Everyone loves toys. Getting new toys never grows old and those of us who hunt and fish love toys a lot! My latest toy, like all my purchases, is very practical and bought with sound reasoning and much forethought — of course! Finding a place to target shoot clay pigeons in order to get ready for the upland season has become challenging this summer. Petersham Gun Club has a great sporting clays course that is open on Sunday mornings and the trap range operates Friday nights. Unfortunately, conflicts and the terrible weather of this summer prevented me from participating.
The recent developments in target throwers have resulted in electric throwers that are powered by a 12-volt battery and offer remote control, both corded and wireless, along with a capacity of at least 50 clay pigeons. They have wheels and are portable and are not so heavy that one man can easily transport them. After looking at the various models available, the Champion Wheelybird 2 looked the best value and quality. So, last week the thrower arrived, awaiting assembly.
As fate would have it, that coincided with the visit from my sister Pat (AKA Tish) Wolf and her husband Jim and dog Gracie, who drove from Kansas. Pat and a bevy of beauties from her Mahar graduating class headed to the New Hampshire beaches Thursday and that was the perfect opportunity for Jim and me to inaugurate the new trap. That meant assembling the device. Amazingly (and uncharacteristically for me), we read the instructions and went step by step. We only had four parts left over when we finished! Those were washers and we went back and added them.
After obtaining an inexpensive car battery, we were off to the Orange Gun Club. My new clay pigeons (purchased at Pelletier’s Gun Shop in Jaffrey, N.H.) were loaded in the truck along with plenty of 20- and 28-gauge reloads. I want to thank the reader who generously offered me clay targets after reading last week that I was having trouble finding clays, but I had already stocked up.
The Wheelybird 2 was impressive. Easy to operate, it throws targets at a good speed, which is adjustable as is the height of the target path. The 25-foot cord on the trigger device is great and the trigger can easily be foot-operated by a shooter, allowing you to practice by yourself. Jim claimed he had not fired a shot in 10 years, but he did well with both the 20- and 28-gauge Ruger Red Label.
We next moved to the excellent handgun range and did some shooting with my Smith & Wesson M&P 9-millimeter. It is easy to go through ammo and we liberated a hundred rounds in a short time. All in all, a fun day of shooting. I would highly recommend the Champion Wheeleybird 2. It throws good targets and never malfunctioned.
This week, it was finally possible to start running the dogs in preparation for hunting season. The first outing, with only younger French Brittany Laney, was a huge success as she quickly located and pointed three grouse, holding point until the last bird exited. She later held point on what I assume was one of those grouse and pointed a pair of woodcock as well. Not bad for the first preseason run! Hopefully, the weather will cool down and the rain will also back off for a while.
Early Resident Canada Goose season is underway, and the hunting pressure will hopefully disperse the geese and provide some relief, as the flocks can be real pests. This writer is putting together a schedule that will hopefully include some hunting in Vermont and New Hampshire before heading to New York. Both states offer outstanding upland hunting. Vermont grouse and woodcock seasons open Sept. 25. New Hampshire grouse and woodcock start Oct. 1 and Massachusetts woodcock also opens Oct. 1 with Bay State grouse starting Oct. 16. It has been a long time since this writer has bird hunted in New Hampshire. That may involve some prospecting and also finding lodging.
There is still a lot of good fishing to be had with fall trout stocking kicking off soon. The dogs pressure me to get focused on hunting season and that is a strong influence!
Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor for over 40 years and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.