Camp Wainwright Sharptailed Grouse

[elkhunter11]

This special hunt is approaching quickly. Just a heads up, non toxic shot is required on the base. I was just informed that Prophet River has received my bismuth loads, so I won't have to resort to steel ,which is a handicap for the smaller gauges. For anyone that hasn't attended this hunt, it is a great way to kick off the upland bird season, and it's also a great opportunity to get familiar with the base if you drew big game tags for use on the base.

[tikka250]

Its events like these that make me really wish i had a dog! My success rate without a dog is not that great or else i would come give it a go. Have fun post lots of pics!

[Dewey Cox]

What are the dates?

[hillbillyreefer]

I got 2 with the truck last night. Rubber bullets in a larger caliber work well. No need for a dog.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

What are the dates?

Labor day weekend.

[Dewey Cox]

Thanks

[play.soccer]

Can anyone hunt this with a regular resident upland game bird license or is there a special draw/license for the base??

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by play.soccer

Can anyone hunt this with a regular resident upland game bird license or is there a special draw/license for the base??

No draw or special license required. Just the non toxic shot requirement.

[quasi]

non toxic shot on a live fire military base. ? Do they use non toxic anything?

[Cow Town Bill]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

This special hunt is approaching quickly. Just a heads up, non toxic shot is required on the base. I was just informed that Prophet River has received my bismuth loads, so I won't have to resort to steel ,which is a handicap for the smaller gauges. For anyone that hasn't attended this hunt, it is a great way to kick off the upland bird season, and it's also a great opportunity to get familiar with the base if you drew big game tags for use on the base.

I haven't made this hunt since my Lab was a puppy about 8-9 years ago. At that time success was very iffy---if you were lucky enough to find a flock, you could do well. But you could spend many ,many hours to find birds. Years before that, I did have considerable success ---probably because the bird population was up.
How have you done the past few years? Can a good hunter and a good dog or two approach a legal limit?

[ten point sammy]

hunted there last year. fair amount of birds but what got me was the
spear grass. It was terrible, the stuff is nasty on dogs. Would go again this year if i knew in advance what it was like for spear grass there this year

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Cow Town Bill

I haven't made this hunt since my Lab was a puppy about 8-9 years ago. At that time success was very iffy---if you were lucky enough to find a flock, you could do well. But you could spend many ,many hours to find birds. Years before that, I did have considerable success ---probably because the bird population was up.
How have you done the past few years? Can a good hunter and a good dog or two approach a legal limit?

The sharptails are definitely in pockets of cover. Last year, myself and a friend drove out for one day, and my seven month old pup found five coveys in a few hours. Other people spent three days, and never found one covey. I know where I will be the first day, and I am hoping that we will find the sharptails in the same area. Spear grass was not an issue for us last year

[calvin]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

The sharptails are definitely in pockets of cover. Last year, myself and a friend drove out for one day, and my seven month old pup found five coveys in a few hours. Other people spent three days, and never found one covey. I know where I will be the first day, and I am hoping that we will find the sharptails in the same area. Spear grass was not an issue for us last year

Are you driving out for the day or staying out there someplace? i was thinking of running out there but am thinking will need to stay. is there a pre registration or do you just show up at the base that day??

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by calvin

Are you driving out for the day or staying out there someplace? i was thinking of running out there but am thinking will need to stay. is there a pre registration or do you just show up at the base that day??

I live 90 minutes away, so I drove out for the day. As I posted previously, you show up at the orientation the morning of each hunt.

[slickwilly]

Anybody have any specifics on the hunt this year? What time is orientation, etc, etc....
Can't seem to find anything on here or elsewhere on the web.

[elkhunter11]

I am told that orientation is at 7am.

[slickwilly]

Thanks. Was there any sort of public release of this info?

Is the meeting place pretty well signed? Or do you know what building orientation will be in?

[Sooner]

I must have thrown out my old scribbled on map as I can't find it, the black and white paper ones they give out at the desk for the hunts. Not the big color map. They show the routes, areas and such.

If their available, I was wondering if someone going to the grouse hunt can grab one, copy it to their computer after they return and email me, I would be in your debt . My son and I are in for the last rifle but want to research some spots we had good sightings last time in.

Or if your in Edmonton, I can swing by and pick it up.


Trade ya a Timmies card or something for your troubles.

[slickwilly]

Originally Posted by Sooner

I must have thrown out my old scribbled on map as I can't find it, the black and white paper ones they give out at the desk for the hunts. Not the big color map. They show the routes, areas and such.

If their available, I was wondering if someone going to the grouse hunt can grab one, copy it to their computer after they return and email me, I would be in your debt . My son and I are in for the last rifle but want to research some spots we had good sightings last time in.

Or if your in Edmonton, I can swing by and pick it up.


Trade ya a Timmies card or something for your troubles.

I'm planning on going to the bird hunt, if I get any maps I'll be happy to pass them on.

[shedcrazy]

Same rules as past years:

No lead shot
Only Ruffed and Sharp-tailed grouse open
Upland Licence is needed
Same limits as in the regs
Check station opens after 0600 and first brief is 0700. Need a safety brief to hunt base (means everyone no matter how many times you have been there..)
Follow the signs to from Hwy14 to the base and then follow hunt signs to the check station

Population: limited spring counts this year due to Spring Ex, wetter than normal spring but not overly cold, lots of cover and lots of food this year (grasshoppers, berries, etc). I would predict a very similar year to the past few years with 2 distinct hatches, smaller family groups and birds spread out due to food sources everywhere.

Anyone that stays to dark better buy treats the next morning.....

Good luck and have fun.

S

[slickwilly]

Originally Posted by shedcrazy

Same rules as past years:

No lead shot
Only Ruffed and Sharp-tailed grouse open
Upland Licence is needed
Same limits as in the regs
Check station opens after 0600 and first brief is 0700. Need a safety brief to hunt base (means everyone no matter how many times you have been there..)
Follow the signs to from Hwy14 to the base and then follow hunt signs to the check station

Population: limited spring counts this year due to Spring Ex, wetter than normal spring but not overly cold, lots of cover and lots of food this year (grasshoppers, berries, etc). I would predict a very similar year to the past few years with 2 distinct hatches, smaller family groups and birds spread out due to food sources everywhere.

Anyone that stays to dark better buy treats the next morning.....

Good luck and have fun.

S

Great stuff, thanks for the info. I'm excited to see the area, seems like a really cool opportunity.

[elkhunter11]

Today was a hot day, and it was tough on the dogs and on the hunters. We were into the birds within twenty minutes, and harvested a double when three birds flushed. We shut down the hunt after three hours when the dogs started to slow down, and we were concerned that the dogs were getting too hot. Overall, it was a good day to be out hunting.

[shedcrazy]

Looks like this spring's hatch was like predicted with resulting smaller clutches out there but it seems most people found birds just not the big family group like in the dry spring years.

Personally we got into a few groups and got our birds before it got too warm and in time to get back for the afternoon shift.

As usual the guys that have been there for years found birds and the new hunters had to put their time in to figure out the area. It seems to take a few years to get your spots in such a large area.

Good luck to all the rest of the weekend.

S

[densa44]

Neither or the friends shoots like Elk but their dogs are more experienced, I wasn't there so I'm not sure it that is relevant but one got a limit and my WF got one.

But if Elk says that it was hot and hard going you can count on that. The base is about the size of a small U.S. state and the birds are in certain locations not spread all over. On the other hand the military has kept it almost like a park, you can still see buffalo wallows. Pretty cool.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by densa44

Neither or the friends shoots like Elk but their dogs are more experienced, I wasn't there so I'm not sure it that is relevant but one got a limit and my WF got one.

But if Elk says that it was hot and hard going you can count on that. The base is about the size of a small U.S. state and the birds are in certain locations not spread all over. On the other hand the military has kept it almost like a park, you can still see buffalo wallows. Pretty cool.

We found our birds in the same fields as we did last year, but we found less birds this year. We had one covey flush, and that was it for us this year, as opposed to five flushes last year. I reloaded in time to shoot one more bird, but it flew just off of the ground, and I would have had to shoot just over a dog, so I didn't fire. Had it not been so hot, we would have kept hunting, and likely could have found some more birds, as there was a fair number of shots fired in the near vicinity, indicating that there were more birds in the area.

[shedcrazy]

Fairly quiet year at the hunt this year hunter and bird wise.

Some rough numbers:

Sat: Hunters 80, Sharptails 73, Ruffies 5
Sun: Hunters 61, Sharptails 48, Ruffies 1
Mon: Hunters 35, Sharptails 24, Ruffies 15

Roughly 100 different hunters and 1.7 birds/hunter (30yr avg 1.8)

S