2014 Grouse and Woodcock Season: By The Numbers
The 2014 grouse and woodcock season marks the first year I took a formal approach to recording some statistics over the course of my hunting season. [Read more…]
Do You Re-Flush Grouse?
The other day I found myself reading an interesting article after being directed to the Outdoor Life website via Sporting Classics Daily. The article was nominated for a 2014 magazine award and basically consisted of 51 tips, tricks and hacks to make one a better outdoorsman. [Read more…]
Ruffed Grouse Society Video Contest
It’s that time of year again and videos are starting to roll in for Ruffed Grouse Society’s annual video contest. While Northwoods’R hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, we definitely plan to in the future! For now we’ll just enjoy the videos with the rest of you.
There are some great submissions so far with a lot of awesome Go-Pro action, I’m thinking we may need to buy one of those before next fall. Our favorite video as of right now is absolutely Clayton Rider’s submission, “Journey to the Northwoods.” Not only did he tip his cap to the great Northwoods in his title, he put together a great video that captures a special aspect of grouse hunting that I imagine all of us can relate to. Family, friends, dogs… grouse hunting!
Check out Clayton’s video below and follow this link to the rest of the videos submitted. Nice work everyone!
P.S. The deadline for submission is February 28th so there’s still time to submit one of your own! (Contest rules)
Northwoods’R: NL
Seeing Double!
It’s been some time now since Garrett and I found ourselves in the midst of a week-long road trip back in October, but the memory of my first double is still fresh in my mind. I can still relive it in my mind from the moment the dog picked up bird scent to the high-fives among friends once it was all said and done. While grouse season is not officially over in Minnesota, ’tis still the season to take a look back on another memorable season in the grouse woods. [Read more…]
Thanksgiving Scare
We went to the in-laws in Fargo for Thanksgiving and fortunately, that also meant that I got to go pheasant hunting for a couple days after the holiday. We made the four hour drive after work Wednesday night. This led the dogs to be cooped up for the majority of Wednesday night so my father in law, Curt and I took my two shorthairs and his lab for a walk late Thursday morning. [Read more…]
2014 Deer Season
Seasons come and go like clockwork, just as the whitetail deer season does in Minnesota. The anticipation of spending time in the stand in November is exhilarating. This is a time when absolutely anything can happen at any given time. This is what drives us to get up early in the morning, put on every piece of clothing you own, grab your rifle, and sit long hours in the stand. [Read more…]
Deer Camp!
November is here in Minnesota and the chilling bite I feel each time I step outside kindly reminds me. Not that I needed any reminders of course, not on the eve of THE unofficial Minnesota state holiday. Yes, the time of year when school closings are still common in rural areas and business meetings are politely scheduled around the first week of the season. A time when Minnesotans unite in celebration of tradition and of the hunt. A time when almost half a million of us take to the woods on the very same day. For myself, it is a special time of year indeed, one in which I unite with my fellow brothers and sisters in pursuit of, not only the whitetail deer, but also a deeper connection with nature made possible through the hunt which drives our passion. [Read more…]
Grousing With Sam Cook
Growing up in Duluth, I’ve been a reader of Sam Cook’s outdoor writings since I was just a boy, fascinated by all things great outdoors. I can vividly remember many times I tore apart the paper in search of the only thing worthy of my concern at the time, Sam Cook’s column in the outdoors section. [Read more…]
October Memories, Ruffed Grouse Road Trip and more…
Along with another weekend of October grouse and woodcock hunting in the books comes another few days of time well spent in the woods as well as new memories to reflect on in the off-season. Last weekend’s memories include a couple of bloopers including a beautiful point from young setter on a triple of grouse as well as an uncanny reenactment of an incident that I never thought could be repeated. [Read more…]
Great Grouse and Woodcock Hunt
This trip had a different feel to it from the beginning. My dad and I typically go up to our shack and hunt together. He was out in North Dakota pheasant hunting so I made the three-hour drive by myself. This was a great opportunity for me to catch up with a few friends and enjoy some tunes. I arrived at the shack Thursday night and was greeted by some friends that were already up working on deer stands. They had a nice fire going and the shack was nice and warm. We sat around the fire for a couple of hours enjoying whiskey and cigars. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening in the woods, far away from city lights. [Read more…]