Small Game Season

View · by **meddin** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 1:29 pm

Small Game season started today. Gonna try my luck with some squirrels this weekend. Being a new hunter, wish me luck

Anyone else been out yet? How did you do?

View · by **grousemaster** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 1:40 pm

meddin wrote:Small Game season started today. Gonna try my luck with some squirrels this weekend. Being a new hunter, wish me luck

Anyone else been out yet? How did you do?

Had to sit out today as one of my buddies is getting married in a couple of hours, I'll be chasing grouse all day tomorrow and Monday though.....

View · by JJ on Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:26 pm

Bumped a ton of timberdoodle's, if season was open on them I would have cleaned up. Ended up with one tasty grouse for the pan.

View · by **timwarner** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:57 pm

ok, I'll give in.

what the hell is at timberdoodle?

View · by JJ on Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:59 pm

Woodcock (but it just sounds so dirty lol)

View · by **xd ED** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:02 pm

timwarner wrote:ok, I'll give in.

what the hell is at timberdoodle?

Had to google that one myself.

View · by **timwarner** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:04 pm

not sure what a woodcock is even, too many years in the cities I guess.

Never hunted small game though, legally anyway. Just squirrels and songbirds when I was younger.

View · by JJ on Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:06 pm

They are technically a type of migratory bird. Eat lots of worms and such. They have a really odd flight pattern that is unlike any other bird I have ever seen. Tough targets on the flush, as they do no maintain a consistent path, or height.

View · by **timwarner** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:57 pm

why would you shoot such a small bird?

View · by JJ on Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:37 pm

They are a tough target? They aren't the most tasty for sure, and the dogs hate picking them up. But man are they fun to try and keep up with.

View · by **cobb** on Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:15 pm

JJ wrote:Woodcock (but it just sounds so dirty lol)

Because they are if you plan to eat them.

I cannot understand how someone thinks they are hard to hit. From my experience they are very easy to drop, it is a ruffled grouse that is hard to lead and drop, more of a spot and anticipate the shot path for grouse in the Becida area. Besides, woodcock taste like what it eats, earth worms that are full of mud. Even my lab is smart enough to point a woodcock, Koda will go into any cover for a grouse or pheasant, but he points a woodcock and then kinda looks sideways at me like it is up to me if I want that thing. :lol:

View · by **smurfman** on Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:43 am

I have to wait until tomorrow to get out but I expect to have a pretty good start. I've been seeing a fair number of ruffed grouse the last couple times I scouted with the dogs but most seem to be older birds as they have no qualms about running as soon as the dogs lock up. I just wish the mud bat (another name for woodcock, I have a few more too) season was open. Even sharptails seem to be more common than in the past and I expect to get a couple of them in the next few days as I work a buddy's young dog.

View · by **bensdad** on Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:29 pm

Woodcock has a wonderful livery (is that a word?) taste. There were a couple years where I got enough of them for a full-fledged fondu. Most of the time, they just go in the pan - or on the grill - with the grouse. The breast is all ya eat. Each side is pretty much one bite.

ETA: I'm no expert, but as far as shooting woodcock goes, I've seldom seen them do anything other than fly strait up to clear the trees/brush, then pick a direction and go. They often make a distinctive whistle as they rise.

View · by **cobb** on Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:05 pm

smurfman wrote: Even sharptails seem to be more common than in the past and I expect to get a couple of them in the next few days as I work a buddy's young dog.

What part of the state?

View · by **Pezhead** on Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:43 am

Still trying to figure out wehn we can go this year.