266 The Ruffed Grouse 



Considered somewhat in chronological order, we might discuss the 

 snare, net, deadfall, and various types of traps ahead of guns. But 

 for the early white man all methods were fair and effective. The 

 variety of implements utilized to catch the then unwary grouse 

 were almost endless. Most of these tools would be quite inefficient 

 on the "smarter" grouse of today but helped to bring untold thou- 

 sands to the markets of the past two centuries. In the sporting era, 

 the gun, primarily the shotgun, has been the only weapon of sig- 

 nificance. 



There has been a great improvement in the effectiveness of sport- 

 ing guns in recent decades. However there have also been changes 

 in the hunter and in the grouse itself. Phillips (1937) says: "Techni- 

 cal improvements in the past forty years we can set aside, for the 

 early hammer guns, in skillful hands, were nearly as effective as the 

 more dainty modem weapons." He goes on, ". . . ff we compare the 

 average skill of the present-day brush shooter with the average of 

 the market shooter of fifty years ago, the result would be highly 

 amusing and very disastrous to the pride of the modem edition." 

 Phillips then points out that what tlie modem hunter lacks in skill, 

 he makes up for in numbers. It has taken increased protection as 

 well as a constantly growing wariness on the part of the bird itself 

 to make up for the modem army of hunters that annually takes to 

 the field. 



Dogs have been used to aid man in the pursuit of grouse for a 

 long time, but in two quite dissimilar forms. We have already noted 

 (see page 21 ) the early use of a yipping cur dog to hold the attention 

 of a covey of treed "fool hen" grouse while the hunter picked them 

 off one at a time, from the lowermost up. Such a mutt is a far cry 

 from the magnificent, staunch, and silent setters and pointers of the 

 twentieth century. To many a sportsman the most enjoyable part of 

 hunting is working with a good dog, and die supreme thrill is in 

 seeing a perfect point on a closely held bird. In tlie northern states, 

 bird dogs were mainly trained on grouse up to the last fifteen or 

 twenty years. With the coming of a completely closed season in a 

 period of pronounced scarcity ( 1928-29 in New York ) and the great 

 increase in interest in pheasant hunting, it is rare today to find a 

 really well-trained grouse dog. Most of the pointing dogs are 

 "spoiled" on pheasants. So we find that the fai-famed grouse dog, 

 not long ago the pride and joy of the dyed-in-the-wool grouse hunter, 



