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A Memorable Day of Firsts
My son Perry with his first ruffed grouse on his first Northwoods
grouse hunt with my first outstanding grouse dog. Max
was a beautiful Bondhu bred Llewellin Setter who mastered the timber, always providing us with the "opportunity"
to take limits of grouse and woodcock. Max is long gone, but not forgotten -- the clear, resonant tones of his collar bell
still ring in my memory each early October morning, beckoning my return to the grouse coverts of the northwoods.
Bonasa Brook Llewellins
The
word Bonasa means "Like a thundering herd of Bison", but Bonasa also refers to the sound of the thundering
beating of wings performed during the mating ritual of Bonasa Umbellus, the Ruffed Grouse.
I grew up hunting quail in Southern Illinois and Missouri. Later, after moving to northern Illinois,
my Llewellins and I spent as much time as possible hunting Pheasants.
My passion for Ruffed Grouse hunting came late
in life when a friend invited me on a Grouse and Woodcock hunt to the Great Northwoods of Wisconsin. I found that
the Llewellin Setters I had grown up with and raised for over 30 years, and that did such a great job on Quail and Pheasant,
were also fantastic Grouse dogs. That was over 18 years ago and, even though I still hunt Pheasants and Quail as much
as possible, I have devoted the bulk of my bird hunting time to hunting Ruffed Grouse and developing my Llewellin Setters
to be excellent all-around gundogs.
