I almost didn't go grouse hunting. I was pulling onto the interstate and thinking it is supposed to rain and snow and it is the opening day of rifle elk season. Chukar hunting would have been a better choice as there is less brush and less brush means less wetness... but hey, that is why they make Gore-Tex.
It didn't take long for Zephyr to get his first point. He came in above the bird with a solid point. The blue was a hard flusher and didn't give me any kind of real shot.
I always love the first snows of the season. Today's was a wet one but hey remember the Gore-Tex thing.... Soon I began to feel that cold moist feeling in my left boot. Then upon taking off my glove I noticed the dampness inside. Yup both the gloves and the boots gave up their waterproofness today. As you can see in the remaining pictures the lense on my iPhone was getting wet as well as my fingers and toes.
Zephyr is still getting his retrieving figured out but he brought this blue most of the way in. The change in the weather was awesome and much needed to improve scenting conditions. Zephyr ended up with 6 points. Several of the birds flushed in cover that was much too thick to get a shot off.
Ended the day with one last solid point on a ruffed grouse. It was mostly blues today. They have definitely switched their diet to pine needles as I ran into a lot more in the timber than during early season. It brought my season total to 12 grouse. Pretty good season so far. Will probably end up switching back to archery for a couple weeks. Need to make sure and run as much as possible with Zephyr to keep him in shape for late season grouse and chukar.
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