Woodcock; what a wonderful bird!

[GrouseGuy]

That is a really cool painting. Very Nice!!

[Lor79]

Yup, they are great birds ... can't wait for them to return. Love all the pics by the way!!!
photo.jpg

[ninepointer]

"A Chance for Both Barrels" has been oft reproduced, but is still a favourite of mine...

[ninepointer]

Ahhh what this Bird does to us eh? Ok so now we are on the Artistic and Collectable part of the thread.....I must admit, I scour Antique shops, Garage sales etc etc to seek out anything Woodcock-Bird Dog/ Upland related.....when this LC Smith crossed my path.....the Hand Engraved Woodcock pretty much sealed the deal....its an 1898 Grade 3 with nice Dimascuss Barrels, gorgeous old growth Figured Walnut and its an Ejector Gun too....all for a little Bird....lets see some of your Collectables/ Artworrk etc....nice Painting Ninepointer!!

Great find PR! I don't think I've ever seen woodcock before; its a duck dominated art form.

[stilchen67]

lab.jpg
I've been playing around with some photos that I've taken during a woodcock hunt. Let's see if I can download it.

[stilchen67]

labr2.jpg Here is the second one

[zoli 16ga.]

I've only encountered a couple, having bumped them while chasing grouse. They do have an interesting flight pattern, and don't flush nearly as fast or far as grouse , in my limited experience. I've put two in the bag in total. They were both flavoured with a 16ga. (one M12, one SXS), which also gives most feathered game that little......Je ne sais quoi!

M12andfirstwoodcock.jpg

Attachment 24110

[OnPoint]

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[ninepointer]

They do have an interesting flight pattern, and don't flush nearly as fast or far as grouse , in my limited experience.

Woodcock have a reputation of being hard to hit, but I find grouse on the wing to be a harder target. Like you said, grouse launch themselves faster. They also usually manage to put a tree in the way and they tend to fly directly into cover.

My limited experience with woodcock has shown that they first tend to fly towards daylight, before they pick a direction that takes them into cover.

[welsh]

Woodcock don't actually fly very fast -- it just seems that way because the cover gives you a limited window. I agree, grouse are tougher to hit.