Glenda’s First Hunt and First Ruff Grouse

Member Details - Tips From This Hunt

Teach someone to hunt it can be as rewarding as taking the birds yourself.
When you have someone in the field for the first time keep control of the situation, i.e. tell them when to shoot, when not to shoot but don’t be controlling and ruin the fun of it. Once they prove themselves trustworthy then step out from behind them to hunt beside them!
If the blast of the gun is annoyingly loud you are not focusing on the bird enough. I have found that when I’m shooting well, bringing down birds consistently, I don’t really notice the gunfire, see the barrel as I “point” at the bird, or think about pumping in a new shell…in the zone the only thing that exists is the bird. Now this doesn’t mean I’m not aware of where the dog or my hunting partners are…those should be just as automatic.
Always, as soon as you step into the field or moving on after shooting check to make sure you have a live shell chambered. This is a regular habit of mine and I have missed plenty of opportunities when I forget.
Keep your gun at ready as much as possible. For me this is with the gun diagonal across the chest with my finger hovering over the safety.

(By Karl DeHart)

Here was the situation, my dear friend Glenda wanted to learn how to bird hunt. She had shot a shotgun a few times growing up and didn’t like it. Now at 46 she had a fear of guns and was understandably not confident in how she would handle one or shoot. She had described not ever shooting a gun with her eyes open, not enjoying skeet shooting, and hating the sound of the blast. But, to her credit, she told me the reason she wanted to hunt at least once was, “If I’m going to eat the birds I should at least experience what it’s like to hunt them”.

Now some people would have taken her straight to a place to shoot at some empty cans or clays. I figured doing that would simply reinforce the negative experiences she had already gone through with guns. She needed some excitement! So, I took her sharp-tailed grouse hunting. Yep, a bird even a few experienced hunters have a hard time hitting. But she had a blast…literally.

With a basic re-introduction to the gun and all the safety comments we headed into the field. At first, to learn the routine she just followed me until I shot my 2 birds. I tried to explain as much as I could as each situation came up, things like; always keep your gun at ready none of this just carrying it over your shoulder because you’ll miss birds, when song birds flush bead up on a few of them to get the feel of shouldering and following a live target, always scan around you for other hunters, and when the dog is on point quickly move in but don’t come at the dog from behind it pushes younger dogs. Basic lessons that experienced hunters just automatically do.

She had earplugs hanging around her neck but didn’t use them. I told her that the excitement of a bird flushing and being focused on the bird would make the sound of the blast seem distant and she confirmed I was right. My theory is if the bang of the gun is too loud your not focusing enough on the birds getting up…get in the zone! She was nervous. I could see it written plainly on her face. But, I think seeing Z at work, the birds flush that Z had pointed, the sudden unexpected explosions from the ones we had flushed, my shooting, and seeing the birds in-hand also created a high level of excitement. Who wouldn’t be excited, the birds were thick!

It was her turn. I think she felt more at ease as we kept the situations relatively controlled and she listened to me about when to shoot or not. She led the way as we tried to keep up with the maniac-runner named Zealot. Most of the birds we flushed we walked up on ourselves. So the shooting was going to need to be fast. Luckily on Saturday the birds were getting up close and she was able to get a couple shots off.

She was a great student. Always trying to be aware of where Z and I were, scanning for other hunters, and not just unloading the gun until a bird was out of sight. She did not get a sharp-tailed that morning but as she said her major accomplishments included shooting with her eyes open, enjoying the time in the field, understanding the excitement of birds flushing, and watching a dog do its work.

After a late breakfast we went out after some ruffed grouse. The numbers were down this year in Eastern Idaho. The Conservation Officer we talked with thought the spring precipitation hit the higher elevations at the peak of the forest grouse hatch…young birds and a cold wet spring don’t mix. He also said the rains didn’t hit the prairie grouse hatchlings as hard so that’s why we saw a good number of grassland birds. She didn’t seem to enjoy the ruffed hunt as much. I think with the dense forest she didn’t feel as safe about shooting. Plus, busting brush to find a bird is something you automatically love or it takes a passion for bird hunting to make you tolerate it.

Z was working relatively close and I was listening hard for flushes. I had lost sight of her, which was constant, and I had forgotten to put her bell on, urgh. We were working down a fence line when I whistled for Z and 30 yards to our right a ruffed flushed. I snapped my gun around for a quick shot but the bird landed in a tree and I pulled off. There was Z too, still holding point (that made me really happy). In a surprisingly excited voice I start to yell, “Shoot it! Shoot it!” Glenda comes back with, “Shoot what!” It was then I noticed the large tree directly between her and the bird. I reached over grabbing Glenda’s vest and pulled her to me, pointing, “Shoot that!” And then the comment that made me chuckle, she says, “I don’t have a shell chambered”. Hey at least she used the right terminology. This was a perfect lesson for her, something that novice and experienced hunters (me) both forget to do, always check if you have a shell chambered.

I’m still pretty excited as we start a quick exchange of her telling me to take the bird and me telling her too and Z standing on point probably thinking, “Shoot it! Somebody shoot it!” In the end it was me saying I would back her up that got her to pull-up and fire, and just in time too as the bird was hot-footing it on the limb. Glenda’s shot didn’t take the bird down and it started to flutter away, not flying hard but obviously going somewhere. I’m pretty confident the bird was done for but I still take a shot and finish the bird off.

Even though she claims only half a bird for her first kill I hope that it doesn’t minimized the excitement she feels about harvesting her first bird or her first hunt. I know for me the way things turned out, I will remember her first half of a ruff grouse a lot longer than I will the four sharp-tail I harvested that weekend. It’s these moments, the ones with unique character that create lasting memories between friends which then turn into the stories that start with, “Remember that one time…”

In the way I have ended many a hunt with many a friend I’d like to say, “What a day Glenda, thanks for the hunt”.

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