One year, some of the guys at work were talking about going up to Tug Hill Plateau, which is situated just above Watertown, New York. Its higher elevation is perfect for lots of snow—feet of snow, to be precise. The day before we left, someone called Watertown to see how much snow they had. No snow! Alan tells me, "Don't bother bringing your snowshoes; there isn’t any snow." Which was true about Watertown, but Tug Hill Plateau had four feet of snow.
The Ascent to Tug Hill
We left our hotel in town and headed up the hill. The higher we got, the whiter it became. When we got to our spot, it was six-foot snow banks. Miraculously, everyone else brought their snowshoes. I loaded my gun, climbed up the snowbank, and rolled down the other side. When I stood up, I was looking at a snowshoe hare. I snapped my gun up to my shoulder and fired. It took everyone by surprise, and Alan started griping about how I shouldn’t be fooling around. When I held up the rabbit, I could tell he was jealous because he still kept whining about waiting until we got out there or some nonsense. My dad always said, "Once you're off the road and legal, be ready."
Hunting in Deep Snow
Everyone got their snowshoes on and made their way over the snowbank. I tried to stay with them, but the snow was just too deep. I told them to go on and I would stay near the road. They hadn’t been gone long when I spotted two grouse peeking their heads up from a snow drift, and I shot them both with one shot. I slowly walked through the deep drifts and over pine boughs until I saw the huge Bugs Bunny tracks in the snow. I couldn’t believe how big the feet were on these rabbits. I felt like Elmer Fudd tracking the giant footprints.
Tracking the Snowshoe Hare
I went a short distance and saw the tracks go under a pine bough, but they didn’t come out the other side. I eased forward until the rabbit busted from his hiding spot and tried to bound away. When he was clear of the cover, I shot him before he could get any momentum. Once snowshoe hares get moving, they are leaping fifteen or more feet each jump, and against the white snow, you can only see their eyeball or a small black tip on the ears. The white fur is almost invisible when they are running.
More Grouse and Hares
A few minutes later, I heard a grouse flush across the road, so I doubled back and slowly headed in the direction of the sound. I hadn’t gone far when the grouse flushed out in front of me. I snapped the gun up and fired. He dropped like a lead balloon. After retrieving the bird—a nice male with a beautiful tail fan—I walked back to the car to unload some of the game I’d harvested. Now that I’m twenty pounds lighter, I can walk a little better in the snow.
A Successful Hunt
I walked down the road past where I’d already been and slipped over the bank again. I didn’t get far when I jumped another rabbit, and he only got two jumps before a load of twenty gauge number six’s knocked him down. I’m not sure how long the boys were gone, but I finally heard their dog chasing a rabbit. I slid under a pine bough so I wasn’t skylined. Sure enough, this rabbit came buzzing through and I dropped it in its tracks.
When everyone was back near the road, I jumped out onto the road. I needed one more grouse to be limited out on both bunnies and birds. Alan started whining about unloading our guns, and as the last shell fell from my ejector, a grouse flushed and flew right past my head. So close! The boys managed to get one rabbit while they were gone with the dog. When I showed them all the game I harvested, they were in shock. I think Alan may have puked in his mouth a little.
It was a great day, and I’m glad I didn’t bring my snowshoes!
Despite the initial advice against bringing snowshoes, the day turned out to be a fantastic hunting adventure. With a bag full of snowshoe hares and ruffed grouse, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.
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