Grouse Camp & PCR2

I just got back from a week and a half at my camp in North Central Pennsylvania.

The weather was damp as it tends to be this time of year. I had to fire up the camp clothing and dog dryer after hunting in the rain.



My camp is not too far from PCR’s house. We hunted a local public game land a couple of days. Mark (PCR) knocked down this cockbird that the dog flushed and it crash landed in a tree and got itself stuck up there. He had to get a long branch to free it from the crotch it was stuck in.





Mark and a limit of roosters.



We ended up both limiting out. I got the two hen birds.



The dog gets the heart from the birds he flushes and I kill. Here he is waiting for his treat.



We did some archery hunting on Mark’s property. I blew an easy shot on a fat doe. He fired up the woodstove in his fur shed and we hung out there and talked trapping when we weren’t hunting upland game or deer. He showed me the bobcat and huge fisher he caught last year.



As usual, it was a good trip, had a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to heading back up after Christmas to do some more deer hunting and coyote and beaver trapping.

That looks like a great time. Nice job on the limit of birds.

Neat!

Nice !!!

Nice to see you all having fun

Did you see many grouse?

Came looking for Grouse hunting at Grouse camp and found Pheasants, am disappointed

Great pics,look like yous had a great time.

Be sure to tell grumpy butt hello for me ! Nice bunch of birds and it sure looks like it was a fun time !
Allan

You only pay for what you need

Very nice. Looks like a superb day.

Looks fun I’m glad to see PCR2 is doing well.

Is it legal to shoot hen pheasants there?

I only flushed about fifteen in the three days I targeted them specifically. I hunt a 3500 acre timber company lease that has been continually logged for the last 30 to 40 years. The ten to fifteen year old cuts are about as close to ideal grouse habitat as you can get. Ten years ago twenty-plus flushes a day was common. They’ve been in decline since then.

The big disappointment was the woodcock. I told PCR I would trade him a good woodcock hunt for a deer hunt. I know some spots where, if the migrators have come in, fifteen or twenty flushes an hour is possible. The weather was nice the beginning of last week then we had a major cold front come through with an all day rain on Thursday and snow and high winds the day after. I thought for sure that would push the migrators ahead of it. I hit all my usual spots but they had not arrived yet.

I don't run dogs anymore so I can't say for certain but we haven't had much cold weather up here to drive them out. They linger until the ground freezes or the snow drives them south. Woodcock hold so tight you need to almost step on them to get them to fly which makes it tough to know how many birds are around if you don't have a dog.

The “Grouse Camp” name is a holdover from many years ago when we would go up in mid-November to hunt grouse and woodcock. That was before we realized they stocked pheasants on a nearby state game lands. We moved “Grouse Camp” to the third or fourth week of October to take advantage of the pheasant season. The name stuck.

Yes

I can’t imagine hunting them, or any other upland game without a dog. Not having a good hunting dog has got to make it a lot tougher. Woodcock have always been hit or miss. If the migrators are in, we flush big numbers. If they’re not, we only flush a handful if any.

That holds true here. We always have a few locals but we still depend on the birds coming out of Canada to get things hopping. We had a terrible grouse season this year. It looked like the birds were doing well all through the winter as I was seeing a lot of grouse sign while trapping. Things fizzled out somewhere along the line. I ran English Pointers and Brits. I lived for the month of October.

I see PCR2 has let himself go since leaving the site.

Lol just joking.

You two bro’s look like you had some fun!

I hunt labs exclusively but I’ve always had a soft spot for Brittany spaniel’s. My dad hunted over them when I was a kid, back when Pennsylvania had a big population of wild pheasants.

He always looks like that! LOL

We did have a good time.

A Good Time had!!!

Excellent

Looks like a well worn Model 12!
You rats! Making me miss Pa.

Been wondering about Mark, Doug. Glad you guys made it a good time. Tell him hi from me next time you get to gether!

great pic. looks like a good time

Great story Lug, (PCR2), unfortunately i only spent a few nights in Shinglehouse, my hometown, this fall so far. Planning to go back for the firearm bear weekend if weather is decent. Glad he's doing well. Looks like you guys had a good time.

Nice old Model 12 in the pics. I have an old Model 12, 20 ga., a pleasure to carry for grouse & woodcock.

Thanks for sharing, lugnut.

Thanks for sharing. Like others I'm glad PCR2 is doing well.

When can PCR2 come back out to play?

Return of batman

He is just a struggling actor.

I hope all safe Drivers saved forty percent. Hunting with friends and talking trapping in the fur shed is what we all need to keep our sanity. Glad you guys had a good time

PCR must pay a high insurance premium-he looks like a bit of a firehazard,lol.

Where's Jake from state farm when you need him ? Ha ha

That is one ugly dude right there.

My eyes are violated and may never see properly again.

w

Deliverance.

If you hear banjos you best start running fat boy.

Is that pump gun a Winchester model 12 ??

Ithaca Model 37 for the win. Thought I'd toss that out there.

LOL Ok thanks.Ihave a few of them also.

You're probably right, but like I said, I thought I'd toss that out there. The Model 37 is such a common gun.

It's PCR's "Nickel Steel" Winchester Model 12. That's means it's at least eighty-years-old. Winchester switched to Winchester Proof Steel (WPS) sometime in the late 1930's.

It belonged to Mark's grandfather and he wanted to take it out and kill a couple birds with it out of pure nostalgia. He usually shoots a Wingmaster which has the safety on the rear of the trigger guard. This old model 12 has it on the front of a trigger guard. I had already limited out and watched as he let two big, beautiful cockbirds fly away unscathed while he was pressing a dent in the rear of the trigger guard trying to find the safety.

He eventually figured it out. LOL

I have an older (1950's) Ithaca M 37 with a Poly-Choke installed. Anybody remember when they were popular? It was my dad's small game gun. I remember refinishing the stock in high school wood shop. I bet that would never happen today.

I sometimes take it out for the same reason Mark did, nostalgia.

Glad you guys had a good time.

I have the Win Model 12 in 16 gauge.Well,,one of my sons has it now.It was my first shotgun,,got it when I was 10 years old(that was 1969) LOL Ha Posco,,I was right !!

Good call, a man who knows his guns.

Well,,even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Love this thread with the old guns. I squirrel hunt with a model 1912 (before they were called model 12) made in 1917 or 1918. It's a killer with a 30 inch full choke barrel. I also use a model 12 trap in 16 gauge, the numbers don't match though, 1927 receiver and 1941 upper. On the model 37 trend I have a remington model 17, predecessor to the model 37 Ithaca, in 20 gauge with a 32 inch solid rib barrel that shoots good. Gotta love those old pumps.

I have Model 12 that was made in 1952. It a Pigeon Grade with nice wood, a Monte Carlo stock and vent rib. I bought for next to nothing along with a few other guns from an old girlfriends dad about thirty years ago.

It has been our primary home defense weapon for decades. Everybody (kids included) knows where it is and how to operate it. It's kept in Condition 3/Cruiser Ready Condition (full magazine, chamber empty, safety off, trigger pulled) so all anybody has to do is grab it and rack it to be ready to rock and roll.

Several chicken-eating-red-fox have been eliminated by it over the years.

Yes, that is a Winchester Model 12

with u T its even a blind nut finds a squirrel".

Glad to see PCR is doing well.