Training Bird Dogs At Pineridge Grouse Camp

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As I pull off the gravel road and onto the driveway, I slow-roll past a familiar mailbox and a smile creeps over my face. I continue on by an “English Setter Crossing” sign and I like to think Hartley, my two-year old setter, is also smiling behind me in his crate. I follow the driveway that separates a beautiful piece of forested bird cover on my left to the open grassy training fields on my right. Eventually the truck is parked and we have arrived, this is Pineridge Grouse Camp. [Read more…]

Upland Bird Hunting Pre-Season Checklist

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Today is September 1st, which for many of you is a month you have been waiting for since the beginning of the year. Garrett and I include ourselves in that group of people and you can bet we are as excited as anybody to ring in the 2016 upland bird season. It’s almost time to put all the planning and dreaming you’ve done in the off season into action, but before you do, here’s a list of things you’ll want to check off your list first. [Read more…]

Spring Grouse And Woodcock Season

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After a bit of an extended hiatus on the blog, Hartley and I are back with a spring update! First off, I wanted to mention that over the last year, the number of subscribers to our blog has grown significantly which has been awesome! On the flip side of that, I often feel bad not delivering more regular updates, but we do our best to keep in touch via other social media outlets. My full-time gig with the Ruffed Grouse Society has definitely kept me busy during the spring banquet season which will continue into the month of May. I’ve already met many followers of Northwoodsr at my events and I hope to meet many more! [Read more…]

Michigan Ruffed Grouse

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The first time I met Jay, I was pulling into the driveway of his Michigan cabin.  He walked up to the truck with his two setters, Ruthie and Georgie, bourbon in his glass, and an unforgettable smile on his face.  The campfire in the background was surrounded by a handful of other grouse hunters. [Read more…]

Project Upland: Grouse Hunting Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

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As the title of this post suggests, today I want to highlight a unique project that ties together both my love and passion for the sport of grouse and woodcock hunting, as well as my “day-job,” working for the Ruffed Grouse Society as a Regional Director. What I’m referring to is a video series produced by A.j. DeRosa and the crew at Dangerous Cow Publishing, known as ‘Project Upland’. [Read more…]

Sharp-tailed Grouse – Photo Journal

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I had an opportunity to join four others on a hunt to the west, the Montana prairies.  We set up camp and targeted sharp-tailed grouse for eight days straight.  It all started when I met two of the four guys this spring at a 16-Gauge shoot here in the Twin Cities area.  We were all shooting A.H. Fox shotguns and ended up being paired together. [Read more…]

Deer Camp: Opening Weekend Equals Missed Opportunities!

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With the first weekend of MN Firearms Deer Season in the books, neither Garrett nor myself have filled our buck tags. It was not for lack of opportunity however as we both had a chance at a mature buck during our hunts. Before we get into the individual scenarios and lessons learned, I would like to say that we had an awesome opening weekend in MN this year. The weather was beautiful, perhaps a bit on the warm side and a little windy where I was hunting, but as deer hunters we know better than to be too picky about weather. [Read more…]

Early Grouse Season Recap

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Well the 2015 grouse and woodcock season is well underway here in Minnesota. However up until yesterday, it had not really “felt” like it. Yesterday was the first day of the season that I can recall during which the temperature did not rise above 60 degrees. It was calm and clear and it felt good when the dog and I were able to sneak out for a quick late evening hunt. While most of the leaves are still clinging to their respective branches, there is abundant color in the woods and the next couple weeks should result in peak color. The cooler temps are expected to stay with us as we enter October and begin to live once again, the greatest month of the year! [Read more…]