Field Guide to Hunting Upland Birds

In the hunting of any species of bird, two techniques will put the hunter within range. One is to locate and approach the birds, the other is to let the birds find the hunter.

With upland birds, only the first is successful. Hunting upland birds in the hope that they might come to the hunter is comparable to sitting on a stool in the lower pasture and waiting for a cow to back up to bt milked.
The best way to stalk upland birds is with dogs, but where dogs aren't available the hunter must do the job himself on foot. With most species of birds this is far less efficient.

First, the general location of the birds is determined. This may be done from a knowledge of the hunting area, local information, the recognition of suitable bird cover, sometimes from the call of the birds themselves, from recent tracks in the soft earth, or from fresh dusting bowls. Some species, like the bobwhite, tend to keep individual coveys in definite localized areas.

Once the hunter is within the general habitat, he should lool for the cover in which the birds hide, feed, and skulk. Such areas include fence-rows, weedy ditch-banks, brush patches which cannot be tilled at fence intersections, brush-choked gullies, weedy dikes in otherwise open fields, row-crops such as ripened potato fields which contain dried weeds or vegetation, perennial field crops of thick cover such as alfalfa and bull clover, and stubble fields. These are all likely cover for game birds.

Depending on the time of day, the birds may either be shaded up or feeding within such cover. Or, like big game, they may be feeding at the edges of such concealment. Most game birds will, at the sight of the hunter, head for the nearest available cover if it can be reached in safety. If not, they may sit tight, hoping to avoid detection. Once within cover, upland birds will either lie low, move farther away within the concealment, or move completely through the cover patch and flush away on the opposite side. For example, the chukar partridge will, if the cover is sparse, race away for several hundred yards from an approaching hunter, then either flush or hide. The Chinese pheasant is more apt to duck immediately into cover, then pop out again on the opposite side and race or fly away unseen. Oppositely, a sage grouse is more likely to walk a few steps, sit tight in the first available sagebrush, then flush well ahead of the oncoming hunter.

HUNTING WITH A PARTNER

All such characteristics dictate that the best way of stalking upland birds without a hunting dog is with a partner. Almost any situation can be handled far more efficiently with a partner than when hunting alone. For example, fence-rows can be worked with a hunter on each side, each preventing birds escaping from an opposite side. (The pheasant is master of this strategy.) Also, long-stretching willow rows, canal banks, and sim­ilar areas of cover can be handled in a comparable manner.

In many areas of row-crops, long ditches, etc., with birds that run in­stead of sitting tight, another technique is to have one hunter circle and move to the far end before any hunting is begun, then head back along the cover as his partner begins working the opposite end. As they come closer together, hidden birds will usually flush, and one or the other is apt to get a shot.

Often with running or skulking birds, the very presence of a hunter at either end of a ditch or dike, working closer together, will cause birds to change strategy and sit tight. Then, of course, they have to be kicked out, often at close ranges.

Many times the nature and density of cover will indicate another technique of getting birds up. One hunter posts himself at some vantage point, usually at the far end of small, patchy foliage, while his partner walks through and kicks about in every yard of foliage. Birds sit tight in direct ratio to the density of brush. Often the "working" hunter has to kick the birds out literally from beneath his feet before they will fly. The first bird, cackling or chirping into the air in an explosion of wings, will cause the other birds to bounce up, and the "standing" hunter gets his chance.

Many times a party of three or four hunters, working without dogs, can cover individual brush patches and get the birds up. Usually they are di­vided into those who post themselves at vantage points, ordinarily called "blockers," and those who move through the cover, called "drivers."

HUNTING ALONE

The lone hunter, working without a dog, is at a great disadvantage. His best procedure, with most upland species, is to work through the edge areas of any type of cover. He should move slowly so that birds are not spooked too far ahead of him by any undue commotion, and be constantly ready to shoot. The fresh tracks, dung, and dustings in or at the margin of cover all indicate the amount and proximity of game.

Narrow fence-rows, ditch-banks, brushy dikes, and field margins are the types of cover that the lone hunter can work to best advantage. The best technique is for him to move slowly and work slender-shaped areas of cover so that he will eventually come to where they terminate in an open area. Many times the birds, detecting his presence but not unduly alarmed by his slow movement, will move ahead but not flush until the hunter reaches the last few rods of cover.

Once upland birds are flushed, any missed birds should be carefully marked down, to be hunted later. Often with short-flying birds, the nature or size of the new concealment is sufficient marking. But in more open, consistent-looking country, the far-flying birds become difficult to mark down and find later.

A good technique is first to establish a beeline to the new location by mentally marking down any available object directly beyond the spot where the birds have lit—such as a distant mountain, knoll, or tree. Next, before striking off, a careful estimate of the distance should be made. For example, if you conclude that a bird headed straight towards adistant ridge end and lit, and estimate the ridge end to be about 400 yards away, by pacing off the distance as you head for the spot, you are very apt to arrive close to the new location of the bird.

When hunting with a partner, your estimation will be more accurate. Each hunter marks the bird down in a direct line towards a distant object.

Stalk upland birds along fence-rows and the edges of heavy foliage where they tend to seek shade and food.

When the hunters converge along the two lines, the spot where their paths intersect will be it.

Upland birds which have been flushed, especially if they fly considerable distance, will tend, in many instances, to sit tighter when again located. Often, when hunting them in the new location, the hunter will swear they have evaporated. Actually they often have to be almost stepped upon to make them flush again. The best procedure, once at the new location, is to begin at the estimated spot and continue working the entire area of cover in increasing, concentric circles, until the bird is found. The usual behavior of many species is to "explode" from virtually underfoot.

These are all broad generalities applicable to most upland birds in average hunting circumstances. The exceptions only provide additional spice to the hunting effort.

Our upland birds fall into the general categories of the doves, quail, partridges, grouse, ptarmigan, pheasants, and wild turkey. In addition to the above generalities, each species has its own characteristics and ec­centricities. These, of course, influence the hunting techniques necessary for the successful hunting of that particular species.

MOURNING DOVE

The mourning dove, our smallest upland game bird, is only slightly larger than a robin; its body is dusty-gray with darker wings and face mark­ings. It is hunted in all forty-eight of our original states. Like many other birds, the mourning dove lives in a moderate climate and migrates back and forth. In the summer, this dove will be found throughout the northern tier of states. In fall, with approaching winter, it moves southward; and with the warmth of spring, it again travels northward.

This movement not only causes the mourning dove to be hunted in a wide variety of foliage and terrain; it also provides "migration" shooting for all the Nimrods of the northern states. That is, the legalized hunting season must coincide with the bird's southern migration, or else there is no hunt­ing. During 1960, the estimated kill of mourning doves was 20 million, placing it high on the list of game birds.

When the birds are present, they will be found in loosely defined flocks anywhere from a pair of birds up to a dozen or so. Regardless of the region, the birds will generally be found close to their food supply during the day; and characteristically, they will make an evening flight towards water.

The food of mourning doves includes weed seeds, some insects, and the seed of grain crops. Doves like to feed in fairly open areas, and they need grit to grind their seed-food. When alerted or resting, they like to alight on fence wires, telephone wires, and the topmost, bare branches of trees.

One good way of hunting mourning doves is to drive in a car or jeep through the country expected to be hunted and use a pair of high-powered

Mourning Dove

binoculars. Good country includes outlying grain fields, stubble, dirt roads, willow rows, cedar patches, and desert creeks and creek beds.

If doves are in the country they will often be flushed from dirt roads where they pick grit; they will be seen resting on fence wires and phone lines; they will be spotted on bare willows and tree tops; and during the last hour or so before sundown, they will be found in a somewhat definite flight pattern towards water. The binoculars are most useful in studying distant tree tops, willow rows, and the evening flight pattern.

Birds that are found via the vehicle may be hunted after they are flushed and have alighted in an adjacent field. Or, having located a suitable area, hunters can return to it and thoroughly hunt out the region on foot. The location of the evening flight pattern gives an important clue to where any hunting should be done the following evening. In semidesert country, the best area for doves is any available creek bed. The hunter simply "works" the foliage along the watercourse, scouting for birds along the willow or brushtops, or shooting them as they flush before him.
In grain country, a fine procedure is to hunt along the fence-rows hem­ming in any large areas of wheat stubble.

It doesn't take a large shotgun to kill mourning doves. However, the bird's swift erratic flight makes it tricky to hit, even at close ranges, with a puny shot pattern. A 20 gauge is ideal for doves, and No. 7½ and 8 shot sizes are the most used. Many hunters of larger birds use their 12-gauge shotguns on doves, and the tiny .410 and larger .28-gauge guns are fine for the hot-shot gunner. The dove is one species for which the A10 shot­gun may be said to be adequate.

WHITE-WING DOVE

The white-wing dove is another member of the dove family, larger and browner than the mourning dove, with many of the same characteristics. The trait of the white-wing most useful to the hunter is its daily flight to any available water.

In the desert and semidesert, where the white-wing lives and is hunted, the hunter can take full advantage of this characteristic. By acquainting himself with the terrain, any available water, and the evening flight pattern of the birds, he can post himself in a strategic position—often in some form of natural blind—and shoot at passing birds.

In Mexico and many areas of the Southwest, the only water in much of the desert country is to be found at water holes. These may be natural or man-made, and consist largely of hollowed-out depressions meant for catching rain water. White-wings use them and will fly in regularly to such "tanks."

Shooting at white-wings makes many a shotgunner tear his hair. These birds are fast and erratic in flight, providing only a temporary, darting target. The 12-gauge and 20-gauge guns are most commonly used, in conjunction with No. 6, 7½, and 8 shot sizes.

THE QUAIL FAMILY

The many species of quail make up one of our most important upland birds. Quail range in species from the much-loved bobwhite of the South, to the Gambel quail of the arid lands of the Southwest, to the mountain and valley quail of the Northwest and Pacific Coastal country. Quail range from the hottest country to moderate and cool regions. They inhabit coun­try whose foliage ranges from cactus to burrs, to palmetto to sagebrush, and from wheatland to weeds.

The most popular quail is the bobwhite quail, so called because its call simulates the sound bob-white. This is a small bird, averaging around 9 inches overall length, mottled in belly coloration with brown back, and light throat, face, and neck markings. The bobwhite's range is over most of eastern North America.

The mountain quail, much larger than the bobwhite, is plumed, with bright scarlet throat patches fringed in white, reaching downward upon a gray-colored chest, darker, mottled belly and brownish wings. As the name suggests, this species is found in the mountainous country, and is largely confined to the hilly country of the West.

The valley quail is another species very popular with West Coast hunt­ers. This quail is another of contrasting coloration, and sports a top-knot. The male has a dark, white-ringed throat patch, light-gray chest, mottled belly, and gray-brown back. Its original range along the West Coast has been extended with transplantings to cover most western states.

Gambel quail is another top-knotted species, often called desert quail, and is widely spread in the arid regions of the Southwest from Utah to Mexico.

Massena, or Mearns' quail, and scaled quail are two other southwestern species.

Like other upland species, quail will be found adjacent to their food supply, which consists of berries, fruits, weed seeds, domestic grain, and insects. The species is gregarious, and the birds live together and are found during hunting season in coveys. Certain of the subspecies, such as the

bobwhite in the South, will complete their life cycle often in an area no larger than a half-section. Others,- such as some of the western species, will range much farther afield.

If ever there was a species that required a hunting dog, it is the quail. A good hunting dog relieves the hunter of the effort of finding the birds; it will "set" the quarry until the hunter comes up ready to shoot; and will then retrieve the dead game for him.

Some species like the bobwhite and Massena quail will hold for a dog. Others like the mountain quail and scaled quail are not so accommodating, and will run ahead of pointing dogs, hide, skulk and refuse to fly—until they drive a good dog crazy.

However, in a broad way, all quail are hunted in much the same fashion with dogs. The dogs are hauled to a likely area and turned loose at the edge of game cover. Once released, the dogs cast about, working the areas shortly ahead of the hunters, trying to pick up the ground-scent, or scent of the birds themselves. For species that will hold, pointers and setters are the most used quail dogs, and the classic conception of bird hunting is a brace of such good dogs, one honoring the point of the other, holding a covey of bobwhites for the anxious hunter. With the dog on point, the hunter flushes the covey by walking in, and then the shooting begins.

Once the covey flushes and scatters, it is important to mark down as many singles as possible, which are then hunted down, set again and flushed.

On species that will not hold for a dog, and that will not flush easily but continue racing ahead, other breeds of dogs are more useful than pointers or setters. Flushers like the Springer spaniel will keep moving with the scattering birds of the alerted covey and oust them into the air.

Which direction a flushed quail will fly is anybody's guess, but usually it will be towards the nearest available cover. Like any upland bird, the quail utilizes heavy foliage as a protection from enemies; and the hunter should remember this after marking down flushed birds.

Because of the quail's coloration, its affinity for relatively thick foliage, its ability to run ahead and lie low, the hunter without dogs has an almost impossible job. The best he can do is to work the likely thickets, fence-rows, and edge country, hoping to kick out a bird or so.

In the West and Southwest, the modern 4-wheel-drive jeep has helped the hunter without dogs. Hunters working country which these little desert buggies will negotiate simply drive through cactus, sagebrush, and similar arid terrain until they come upon birds. At the sight of one crossing the "road" or buzzing off in flight, they pile out and lope after it, trying to make that bird, or others, take to the air.

Jeeps and saddle horses, too, are often used in quail hunting, in con­junction with dogs. The hunters cover the mileage on horses or in the vehicle, with the dogs either trailing the horses until birds are located or riding in the jeep. This is a good way to cover distances in desert country where, as one hunter put it, "Everything that grows either sticks or bites you"—referring to the cacti and poisonous insects and snakes.

Quail are normally shot at close ranges. This, together with their fast, startling flight, dictates a gun of moderately open bore, and fast-handling qualities. The 12-gauge shotgun, in modified and improved-cylinder choke, tops any other gauge, and a good double is one of the very best types on quail. Number 7½ and number 8 shot are good all-round choices.

HUNGARIAN PARTRIDGE

The Hungarian partridge, or "Hun," is an imported upland game bird which has adapted itself well to the northern tier of states, the West, spot areas in the Midwest and East, and vast areas of the wheat-belt section of

southern Canada. It is a small bird, mottled gray-and-red on the belly, with brown, mottled wings.

In some ways the Hun is hunted like quail—that is, a good hunting dog is almost a must. The biggest difference, so far as hunting is concerned, is that the Hun likes the more open prairie areas, where it uses its strategy to outwit the hunter. Flushed coveys will light in open fields again and, like mountain quail, will strike off and run from dogs.

As with open-country hunting of big game, the hunter usually has to maneuver in the terrain so that he can come upon a Hun covey again from an opposite and unsuspected direction—or find himself another covey.

A good gun for Huns is also a good quail gun. Both the 12 and the 20 gauge are popular, and should be of modified choke. Number 7½ shot is ideal for Huns.

CHUKAR PARTRIDGE

The chukar partridge is one of the newest upland game birds in this coun­try. Originally from Asia, this newcomer gives every indication of catching on as a coming species in the arid regions of the West. The chukar is dove-colored, with dark barred markings along the flanks. Its legs and feet are vermillion-red, giving it the nickname "redlegs." The adult chukar is about two-thirds the size of a Chinese pheasant, and very delicious.

Unlike the Hun, which likes the flat and rolling country, the chukar likes bluffs, arroyos, and high spiny ridges having sparse cedar, mahogany, and sagebrush foliage. Dry dirt bluffs, in such semiopen areas, seem preferred spots.

The first thing to do in hunting chukars is to learn in what regions the chukar has been planted and has caught on. Once into an area which chukars use, it is best to hunt this wily bird with a good dog. Any dog that will work on Huns will be a good one on chukars. So will the flushers used on quail. However, the chukar may be successfully hunted without a dog. Identified by its peculiar chuk-a-chuk, chuk-a-chuk calling, the chukar is easily heard on a still autumn morning at distances well over a half mile. The call is most deceptive. It sounds over here, but is just as likely over there.

In trying to approach the distant birds, it is well to move slowly in their general direction, but also to zig-zag laterally while listening. From several

Chukar Partridge

different lateral positions, the area from which the calling comes can usually be pin-pointed.

In bluffy country, this bird likes the very edge where foliage k aves off and dirt slides begin. Often the birds may be seen running around in the upper bluffs, much as mountain sheep work the upper crags in rocky ter­rain.

It may be that this is a part of their overall escape strategy—when threatened, the birds simply sail out, like overgrown bumble-bees, across the open void of the canyon.

When hunting such areas, it is wise to move along the very brink of the canyon, moving up each tiny slash-gully coming in from the side. By staying close to the brink, the hunter can cause flushed birds to fly along the top, rather than across the canyon, affording a better shot, and enabling him to retrieve any downed birds.

The chukar likes to stay with the sparse foliage and high spines of the bluffy ridges rather than thick cover. Often in open areas, or sparse cover, the birds will detect a hunter or dog at some distance and will likely run ahead, almost as fast as a pheasant, for several hundred yards before taking to the air or stopping to hide.

When approaching a flock of chukars to within shotgun range, old-timers use the trick of not shooting at the first bird that rises. Invariably such a bird, like the cow guard of an elk band, will be situated at a vantage point some distance from the main flock. When this one flushes first, it often brings the first shot from the startled gunner, exploding the rest of the flock while he is unloaded. For this reason, many veteran hunters pass the first bird of a flock and shoot at subsequent birds.

Despite the fact that chukars will often run ahead and out of range, they also will sit tight in cover which the hunter swears could not hold a bird. Such tactics make a dog invaluable.

Perhaps the chukar's most exasperating trick is that when flushed it does not fly in a straight line, but follows both the lateral and the vertical contour of the ridge over which it buzzes. This makes it one of the hardest birds in America to hit.

A good shotgun for chukars is the 12-gauge repeater, with modified choke, and shooting either No. 6 or 7½ shot . . . with lots of ammunition in the coat pockets.

RUFFED GROUSE

Grouse are fairly numerous in species and are one of the most admired and respected upland birds. The ruffed grouse is the most popular, due to its widespread range, which includes the entire eastern part of Canada and northern United States, and the canny way it can outwit the hunter.

Inhabiting the woodlands of thickets and moderate underbrush, the ruffed grouse, like other wildlife, lives close to its food supply, which in­cludes wild raspberries, grapes, strawberries, acorns, and snowberries, as well as buds of bushes and insects. The ruffed grouse spreads its tail in fan-like fashion when it struts and can erect the neck feathers into an enormous puff. During courtship, the male will drum its wings, while sitting on a log, to attract the females. This drumming sound carries far, and sounds like a distant motorcycle taking off.

One key to the whereabouts of ruffed grouse is the fact that they are never found far from water. Experienced grouse hunters follow I he small creeks rather than the ridges, especially in pine-belt country. If these tiny creeks are bounded on either side with patches of wild raspberry bushes or similar thickets, or are adjacent to edge country where forests meet semiopenings, then the combination indicates good grouse country It takes experience to recognize good grouse areas, and another key to success is to hunt those areas that have produced birds in previous years.

Grouse, like black bears, like man-made trails. They use them in thicket country for strutting about, and the dust in them for dusting bowls. Often the hunter slowly walking such a trail will find the telltale signs of "small chicken tracks" or a stray feather. The thickets nearby are good grouse cover.

The grouse is one species that may be handily hunted without a dog. Ruffed grouse will not run too far ahead of the hunter as will other species of birds, nor will it sit unduly tight. Rather, at known danger or he close proximity of the hunter, it explodes away. Like certain species of big game, the ruffed grouse will fully utilize any available trees in its escape route. Invariably, the flushed bird will dart in between trees, leaving timber between it and the hunter. If flushed at the margin between timber and open areas, this bird displays an uncanny ability to use the terrain to its advantage. If the hunter happens to be on the open side, the bird will fly momentarily into the timber; but if the hunter happens to be within the timber fringe, the bird will, like a deer spooked in a similar predicament, make its escape just along the outside of the timber belt.

This calls for snap-shooting. It takes a gun that is light and handy, has reasonably open choke, and will throw a good pattern. A light double— there are few repeat shots at flying ruffed grouse—in 12 gauge, with modi­fied or improved-cylinder boring, and used with medium-power loads con­taining No. 6 or 7½ shot, is one of the best choices.

Unhit birds will seldom fly beyond 300-400 yards and will normally sit tight until again flushed. If the hunter marks them down, hunts toward them in a straight line, and carefully hunts the expected area in increasing, concentric circles, he is very apt to flush them again.

Ruffed Grouse

Unlike crippled pheasants, wounded grouse will not run very far. Downed birds can usually be located from the rapid fluttering of their wings, habitual to dying grouse.

BLUE GROUSE

With the exception of the desert sage grouse, the blue grouse is the biggest member of the grouse family—large cocks will run to the weight of a mallard duck. This species is gray-blue with additions of mottled brown. It lives in the conifer country of western United States, and is often called the pine hen or fool hen. Big-game country and blue grouse go together, and in recent years, some western states have opened the blue grouse season to coincide with the elk and deer season; and have further permitted big-game hunters to kill these big birds with rifle or pistol, while in big-game country. Often this was the only way blue grouse in remote areas could be sensibly harvested.

FRANKLIN GROUSE

Found in the wooded section of western America, the Franklin grouse has an overall range from the Northwest to Alaska. This grouse is smaller than the blue grouse and is characterized in the males by the nearly black, barred breast. Often called the "fool hen," this bird offers little sport to the hunter. Big-game hunters often get a mess of this species with no other weapon than a six-foot stick, with which the bird may be hit on the head, after a careful approach. Other hunters heave varying shapes and sizes of available rocks at these birds until they hit one for the skillet.

SHARP-TAILED GROUSE

This species is identified by its speckled appearance and sharp-pointed tail. Until recently this grouse has been largely confined to Alaska and Canada. Recent plantings have caught on in the West, however, and during 1960, Idaho, as one example, had a limited open season on this species.

PRAIRIE CHICKEN

The prairie chicken, or pinnated grouse, is unlike most other species in that it likes the open prairies and fields. This fact was its undoing n many of the early prairies of the United States. The plowing of prairies and wheatlands destroyed the nests, and otherwise moved the birds from normal ranges. The species now inhabits only certain prairie areas of Canada and scattered spots within the United States.

SAGE GROUSE

The sage grouse is the largest of the grouse family, and in the West is habitually called the sage hen. This species is mottled gray in appearance, which blends perfectly with the sagebrush of their habitat.

Old cock birds weigh as much as 7 or 8 pounds and are tough as a rubber boot to chew. In the past, when their numbers were greater, hunt­ers would only shoot the smaller, younger birds because the adult birds were so tough and tasted strongly of sage from the bird's diet. Currently, sage grouse are not as strong-flavored due to their living at the fringes of outlying and marginal farmlands, where they eat green alfalfa leaves. In­cidentally, drawing the birds immediately after shooting removes most of the strong sage taste, and hanging a dressed bird with an onion inside the cavity overnight helps also. The modern pressure-cooker helps greatly in unbending the noble old cocks into something fairly palatable.
Sage Grouse

One of the most amazing of wildlife spectacles is the sage grouse's court­ship. Annually, about April, the big dusky birds will congregate in open desert areas adjacent to high sage, called "booming grounds." There, in the eerie period between daybreak and sunup, the cocks put on a magnif­icent show to attract the hens.

The male bird will puff out the air sacs on his chest until he looks grotesquely like an overdone pouter pigeon. The white-feather covering of these extended air sacs covers his entire front and makes the bird, at a distance, look like some big white ball. While thus puffed up, and with tail spread like a semicircular picket fence, the cock will make a gurgling sound which carries far and resembles the distant booming of cannon—for which booming grounds were named.

During the booming, cocks remain in a small area, though a dozen males may be booming within a few square rods. Once a hen is attracted to the male of her choice, she goes to him, sits at his feet, and waits there until her hero has attracted as many hens as he can, often three to a half dozen. Occasionally a hen will change partners during this show, which causes a terrific fight between the rival males.

With full sunrise, the birds all retreat into the nearby sagebrush. Only rarely is the actual mating consummated on the booming grounds.

The hunter after sage grouse should first determine what states have legal hunting on this species. Next he should consult a fish and ga ne map of that state and locate the areas open to hunting. The last step is to find out where the largest stands of virgin sagebrush are within these regions. These are apt to contain the most plentiful populations of this scarce species.

Recent sprinkle-irrigation, and the reclamation of sagebrush lands under the Desert Act, have had an influence on sage-grouse hunting. On the one hand, this agrarian encroachment has cut the bird's range, but, in outlying country, the margins between sage and irrigated lands are among the finest places to hunt for sage grouse. The big dusky birds love alfalfa.

Like the ruffed grouse, the sage grouse can be hunted without a dog, though a good dog is an advantage if it can be controlled. Many ai other­wise good pooch, seeing all that open country for the first time, wants to lope over all of it in the first hour.

Within sagebrush lands, the best areas to look are the low bluffs, the flats containing sparse sagebrush, the mild promontory endings, any fence lines dividing sagebrush lands and cultivated fields, areas where alfalfa fields join creeks or irrigation ditches, and even the alfalfa fields them­selves, if a cutting of hay has been recently harvested and if the owner grants permission. No hunter should ever trespass through an uncut alfalfa field.

The signs denoting the presence of birds are fresh tracks in the dust— the size of domestic chicken tracks—black or pinto splotches of dung, and large dusting bowls such as other grouse use. Then the principal chore is walking, for sagebrush lands are vast in area, and bird populations are relatively scarce.

The first indication of game usually is a huge mottled fowl bolting up from the sage, shedding a few feathers, probably some dung, and emitting a startling cuk-cuk-cuk. To the uninitiated, the bird looks as big as a turkey and as easy to hit as a barn.

About the time it levels off and the hunter is ready, the bird makes its characteristic dip sidewise and, when the hunter fires, is usually just under the shot charge. Such a flight-dip usually occurs at just about reasonable shotgun range. It is better to wait out that first pause in the bird's getaway flight.

Sage grouse do not get up together when a flock is flushed, but rise in singles, doubles, or any unreasonable combination. For this reason, all the area where the first bird has been flushed should be rehunted carefully, using the increasing concentric-circle technique. And, as with other species, flying birds should be well marked down. Sage grouse will fly from several hundred yards to nearly a mile before realighting.

The best shotgun for sage grouse is the 12-gauge, full-choke, and either in standard chambering or in the 3-inch Magnum type. Number 4 and 6 shot is best for this species. The newer 20-gauge Magnums are increasing in popularity, but probably will not overtake the 12 gauge while we have available sage-grouse hunting.

PTARMIGAN

Ptarmigan are native residents of the Far North, mainly Alaska and Canada, with a few making it across the border into the Unites States. The ptarmigan is the size of a medium grouse, and changes color with the seasons. In late fall, it is a mottled gray color, often with patches of pure white showing as it goes into winter plumage. A ptarmigan in its pure-white winter coat can be detected only at a distance of a few feet, and only by its dark eyes. The species is usually found in willows, arctic birch, and similar sparse vegetation. It utters a tuk-tuk . . . tuk sound when alerted, and is more wary than many of the woodland grouse species.

Ptarmigan

This bird is usually hunted during the fall season in conjunction with big game. Ptarmigan love the high mountainous pass-type country and the bunches of alpine willows common to such beginnings of water. Good places to hunt them are along glacial creek beds having willow and alder foliage. Other likely spots are the open promontory points in the plateau country above the creek bottoms.

When flushed, ptarmigan emit a stuttering tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk and will usually realight within view of the hunter, sometimes on the ground and many times on the bare willow tops. An unusual feature of the ptarmigan's flight is that, like a small "bullet hawk," it can fly laterally over a ridge, then suddenly stop its wings, change its "feathering," and fly straight downward and alight immediately below.

On a big-game hunt for such species as sheep, grizzly, and caribou, ptarmigan are often shot with a .22 rimfire rifle. The puny rifle doesn't spook big game, yet it will take care of the ptarmigan pot-meat. For

Ringneck Pheasant

serious hunting of this species, any light shotgun, 12 gauge or 20 gauge, preferably in modified choke, and using No. 6 or 7½ shot would be adequate.

RINGNECK PHEASANT

Like the chukar partridge, the ringneck came from Asia, and was the first bird to be successfully transplanted into America to replace dwindling native species of upland birds. The first birds were brought into America in 1881.

Ringneck females are mottled gray-white-brown and have a speckled appearance. They will weigh 2 pounds or more. Tails on the hens will run from one-third to one-half the bird's overall length. The cock bird is larger, approximating the weight of a mallard duck, or a blue grouse. The extremely long tail of the cock makes him appear greater in size than he is, and makes him somewhat deceptive to hit when flying—many hunters shoot where the tail is but where the bird has been.

The coloration of the cock is most gaudy and brilliant. He has a green-black head, tufted "ears" and a bright red patch around the eye. The breast is a burnished orange-red with dark feather-tip markings. The back varies from orange-brown, to blue-green feathers resembling peacock herl over the tail base. The streaming tail is black-barred its full length, and may be 22 inches or more in length.

The ringneck has a wide range, occupying the northern half of the United States. It is found in greatest abundance in the agricultural areas, chiefly in the Corn Belt, and its range extends westward well beyond the Rockies. South Dakota is the leading ringneck state, and the ringneck hunting there, especially for nonresident hunters who make annual treks, has been fabulous.

Perhaps the biggest asset of the ringneck—in addition to its sporty hunting qualities and palatability—is the fact that it has proven to be so adaptable that it can live in numbers virtually in man's back yard, survive, and in many respects even outwit him.

The basic techniques of upland-bird hunting mentioned at the beginning of this chapter can all be applied to pheasant hunting. That is, it may be hunted with dogs, by the hunting-partner method, by the lone hunter working without a dog, or by a party of several hunters working down a field in rank.

The fundamental traits of this bird, upon which any successful hunting procedure depends, are that it loves to skulk, to run, and to fly considerable distances; and also that it will double back like a whitetail deer, and will also upon occasion sit tight. What a ringneck will do under any given condition is quite like sticking a spoon into your morning grapefruit and predicting which way the juice will squirt.

Because of its unpredictable behavior, the pheasant will drive a good pointing dog, experienced on birds that hold, to distraction. The dog locates game and slams into a point; the pheasant sits a second, runs off a few rods; the dog breaks point, sneaks up, and points again; the bird again breaks and skulks away farther, then runs; and Rover again breaks point, then either gawps up at his master or breaks and chases the fleeing ringneck into another township.

For this reason, many hunters prefer a flushing type of dog, like the springer spaniel, for work on pheasants. Some slow-working mongrels, farm-trained on pheasants, make wonderful pheasant hunters—they snoop 'em out, oust 'em up, and run 'em down when winged.

The ringneck has adapted itself to civilization and farmland. The best method of hunting this bird depends on the type of terrain, the availability of dogs, and the number of hunters. For long narrow cover, such as single ditch-banks, dikes, and fence-rows, one hunter without a dog can usually flush any pheasant within the foliage. It is always better to have another hunter "block" the bird's escape at the far end, as touched upon earlier.

There is a special method of hunting pheasants adapted to such row-crops as corn and potatoes, and is aimed both at preventing the birds' cutting back, like deer, within the field, and at having them fly out beyond range at the terminal end of the field. This is the party method. Several hunters, spaced a few rods apart, will slowly "comb" down the full length of a row-crop field. Before beginning, other hunters sufficient to cover the open end of the field will be stationed in the open just beyond the crop.

Several hunters will, of course, make considerable noise while working the field. This will either cause the birds to flush or run ahead. If they flush, the hunter ahead of whom they fly is entitled to the shot. If he misses, the next hunter in line, if within range, has a chance at the bird.

In most instances, the majority of birds will move towards the far end of the field. There, finding their skulk route cut off, they will sit tight, and be flushed the last minute by the drivers coming through. This method is widely used in the Corn Belt, and modifications of it are adapted to most other row-crop hunting areas.

One form of pheasant hunting is a contradiction to all accepted forms. Its success depends entirely upon a fall of fresh snow during hunting season. The morning following such a storm, pheasant hunting can become an exciting solo affair.

The birds will huddle during the storm, then with sunup and clearing weather will begin to move about to feed. Any movement will show plain, fresh tracks; on the other end of those tracks will be a bird. The technique is simply to walk slowly along the tracks, making sure they do not double back. Usually the trail will end in some sort of bush, clump of foliage, or the bottom of a ditch—often a few yards from the bird. The hunter either stands until the bird can no longer sweat it out and flushes, or moves in and kicks it out.

A winged pheasant can outrun the hunter unless he's a good sprinter. If he does not have a dog, that winged bird is surely going to escape unless the hunter can race up within range and shoot again as it runs.

The ability of the hunter to sprint fast is also an aid, under certain conditions, to getting the bird into the air. Often a bird will skulk and run along the bottom of an irrigation ditch. If the hunter sees the bird, and sprints ahead, he can often come within range before the bird flushes. Otherwise it would run out of range before taking to the air.

The 12 gauge is the most used shotgun on pheasants and for all round shooting should be full-choke. Many hunters like the old stand-by double, but either the pump or automatic is hard to beat. A single-shot on pheasants is only an inducement to profanity. As cocks are normally the only sex hunted, and are often tough as boiled owl, No. 4 and 6 shot are the two preferred sizes. Some hunters have gone to the 3-inch Magnum twelve, as an adequate tool for long-range pheasant shooting.

Two tendencies often cause the hunter to miss, especially if he is inexpe­rienced on this species. One is the tendency to undershoot the fast-rising bird; the other, because of the bird's streaming tail-feathers, is to shoot behind.

WILD TURKEY

This bird is similar in appearance to the domestic bronze turkey, except it is more racy in form and a richer bronze in coloration. Wild toms will average around 15 pounds in weight, with the hens correspondingly smaller.

The overall range of the wild turkey extends from Pennsylvania to the Gulf of Mexico, westward beyond the Black Hills of South Dakota and Arizona, and over a considerable area of Old Mexico. Of recent years spot plantings of wild turkeys have been made in additional western states including Wyoming and Idaho (first plant in 1960-61). These plantings are made with the hope that the wild turkey may not only prove

Wild Turkey

to be of scenic value, but may some day reach a population which will allow a hunter-harvest on a permit basis for limited numbers.

Unexcelled vision and keenness of hearing, coupled with its uncanny instinct for knowing when it is being hunted, make the wild turkey perhaps the most difficult to bag of all our upland birds. If the hunter should possess one qualification, it is unlimited patience.

Turkeys are hunted with both rifle and shotgun. Cartridges such as the .22 Hornet and .222 Remington, if used with relatively heavy-jacketed bullets, make good turkey rifles. The old .32-20 was considered good for
turkeys, since its bullet would not destroy much meat. In shotguns, the 12-gauge standard and its magnum version are among the best. Some hunt­ers prefer the 10 gauge. The best shot sizes are BB, 2, or 4.

A popular technique is to still-hunt the birds in areas where they are known to be. This is determined from hearing their gobbling, or locating their spoor as they work certain ridges for food. Another method is to hunt them from a blind built of natural materials to look as unobtrusive as possible, situated within range of a known watering hole.

Another much-used technique is to scatter a flock of birds, either wittingly or unwittingly; then patiently call individual birds into range on an artificial call, using judiciously spaced yelps to simulate the natural call of the separated birds.

One old Arizona turkey hunter used nothing more elaborate than the simple stem of his old tobacco pipe. After years of listening and practice, he had perfected his calling into an art.

The future of upland-bird shooting lies largely with the public and the price that shooters and an interested citizenry are willing to pay for a perpetuation of the sport. Our large areas of public land are dwindling. More and more, upland birds are being hunted upon private lands. In most instances, the birds are the sovereign property of the state; but adequate and increasingly enforced trespass laws protect the landowner and serve as a basis for keeping hunters from harvesting their own game.
One solution that has gained ground and provoked criticism is the establishment of private shooting preserves. These are lands either leased or purchased by private interests, upon which pen-raised birds are released for shooting. Private preserves range in size, elaborateness, and guest fees from simple fields where the hunter may find ample birds in suitable cover for a modest day-charge, to luxurious establishments with family accom­modations on the order of high-class resorts.

The virtues of private hunting preserves are that they provide bird shooting at reasonable cost close to the heavily urbanized areas where hunting would otherwise be impossible. Their drawbacks are that the game is pen-raised and not wild; the cost is necessarily high per day; and the hunting of game birds at so much per bird is not compatible with the American tradition of free public hunting of native game.

It is, however, interesting to note the growth of private shooting preserves within the past few decades. Currently, only eight of the forty-eight original
states do not permit the establishment of private hunting preserves, and the trend has been towards gradually whittling down the remaining number. Perhaps the private shooting preserve is, to date, the most workable answer to a mushrooming growth in population coupled with a corresponding decrease in game-bird habitat and population.

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