Squirrels and Spruce Chickens An Alaskan Holiday Adventure (updated)

[Msturm]

I am back in Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula where I grew up. As a tradition me and my brother go out hunting for squirrels rabbits and Spruce Chickens (spruce grouse). On christmas  This was the first year that I decided to take my long bow along. The long bow is a Stalker Coyote FXT 49 lbs at 28in.
 
     

We walked for a long time looking for rabbits and did not see any. It was a beautiful day though. Crisp and cold with sun at times and cloud cover at times. The frost covered trees really lit up in the sunlight.

   

It was after a mile or so I heard the chattering of a squirrel. I located the little monster and let one of my arrows fly. clipped him in the head with the G5 Small Game Head. The squirrel fell about fifteen feet out of the tree, then scrambled right back up. Second arrow finished the deed. These little guys are tough as nails!.. The second arrow fell right in front of the tree easiest arrow retrieval ever.  

While looking for the first arrow (which I found       :D     )  I flushed  up a spruce chicken. It flew right over my head. It landed in a tree about 50 yards away from me. My younger brother made quick work with a 410.

The noise from the 410 spooked up two other birds in the area and I lucked out and saw the general area the bird landed. We crept up on it and it was buried deep in the spruce branches. My younger brother  said "There are too many branches in the way from this angle." I replied "a head shot at 20 yards is going to cost me an arrow."

   

He responded with something I cannot repeat on a family site like this.

I took a step back and took a knee, finding a nice little opening in the branches I could see the bird's silhouette I let the arrow fly and thumped the spruce grouse mid body quartering away. It fell right out of the tree and expired in the snow about 10 feet from the base of the tree. After a lot of excitement and whooping on my behalf my little brother turned to me and said, "well I thought for sure you would have missed that!"  I found my arrow about 15 yards away.  Gotta love it when practice comes together!  Thanks for reading along!


     
   


Msturm

[4dogs]

  Good shootin! and eatin.

[Ky longbow]

Nice shooting man,congrats! Seems like we had the same idea. Cant beat a small game hunt with family and friends!

[Deno]

Well done MS.  Looks a great time!
Deno

[warpedarrow]

Now that looks like fun!

[Roy from Pa]

Very cool...

[Bud B.]

Great share! Thank you. I lived in AK from 85 to 88 thanks to the USAF at Elmendorf. I miss walking the Mat-Su Valley for rabbits and the spruce hens. Truly a heaven on earth place in Alaska.

[frank bullitt]

Cool!  Brothers hunting, the Best!

[frank bullitt]

Cool!  Brothers hunting, the Best!

[wooddamon1]

   

[MCNSC]

That's cool. Thanks for taking us along

[ChuckC]

Great story....  Kinda funny too how, snow on the ground, Alaska winter, and dem two boys are walking around in T shirts ( kinda).

I need to make a trip to the north of WI this winter for a white bunny hunt.
Chuck

[Pine]

Thanks for sharing .

[damascusdave]

Around here spruce grouse aka fool hens are regarded as second rate table fare to ruffed grouse...I agree and will still eat, and enjoy, every one I can bring to pot...shooting things out of trees is a great way to lose arrows...the most amazing part of your account is getting all of those arrows back...great shooting and even better arrow recovery skills...come hang out in Alberta with us sometime to shoot 3D...we can always use a good arrow radar guy for that

[Sam McMichael]

Good story. I seldom get to hunt just before or after Christmas.

[Gen273]

Awesome, thanks for taking us along!

[fmscan]

Great day, great shooting and great photos...thank you

[Msturm]

DDave. The secret to my arrow retrieval skills is having the orange stripes on my arrows. Those FLO orange barber pole arrows are so ugly that mother nature does not want them and readily offers to give them back.  And that FLO orange fletching on tail end really glows in the white snow.  That and Im lucky.


Thanks for all the comments guys. I have till december 31st on this license. I plan on making the most of it.

Msturm

[Irish Archer]

Congrats on a very exciting day. Nice work.

[Steve H.]

Howdy from Moose Pass.  

Red arrows/fletching really stands out in the snow.  One great trick is to dust carpenters chalk on your arrows and they'll leave a blue dust trail if you shoot parallel to the ground.