ve […]

September 23, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Kansas Official Forecast Finally Out

Kansas Official Forecast Finally Out

Kansas has been suffering through a drought and record high temps this year, and even though the state was hoping that the effects on their darn good bird population wouldn’t too bad, appears that’s not the case…which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Today Kansas issued its 2011-12 bird forecast, and the summary of the […]

September 22, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Deets on Federal’s New Steel Shells

Deets on Federal’s New Steel Shells

We love the facts that Federal 1) pushes the envelope in shotshells, 2) made a unique pheasant shell that works as advertised (Prairie Storm), 3) donates money to Pheasants Forever for every box sold of Prairie Storm and 4) is a company that actually comes out with new upland products – they haven’t given up […]

September 21, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Boots: We Have a Winnah!

Boots: We Have a Winnah!

Before announcing the winner of the Irish Setter upland boot giveaway, we’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who entered. In a word, the “entries” were…great. Really. So much so that we’re going to pester Irish Setter (and others) for more stuff to give away. But since someone had to win, we picked […]

September 20, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Should Forecasts Be Banned: Part 2

Should Forecasts Be Banned: Part 2

Last week we published the first part of a point by point rationale for why bird forecasts are more bad than good, and should potentially be banned…or changed, per the below. Here’s the second and final part. If we’re missing something here or got our logic wires crossed, make sure you let us know. Also […]

September 19, 2011 | By | Reply More
Should Bird Forecasts Be Banned?

Should Bird Forecasts Be Banned?

Part 1 We get it. We get why everyone likes to read bird forecasts: We all want to know how good the hunting is going to be. Yep good, not bad. We want to be psyched. So there we are, stoked about the season, sitting in our rich Corinthian leather chairs (anyone remember that commercial?!), […]

September 16, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
PF’s Pheasant Forecast Is Out…

PF’s Pheasant Forecast Is Out…

…How Does It Look To You? Pheasants Forever (PF) just published its pheasant hunting forecast for the season, and it looks…well, that’s the first question – how do you think it looks? Here are PF’s few-word summaries for each state: California – Average Year by Modern Standards (3) Colorado – Northeast Up While Southeast Prospects […]

September 15, 2011 | By | Reply More
No Time for Grousin’ or ATVs To Blame?

No Time for Grousin’ or ATVs To Blame?

The Minnesota DNR recently published some pretty interesting details about a survey it conducted of grouse hunters. There’s a lot in there and we’ll talk about more of it later, but this installment addresses why folks don’t grouse-hunt more. The Duluth News Tribune picked up on the fact that when those surveyed (2,313 hunters surveyed, […]

September 14, 2011 | By | 11 Replies More
ND Pheasants Down But…

ND Pheasants Down But…

…Still In the 6 Figs Along with Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, North Dakota has now officially joined the list of major pheasants states where this year’s pheasant population is forecast to be down. The state said that its roadside pheasant survey in late July and August “suggests poor production this spring, meaning a […]

September 13, 2011 | By | Reply More
Maine Not Looking Great But…

Maine Not Looking Great But…

…We’re Going Anyway! Maine is one of many states that doesn’t publish an upland bird forecast – which we used to think was slacking but now think might be a good idea (more on that later in the week). So every year at least one member of the press chases down the upland bird biologist […]

September 12, 2011 | By | 3 Replies More
Giveaway! Who Needs Boots?

Giveaway! Who Needs Boots?

NOTE: This giveaway is done, winner announced here, thanks to all for participating! Since you’re a Serious chicken chaser, we bet you’ve put some Serious miles on your boots. Maybe too many – meaning you haven’t taken the time to replace your old standbys with something new. Why should you? Because new boots (many but […]

September 9, 2011 | By | 23 Replies More
Weather: Are Gamebirds On the Move?

Weather: Are Gamebirds On the Move?

Weather has been hammering our gamebirds. Actually hammering everything, but gamebirds seem a bit more sensitive to these changes. Every time we talk about that, global warming comes up, and…no definitive conclusions reached, even with the help of a good (or at least decent) bourbon. But on that topic, did you happen to see the […]

September 8, 2011 | By | Reply More
Iowa Pheasants Down Again, But…

Iowa Pheasants Down Again, But…

Iowa used to be a pretty major destination for pheasant hunters, but the last few years has put the kabosh on that. This year won’t help either. The Iowa DNR just released a short, to the point forecast that can be summed up in this quote from it: “The Iowa pheasant population has fallen to […]

September 7, 2011 | By | 3 Replies More
Hobbes, Hannah and An Odd Grouse

Hobbes, Hannah and An Odd Grouse

Brian Heft is a bird hunter who’s also the park manager at Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Virginia. We saw some photos he shot, and asked about the story behind ’em. Here’s what he said: My first bird dog was a German Shorthair Pointer named Hobbes (I love the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes). […]

September 2, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Are You In Shape…Almost?

Are You In Shape…Almost?

by Jay Well that sucked! Every August it’s something. Three years ago my back was out for weeks, and it was questionable whether I’d make the first trip of the season. Turns out I did, after 2 weeks of recovery. Made it through every day, but it about killed me…. Last year it was a […]

September 1, 2011 | By | 3 Replies More