When we were young men, I would take my cousin and nephews hunting. My nephews were too young to hunt but they liked to tag along. We loved going to the grouse woods every chance we got. It was a two-hour drive to get to any good grouse hunting from where we lived.
The Thrill of the Hunt
My cousin, a little younger than me, felt some sort of competition with me when we hunted together. I had a ton more experience, so he was fighting an uphill battle, especially grouse hunting. Every time he heard me shoot, he would yell, “What was that?” Grouse, I would holler back. “Son of a gun,” he would mumble. I knew where to look for the birds and had more opportunities than he did. I might have rubbed a little salt in the wound.
Rabbit Hunting Near Home
One day, four of us were hunting near home for rabbits. We didn’t have a dog, so I would fast walk a track to move rabbits to my cousin. My nephews were tagging along and were given a choice of who to walk with. The older boy decided to go with my cousin because he had a shotgun, and I brought my scoped .22. I sent them down through a field to a thick hedge row to wait while I circled through a thick brushy area.
An Unexpected Grouse Encounter
I waited for them to get into position and slowly walked into the thicket. We hadn’t gone twenty yards when I spotted an eyeball in a brush pile made of vines and snow. It was a cottontail rabbit. I put my arm up to stop my nephew and showed him the rabbit. I raised my gun and shot. I hear, “What was that?” coming from down the ridge. Rabbit! “Get him?” Yep. “Son of a gun.”
It was funny, but in my mind, I heard a grouse flush during all the commotion. There aren’t supposed to be any grouse in this region of New York. I ignored it and kept moving through the thicket when I heard it again. I looked up, and a grouse flew into a small tree in front of me. I raised my gun and shot. The bird dropped, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. Then I hear, “What was that?” You aren’t going to believe it! So we pushed our way through to my cousin and nephew, who were dying with curiosity. When I pulled that grouse out of my game vest, I thought my cousin was going to puke. “You are the luckiest SOB I know,” he said.
Fond Memories and Future Adventures
We have had many fun adventures with the boys, and they were all trying to best old uncle. Each trip was filled with laughter, competition, and unforgettable moments. These hunting experiences not only brought us closer but also instilled a love for the outdoors in the younger generation.
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