Colorado Blues

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Chessie 67

Well-known member
A buddy and I took our dogs out after work yesterday evening for a walk in our favorite Grouse woods. Nice cool evening at 9500 feet. I was very encouraged to see a fair amount of birds; about 11 flushes. The young of the year birds were already very good size and strong fliers. I’m really looking forward to see how they fly again in 27 days!!
 
Chessie 67 said:
A buddy and I took our dogs out after work yesterday evening for a walk in our favorite Grouse woods. Nice cool evening at 9500 feet. I was very encouraged to see a fair amount of birds; about 11 flushes. The young of the year birds were already very good size and strong fliers. I’m really looking forward to see how they fly again in 27 days!!
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I’ll be at 10000 ft with you Labor Day weekend! Summer started super dry which may be good for nesting and rains began a few weeks ago.. I can’t wait, but need to hit the gym asap!
 
Quailnerd said:
I’ll be at 10000 ft with you Labor Day weekend! Summer started super dry which may be good for nesting and rains began a few weeks ago.. I can’t wait, but need to hit the gym asap!
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Nice! Yes, it’s definitely a work out, also a good way to cross train for Elk hunting!
 
Took my 4 month old puppy out today to check a spot. Flushed 2 that held super tight then a covey of 5. Not bad for an hour of walking.
Cover looked amazing!
 
Best tasting game bird i ever ate was an early season CO dusky grouse.
 
Headed up to the Ruby Mountains in NE Nevada for September 1st Snow cock and Blue grouse opener, when the legs give out for Snow cock I'll head down to lower elevations for Blues, It will be a dog-less trip as Snow cock is just to dangerous for the dog, but will miss them when in Blue country. Blues have my vote for tastiest grouse.
 
Nevada's Rubies are beautiful.

Anyone who can spot, much less bag, a snowcock, is a bad a** hunter.

BTW Snowcock, do you go to the Star, a favorite of mine, while up there?
 
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BritChaser,

I got an email from Nevada's NDOW bird biologist this morning, in 2021, 150 hunters took out a permit for Snowcock (its free just for surveys)
Only 50 of those hunters hunted for a total of 154 day, so 3 day average. 3 birds were bagged last year and one hunter reported wounding and losing a bird.
I shot a mature Snowcock in 2016 my third trip for them, since then I have hunted four others years and no shots, in 2019 my Oldest setter pulled a perfect point on one, terrain was so tough I couldn't get to her or the bird, but a great memory. She lasted a day and a half on the rocky terrain before her feet gave out. Last year took my youngest Setter and got caught in a freak snowstorm...hunt over, got out safely, whew!!

The Star real Basque food.
 
Well the opener has come and gone along with the holiday weekend.
How was the grouse hunting???
 
I went out on Monday. Got into some young birds immediately. Definitely a lot better conditions this year from the rains we've had, but it currently is very hot. We could only do about 3 hours before we went through our water. Cold spell might be coming Saturday so that will be very nice for the weekend.
 
Hunter for three days for sharptails and blues and saw a lot of birds! The poor sharpies we’re getting slaughtered by droves of hunters which was quite sad to see but the blue grouse in northern Colorado had an excellent hatch. Hunter big males in the high Fir forest one afternoon and did great on singles and pairs with many pointed birds. The last day hunter some brood habitat in the evening and out of three pointed coveys in less than an hour.
 

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