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kgb
PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:15 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1256
Location: Nebraska

Pine Creek/Dave wrote:
kgb,

I agree with you in many ways, when I was working at NASA/Martin Marietta my Grouse season seemed like it hardly existed at times, and I definitely wanted to hunt Sundays. Now that I am retired from Martin Marietta and the Military both the shoe is on the other foot, that was at least until the PGC decided to eliminate our entire January Grouse season. At any rate we lost way more hunting time than the 3 Sundays will ever replace.

I am glad I am older now, I do not feel quite as bad about loosing the late Grouse season. The men are really yelling about not being able to Grouse hunt around both Thanksgiving and Christmas, when they are off for the holidays. I do believe we should be able to Grouse hunt then for sure. Grouse hunting on Sunday here in Pa would at least add a week or so back to the season, which would be nice for us. Especially around the holidays and in the early part of the season.

hope all is well out west,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man


Most is well, Dave, I have little complaint, and would you believe I finally bought an L.C. Smith?? 16ga Ideal grade with 30" barrels, M/F, fits me pretty well and shoots straight. Took off the plates to find a pretty good crack through the thin wood between the left plate and the triggers but should be easily repaired. Bet it would make a really nice dove gun, that's my idea for it next season.

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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:31 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

kgb,

Bummer about the crack, who ever had the Ideal 16 gun before you, did not take care of it.
Have the crack repaired and you will have a great Dove gun for sure. If the guy who sold you the gun charged you serious money, try to get them to pay for the repair work. In fact drop me a PM and let me know who or what company sold you the gun, so I know what to expect when dealing with them.

If you need a substitute L.C. Smith 16, while your gun is being fixed, I will send you the L.C. Smith 16, I just picked up out of Texas, Choked Full & Fuller. Should be a heck of a Dove gun. The old timer had the Breech blued for his Duck, Pheasant and Dove hunting. They did a great job turning it into a Black Beauty.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man



Last edited by Pine Creek/Dave on Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:45 pm; edited 2 times in total

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Cold Iron
PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:38 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 746
Location: Mn.

Never really cared for the no Sunday hunting for grouse and small game in Pa.

Even though grew up there which that term could be considered incorrect LOL.

The advantage of growing up in the Twin Tiers was NY on Sunday. But in the 60's and 70's spent most Sundays shooting the Owl League. 50 skeet and 50 trap birds in NY and Pa. in the Twin Tiers.

Had to have 2 skeet fields and 2 Trap fields when it first started. Most clubs including Wellsboro had 2 skeet but with the exception of Ithaca most didn't have 2 Trap fields. Eventually most clubs put in 2 Trap fields.

15 years ago watched my youngest son shoot a 49\50 at Ithaca. His grandfather and I both seen the 50th bird break. But he was still high gun out of ~120 shooters. He was also the Mn. State ATA class runner up at the age of 14.

And you could shoot even more grouse om NY than Pa. And back then they existed.

Blue Laws for shopping and hunting are long gone in most places. With the exception of Wednesday afternoons back "home". And most of those are now gone too. We used to take Wednesday afternoon off to fish Pine, big and small. And Slate Run. And lots of other cricks that hold brookies but would have to kill you if I told you the names of them... Very Happy
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boon hogganbeck
PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:38 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 27 Nov 2020
Posts: 83
Location: mtns of central PA

Cold Iron wrote:
Never really cared for the no Sunday hunting for grouse and small game in Pa.

Even though grew up there which that term could be considered incorrect LOL.

The advantage of growing up in the Twin Tiers was NY on Sunday. But in the 60's and 70's spent most Sundays shooting the Owl League. 50 skeet and 50 trap birds in NY and Pa. in the Twin Tiers.

Had to have 2 skeet fields and 2 Trap fields when it first started. Most clubs including Wellsboro had 2 skeet but with the exception of Ithaca most didn't have 2 Trap fields. Eventually most clubs put in 2 Trap fields.

15 years ago watched my youngest son shoot a 49\50 at Ithaca. His grandfather and I both seen the 50th bird break. But he was still high gun out of ~120 shooters. He was also the Mn. State ATA class runner up at the age of 14.

And you could shoot even more grouse om NY than Pa. And back then they existed.

Blue Laws for shopping and hunting are long gone in most places. With the exception of Wednesday afternoons back "home". And most of those are now gone too. We used to take Wednesday afternoon off to fish Pine, big and small. And Slate Run. And lots of other cricks that hold brookies but would have to kill you if I told you the names of them... Very Happy


Mike, that's funny you bring up Slate Run. When I first moved up to this part of PA a couple years ago to take a job, with zero knowledge of the area, I took my son (then 4 years old) on a little fishing trip to Slate Run in April, and though wrangling a four-year-old in the woods and fly-fishing for wild trout don't exactly mix, I did catch a nice brown on a dry fly that day. We have the picture here somewhere of us together on the stream. And you know what, while fishing we heard a drumming grouse right there on Slate Run, and I thought, "Huh, maybe I should get a bird dog like I've always wanted." About three weeks later, I had a puppy in hand & got back into this upland thing. I've not yet downed a bird with your 37, but I'm hoping we put it together for the late season!
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kgb
PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:45 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 31 Aug 2005
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Location: Nebraska

Dave,

Thanks for the generous offer but this is just an opportunity to finally examine one of these guns first hand. I don't care that there's a crack within the stock, it is a common warning to look for cracks externally and given the thin bits of wood inside it only makes sense they have a likelihood of cracking there as well. I'll soak the oil from the stock and repair it, should be fine and prevent further damage.

Kirk

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Bore, n. Shotgun enthusiast's synonym for "gauge" ; everybody else's synonym for "shotgun enthusiast." - Ed Zern
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Swampy16
PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:21 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Posts: 453
Location: New Jersey

I’ve never known 37’s to be prone to cracking, no more than any other pump or auto, 870, 1100, model 12, and so on.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 12:20 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

kgb,

Sense you graduated from the Gun Smithing School in Pittsburgh, Pa I have not doubt you will cure what ever ails the old L.C. Smith 16 Gauge Ideal grade double gun. If you find that you want a pre 13 gun let me know, and I will help you acquire one in pristine condition. Have fun with your Ideal grade 16 gauge in the Dove fields.

There have been some real nice L.C. Smith 16 gauge guns on GI recently for reasonable money! I like the #5 16 gauge guns a lot and there is one for sale for about $14,000. A seriously beautiful old gun in pristine condition.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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Lloyd3
PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:08 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Jan 2014
Posts: 1365
Location: Denver, Colorado

Cold Iron:

Blue Laws in Pennsylvania! Growing up with them always baffled me (all retail business closing on Wednesday at noon?). By the time I'd finally completed my college education there they'd largely abated, but the Sunday hunting thing was still in effect even then. For all the reasons you mentioned, I frankly hated it. I had so-little time to hunt as a younger man there and it only added insult to injury. I have known folks who would walk wayyyy back into nowhere on Sundays just so they could hunt squirrels with a .22.

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Swampy16
PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 1:26 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Posts: 453
Location: New Jersey

Hopefully them giving us 3 Sundays this years will be a good test and they’ll finally open it up. NY does it, I can’t understand why PA won’t. If I don’t kill a deer next Saturday I’ll be out on Sunday. It just makes it so much better for so many, especially an out of stater like myself. To travel to PA, hunt Saturday, then have to sit around on Sunday waiting for Monday (if one is lucky enough to have the time off) is a major PIA.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 3:17 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Swampy16,

When I was a young man it did seem like a way to keep us out of the woods, as I grew older I just accepted that we would never have Sunday hunting for, any game animal. We could always shoot crows and coyotes but not much else. Our PGC has it down to how many hours animals and birds are actually pressured, which is really unknown because they really do not know how man actual hunters are hunting any bird or animal on any given day. When I was a boy there were a lot more rabbits, squirrel and Grouse around for sure. Those were the days when we could shoot flying predators and we had lots of Grouse and Pheasants around for a young boy or girls to actually hunt.
Today the young boys and girls have no idea how great our Pa Pheasants and Grouse populations really were. Still we could not hunt on Sunday. Opening of Deer, Pheasant and Grouse season most all the kids skipped school to hunt, it was a Pa tradition and the liberal school teachers would complain about it every year. My mom was a school teacher and would plan her opening days at school for very light student contact days. Pirate base ball opening day was the same, the kids went to Forbes Field, especially in the 60".

With the PGC taking an entire month of Grouse hunting away from us, I actually welcome the Sundays they have given us and hope for a few more.

all the beat,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man


Last edited by Pine Creek/Dave on Mon Nov 22, 2021 6:30 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Soggy socks
PostPosted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 3:12 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Apr 2016
Posts: 369
Location: Vermont

Gents,
I used to take my first born son and later my twins the hunt the opener of PA. gun season. Vermont deer populations are low at least compared to what Pa. has and I wanted them to see deer. One opener we got invited for turkey soup and a neighbors where I hunt. While eating a man there asked my son why arent you in school today? My son was I believe 12 at he the time told him my dad took me out so I can hunt here the first day. The gentleman said if you lived here there is no school the first day of deer season. He missed his first week of high too to go caribou hunting in Quebec pretty sure he remembers fishing and shooting ptarmigan with the Inuit kids more than he would have the first week of high school . Regards Joe
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boon hogganbeck
PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:30 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 27 Nov 2020
Posts: 83
Location: mtns of central PA

My dog healed up, PA season is back in, we are back at it...

Hunted hard Tuesday. Woods were dry & loud, no breeze. Flushed 5 birds but none held for the dog, except for 1 they flushed way out of range, I could only hear them.

Yesterday afternoon we had similar conditions, they kept giving us the slip, but after struggling this season, my young dog had a very nice grouse point, so I was pleased to see that. Alas, the bird got up between us & flushed right over his back going downhill, didn't have a safe shot. Going to give it a good try Monday, Tues, and Wed this week before the season goes out.

Birds are out there, but they are definitely down from last season.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 2:50 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

boon,

Looks like our Grouse seasons have gone pretty much the same way, very tough hunting for sure. My young Gordon has come into her own and is setting Grouse up nicely now, woods still covered with leaves this last week, and very few shots taken, and only a few birds killed..

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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boon hogganbeck
PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 4:55 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 27 Nov 2020
Posts: 83
Location: mtns of central PA

Pine Creek/Dave wrote:
boon,

Looks like our Grouse seasons have gone pretty much the same way, very tough hunting for sure. My young Gordon has come into her own and is setting Grouse up nicely now, woods still covered with leaves this last week, and very few shots taken, and only a few birds killed..

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man


One difference--I've put no birds on the ground! But yes, tough conditions. I went out yesterday, put up 3 in one cover (young birch & grapevine on the edges), but none held for the dog. They seem to flush as soon as they hear us, even as I've been running him silent without a bell or beeper. Will go out for one last hurrah tomorrow. I'm not sure my current pup has the makings of a grouse dog... but I'm on the list for a spring setter litter, more from grouse lines, and so if all goes well, it begins again.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 3:39 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

boon,

Don't give up on your current pup, it takes many Grouse contacts to make a good Grouse dog. Breeding however is very important, if you are going to purchase another pup make sure its form a kennel raising good Grouse dogs. Proper breeding makes for great dogs.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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