Upland bird hunting is my favorite. Flushing pheasants, huns, grouse, and other game birds over a pointing dog, is a good as it gets. You will never stop getting excited when these great birds flush.
2 things Bug Me about Montana Bird hunters.
Road hunting and ground swatting grouse and other birds This makes no sense to me. Why can’t you flush the bird and shoot it on the wing? If you need to use a wheeler or motorbike to locate birds, gathering grit along the road, fine. Just dismount, walk over, and give the bird a flying chance. Grouse hunt well when using a dog or simply walking fire trails and edges. Shooting a flushing bird is what upland birds is all about. Driven pheasants can be dangerous when shooting them on the ground. Ricochets can injure hunters and dogs. Ground swatting is cheating. This is what people do because they are lousy shots. For a true Upland Hunter, ground swatting is simply not sporting and unethical. If this offends you, perhaps give real birds in flight hunting a try. You will find it more exciting, develop your skills, and appreciate true upland shooting.
Not wearing safety orange afield, when bird hunting. Safety orange is so important when hunting birds. Things happen so quick and are very exciting. When hunters are at the end of a drive or in thick cover, they need to be immediately identified so they do not get shot. I see many Montana hunters, in full camo, trying to stalk birds, so they can shoot them on the ground. I once had a camo guy step out of the cover and scared me and the dog to death. He said he was waiting for us to push a bird by him. This was dangerous and plain stupid. Safety Orange is not required for upland bird hunting in Montana. Crazy and unsafe! If you disagree with me about safety, oh well.
Upland bird hunting in Montana is amazing. The colors of Fall make a stroll across the fields wonderful. Flushing birds, over dogs, is awesome. You never get used to the surprise of a bird rising and flying from the cover. Shooting them in the dirt and gravel is like eating a prime steak on a paper plate. What a waste.
Don’t disrespect wild game birds and hunt safely!
Montana Grant
