Quail and Grouse season have started off great! Here are a few pics of a Chief on point (Quail) and of a recent grouse hunt (first trip this season-killed three):

good deal pace! im still looking for a dog here. if you hear of anything up that way let me know!

Are you finding any grouse? Let me know and I'll bring Chief down. I know we kept trying to plan a trip last year and never could. I have his brother right now breaking him on grouse; looks like he's going to make a fine dog.

Bob (where I bought Chief) has a litter of pups on the way; if you're interested in a Llewellin, let me know and we'll take a trip over or you can give him a call.

pace,

the problem with a pup right now is that my job keeps me tied up mon-fri from 8 am til 7pm. so that leaves very little time to train a pup. im trying to find one over 2 years old, and one thats already most of the way trained. but theyre few and far between.

and yeah ive flushed several grouse this year. seen a bunch back in tackett creek earlier in the year, but thats in TN. i know a spot or two in cabin holler that will probably hold a few birds, and theres some behind my barn. im sure we can find some birds down here if you ever get a chance to come down this season. or i can come up there any weekend. just let me know. its looking grim for me unless i can find a dog, so a grouse hunting trip would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

He's got started dogs too; they will be broke to the whistle, lead, 'whoa', will back/honor and will point quail all day. You'll have to show 'it' what grouse are just like I did with Chief.

Yeah, we'll take some trips. PM me your phone number again. We're out for Christmas break on the 15th and don't have to go back till the first week of January. I'm going to try and hunt every day that I can.

pace,

sent you a PM.

Got a couple more:

birds up high huh. great pictures man. im dying to go this weekend, may try to go sunday. probably will be pretty pointless without a dog but ah well. ive got a guy that is going to train a pup for free or really cheap for me (we've given him several dogs in the past - the dude over in arther tn), ive just got to get a pup now. i kinda want a GSP...but honestly with christmas so close and me wanting a fourhwheeler, i just cant shell out 5-600 bucks for a dog right now. wish i could find a good puppy in the 300 dollar range, but probably wont happen.

anyway, good hunting pace! holler at me whenever you get a chance to take someone!

I took my nephew and a buddy today; we moved four and killed one. I missed one that I should have gotten............. I'm going to deer hunt this weekend and will be out of town next weekend, but will be off till Jan. 2 after that. We'll try to go around the 19th or so if you'd like. I'll take you to my best spot, but will have to blind-fold you on the way in/out of course!

pace,

sounds good. may have to wait til a weekend around that time, i dont get home from work til about 7-8 monday-friday. my birthdays right around in there, and thatd be a heckuva gift.

we're looking doubly-hard for a dog right now. tried contacting bob bailey but the number got a message that his cell is no longer in service. called some guys near barbourville, a guy in corbin that we thought might have some shorthairs. found some setters that were 2 year olds but not very well trained, but the price was good, but we passed anyway. never would have thought finding a dog would be this hard. my pap is the kind that will call and ask about a dog then ending up talking about grouse hunting for hours upon end with the person on the other line

the hunt will continue this evening i suppose, im gonna try to do some research on the net during my downtime at work....thanks again so much pace! ive not shot a grouse in years, and ive only killed one in my life, so im really looking forward to get in the grouse woods. i did a little scouting this weekend at a place called cabin holler...found several little more open tracts with PLENTY of autumn olive....it grows everywhere up there, and even found some right on the edge of a lot of pines. shoulda took my gun and tried to kick a few up but didnt. just not the same without a dog. hopefully ill find one soon...

You and your dad really should speak with Bob; he's been in Iowa hunting, but should be back by now. Just tell him you know me. Phone: 606-743-4645

We'll definitly go...if you can't go during the week we'll plan a trip on the weekend. I 'think' I'll be out of town this weekend, but will know for sure in a day or so. If I'm not, I can go this coming Sunday. I hate to miss church, but a few here and there during hunting season can't hurt! If not, maybe the next weekend.

The areas you described sound great. Anywhere there are autumn olive/pine/hardwood mixes, there should be birds. I'm finding some on these old logging roads that have a lot of wild grapes also. I'd sure like to come down and try some new spots out. Oh, yeah you're right...it's not the same w/out a dog. I don't think I'd go w/out one...that's where all of the fun is!

we made some more calls last night. didnt call bob but called a few others. me and my grandpaw only average about 2-3 calls a night because he likes to talk for hours upon end to the person on the other line about dog training and bird hunting i think we're trying to locate a 4 year old GSP that hunts a lot closer than a typical GSP that a fellow that knows my pap has. hopefully we can find him, the guy has moved and we're trying to find his number. i would like to talk to bob, even though im unsure if i can afford a real good dog like chief, id still like to talk to him. we are trying to take time and find people that owe my pap a favor (and theres quite a few that owe him one or more) and get a dog that way. someday id like to set a kennel up at our barn and get into training and breeding, we did it with labs ever since i was little and id like to start it again.

and yeah i can go this weekend, thatd be great man, if you get time that is. and youre right, im sure the good Lord won't take offense in anyone wanting to enjoy his creation ONE sunday every once in a while. the weather is calling for 64 and partly cloudy sat. and sunday, so the weather should be perfect. id really, really appreciate and enjoy a trip to the grouse woods. and whenever you want to come down and check some places out down here, ive got a few ive looked at. i know where some woodcock would be right about this time, along the creekbank at the head of Fern lake. you can always scare up a few doodles back there.

wild grapes is one thing ive not see much of. when driving these old strip and log roads on the weekends, i tend to set my sights on the autumn olive and forget about wild grapes. weve got some behind our barn, and ive seen some grouse back there in the past few years. soon i think im gonna go back there and clear a few spots out of some undergrowth and a few large trees in prepartion of making a few food plots this spring.

everyone in bell county we've been talking to says theyve not been seeing a lot of birds this year. normally id think thats just grouse hunters talking, but a lot of my cousins have told my grandpaw this, and i dont think theyd lie to him. i did have a person tell me he saw 4 grouse behind the barn around sept while he was back there digging sane. so hopefully if we have a warm may and early june and if i can get a few little clearings back there itll help the population in the area. have you been seeing more or less birds this year or about the same? have they flushed wilder up there? cause most everyone we talked to say the birds are wild as hell right now.

ive been reading some things online that say that this general region should be on the verge of a cycle up-swing, i dunno. i havent been out enough to comment on way or the other.

man....thats a lot of typing. better stop while im ahead. but yeah if you get a chance this weekend please let me know, id love to go man. and if you dont get time, maybe next weekend. i always like hunting with people that know more about it than me. just let me know!

If I hear of anything at a good price, I will let you know on the dog. I would put $400-500 in a pup now and it’ll be ready to hunt by next season. I think you mentioned that you knew someone that would do the training for free or at a low cost?

I’ll know for sure about Sunday by tomorrow or the next day; the birds are scattered right now (lots of food sources) and a little hard to find. I have my best luck in January and especially February when they start to group up. Actually, the birds that we have found have held really well…some have come up wild, but that’s always going to happen! Makes it interesting I guess…

Yeah, keep thinking of places down there and we’ll give’em a try. I’ve done well in the autumn olives/pine mixes so far!

I’ve heard the same about us reaching the ‘up’ swing of the grouse cycle. I tell you what, and I LOVE to turkey hunt, but I think they have hurt the grouse population more than anything. And regardless of what anyone says, studies/observations have shown that turkey DO eat grouse chicks! That with the foxes, yotes, hawks, etc….they don’t have a chance.

yeah, hickory is trying to get me a dog so i dont have to wait until next season. but if we dont find a dog soon ill go the puppy route.

you know me and my pap were talking about turkeys eating grouse chicks last night. i couldnt believe it, but he swore they did. and my grandpaw knows everything about 2 things: politics and grouse hunting. so if he ever gives me info on either of those two subjects, i take it as gospel. i wouldnt have ever imagined a turkey eating grouse chick. and youre right, its hard to think there are any grouse left. theyve got so many predators....plus we've had a cold last couple of mays...plus the fact there is a lot more mature forest and less stands of 3-4 year old early growth forest that they thrive on. im gonna try to get a few contacts in the logging business and see if i cant pry some info out of them on places theyve logged in bell county over the past 5-6 years.

hickory says a baby grouse is one of the most fragile chicks there is, much more so than a chicken or quail chick. he contends thats why grouse populations are heavily dependent on so many things. he think that the weather in late may has the most to do with it. he used to raise grouse in pens for years and years. you would really enjoy talking with him, he used to live for grouse hunting, now he lives for passing all kinds of useful info on to me. but ive had a bunch of people tell me theyve never talked to anyone with as much knowledge on bird dogs and grouse as him, around here anyway. im actually reading a few books on grouse right now. im about halfway through "grouse hunters guide" and every night i read a little of the 1947 study by the new york game commision on grouse. i think its called "ruffed grouse: land management, propagation and habitat" or something like that. 900+ pages of grouse info, its awesome.

and yeah just keep me posted. i check on here about everyday at work during downtime. if we cant go this weekend ill go do some covert scouting i guess. thanks again.

To hear my uncle tell it; there used to be a grouse in every grape tangle you came to back in the 60's. It wasn't uncommon to get a limit and he's got pictures to prove it. We just don't have the birds that we used to have...I wish we did. I think that exposure and predation are about equal in regard to their impact on grouse populations. The first 2-3 weeks after the hatch are the most critical; I'm not sure how much our winter's play a role. It seems pretty mild here compaired to areas like Wisconsin where grouse thrive.

Do you have to work every day next week? I hope to go Sunday and will if I'm not out of town. I'm planning on hunting every day next week and the week after....well, as many as my legs can stand I guess. It seems like we walked, well, not sure, but MANY miles the other day!

yeah. one area i think hickory may be wrong about is the numbers. he will still contend that areas like fern lake should still have just as many grouse as they used to. but like you said, he hunted that property when there was a grouse around every bend. i think those days are gone, hopefully you and i will see them one day though. ive got one picture of hickory with 9 grouse...he didnt always abide by the limits

and yeah i have to work mon-fri 9-6
only day ill get off is christmas (which id hunt, by the way, if that is the only day available ). but hopefully youll get a weekend day where we can hunt. im dying to get in the grouse woods...its been a long time. i was walking on my lunch break today thinking what a great day it would have been to hunt, minus the slight wind. saturday and sunday look perfect though, as does the rest of this week! like i said, hopefully we'll get to go. just let me know pace!

hey there pace! if you need a local place to get some grouse, i will be more than glad to take you. i have seen many in numerous days scouting and hunting deer. They still scare me when i sneak up on them and they fly ten feet or so. sounds like you got some heck of a dog.

BCO,

We'll go for sure! Don't know if it'll be this weekend, but we can for sure go the next Saturday. I feeling a little sick and may not be able to work tomorrow....

Witt,

Anytime you can go, let me know. I really hate for those grouse to scare you the way they have been; that's hard on a man's heart. So, I pledge my time and energy to help you thin them out!

Thanks; he'll be two this January and has done pretty well on grouse for a pup. He's a big ol'baby......and jealous! lol They're commical for sure.

574-0115

pace, i hope you that you will feel better more than later. god speed to you my friend.. you are a busy person i must say..

thats cool pace, my GF is coming in from pikeville this weekend anyway, so if we wait til next weekend thatll just save me from getting in the dog house lol. i really need to do some clearing behind our barn this weekend. ive got the places mapped out of where im gonna put the plots and clear some trees, and this weekend will be great for it. and maybe a little fishing too lol.

its supposed be be in the low-mid 70s this weekend and most of next week. im pumped already!