Woodcock; what a wonderful bird!

[ninepointer]

I'd shot woodcock before, but I'd never hunted them. They were funny little birds, too small to be truly worthwhile, that occasionally found their way into my game pouch during a grouse or rabbit hunt. Never cared to eat them really; they tasted like tough, dry liver.

Then I got a bird dog or, rather, my wife got one; a yellow lab. At least it wasn't a poodle, it was a hunting breed, something I could work with, even though I'd always been and still am a beagle guy. And when the young lab was ready to graduate from drills to the field, it was woodcock that provided much needed plentiful opportunities close to home where grouse were harder to come by and pheasant farms were an infrequent luxury.

There's no need to get into exactly how many woodcock we flushed, were fired at or ended up in the bag this past fall, but let's just say those numbers could just as well be used to describe baitcaster reel ratios.

My dog won't win any titles, but to see her “get birdy”, flush and retrieve birds to my hand is priceless. We wouldn't have got there yet without those funny looking little birds.

By the way, they're delicious too! Now that I know you're not supposed to cook them like a bird!

[Downwind]

They are an interesting bird and great fun to hunt. Hold well for a dog, flush within gun range, found in good numbers, good on the table. Whats not to love

[Cass]

Great bird and up until this year (my first with a bird dog) I had never flushed one. Can't wait till the day I actually hit one LOL

[terrym]

God's gift to birddog owners. Locally found and fairly plentiful and large bag limits.

[Roe+]

It's been years since I've shot one, but from what I remember, they fly extremely fast, are hard to hit, but are great eating and well worth the effort when you bag some. The very first one I shot was with a 20 gauge side x side Beretta.

Roe+

[ninepointer]

The very first one I shot was with a 20 gauge side x side Beretta.

Roe+

I believe they taste best when shot with a 20 ga. SxS

[Lor79]

Yup, can't wait for them to return!! Last season turned out to be a great one ... numbers seemed higher than usual for me personally ... (and I was hunting with a 6-7 month old puppy). As stated, great birds for a young dog and when you hit a good flight you could go through a box of shells pretty fast!!!

[finsfurfeathers]

I believe they taste best when shot with a 20 ga. SxS

Should taste them when they are seasoned with a .410



This day found them sitting too tight for a lone hunter and a 12 so thought I'd get cocky and try the .410 must say it was a hoot but the batting average was really low that day.

[welsh]

Last season turned out to be a great one ... numbers seemed higher than usual for me personally ...

It was intense while it lasted! The dog had her best numbers yet this fall although my shooting didn't keep up. It's the new gun, doesn't fit right ... yeah ... that's it.

Probably my favourite bird to hunt. Strange little ghosts: this past season the dog flushed one back towards me and it popped out of the cover too close to shoot and flew directly over my head with that long bill hanging down, close enough that I could have grabbed it (or so it seemed). I'll never forget that sight.

[ninepointer]

Strange little ghosts: this past season the dog flushed one back towards me and it popped out of the cover too close to shoot and flew directly over my head with that long bill hanging down, close enough that I could have grabbed it (or so it seemed). I'll never forget that sight.

Great sight!

One that sticks in my mind is the woodcock, flushed by my partner, that hovered in mid-air like a hummingbird right in front of me for a good 4-5 seconds. I should have had a butterfly net.