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The sharp-tailed grouse is one seriously charismatic bird. If you’ve ever seen videos of sharp-tails doing their telltale dancing competitions, you were likely hooked immediately. They are fascinating birds to watch and to hunt. Furthermore, the open habitats they live in are equally beautiful and captivating in their own way. If you’ve never had the chance to explore these areas and hunt sharp-tailed grouse, here’s a description of their primary habitat type and how you can learn to spot a few key features while afield.

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The young wirehaired dog lets out a happy yip as it wraps the jager lead around the handler’s legs who spins to unwind himself, tugs on the lead, and again commands “heel” exactly as the group leader demonstrated moments ago. Or so he thought. The dog, now seemingly irritated, dashes off and the handler nearly falls over as the dog reaches the end of the lead and flips to his back with a thud. A calm voice from behind asks: “May I handle your dog?” It's the group leader. “Sure,” the handler sheepishly responds, handing off the jager, the leather still wiry with newness. The group leader walks away silently holding the lead as the young dog begins to yield and is at a heel by the 10th step.  The handler is left in awe. “How did they do that?” he wonders with a murmur. 

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While many people associate the mourning dove with quiet suburban neighborhoods, perhaps perched on a utility line or visiting a backyard birdbath, dove hunting is a very popular pursuit for many across the country. But if you haven’t gone before, how would you know where to go? Surely, you can’t hunt in someone’s suburban backyard, right? If you fit into that bucket of understanding, here are some tips for identifying mourning dove habitat in different regions, so maybe you can try your hand at it this season.

Imagine the sappiest bleeding-heart animal lover you’ve ever met. Got her pictured? Now multiple that by ten and you’ve got me. As a kid on a working Canadian farm, I begged my parents to let me keep the baby mice we found in the baled hay. They escaped their bucket overnight and probably spent the rest of their lives comfortably in the walls of our house, but that didn’t make their rescue any less rewarding to me.

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I remember like it was yesterday when my grandfather took me to the local gun shop at the age of ten to look for a youth model 20-gauge shotgun. My godfather had given me a single shot .410 bore a few years prior with which I’d learned both safe firearm handling and the basics of wingshooting but it was time to take the next step.

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Knowing how to properly use one takes patience, thoughtful practice, and a fair amount of guidance. There is an art to using this technology to supplement your dog’s training. When e-collars first hit the market in the late sixties, they were essentially cattle prods with fry only settings giving them a well-deserved reputation of being inhumane. As the technology improved over time, e-collars have become a fantastic supplemental tool in our training repertoire with their many supportive features. The functionality of e-collars today makes them incredibly versatile, with stimulation levels even less averse than leashes, whistles, or verbal commands. 

Most upland bird hunters know the Hungarian or Gray Partridge was successfully imported and thrived in several Western states, such as Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Washington, the Dakotas, and a few others. States such as Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa are lesser known locations where "Huns" were also introduced and still provide an opportunity to hunt.

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It seems the only thing we American sportsmen and sportswomen love more than a good starter kit is a vest. The ubiquitous fly-fishing vest, tactical vest, camera gear vest, turkey vest, shooting vest, falconry vest, technician’s vest, and of course the upland bird hunting vest. This last one clutch piece of gear is as much a statement piece as it is functional.

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On a fine spring day I tackled a task that had been nagging at me for months — treating my leather hunting boots. It never fails that I put away a pair of boots in February and they get neglected until September, when I pull them out and realize I've done wrong. Not a glamorous job, but it's necessary.

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Lazy days spent in the uplands inevitably bring a closer connection with nature. Especially when your sport is seeking that game little bird, the woodcock. For the woodcock reassures us that the brooks are still dancing merrily through the woods and are on their way to sweet-scented meadows. So it is, the woodcock brings joy to the lovers of forest, cover, and stream.

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