Before we can talk about a New England
Upland Life, we had better decide what an Upland Life is. I supposed to different
people it can mean different things. Among those who hunt birds, it means a life
based around hunting upland birds, preferably with dogs. Of course, other activities
are allowed, but bird hunting and bird dogs come before anything else.
In New England, bird hunting means ruffed
grouse and woodcock. Pheasants are an invasive specie and a poor substitute. Boy,
that last sentence will bring some hate mail.
An upland shooting life in other parts
of the country might be very different. The charm of riding horseback through a
quail plantation is appealing. The wide-open grasslands of the West look intimidating
to someone used to the thick cover of New England. Desert quail sounds like
fun, but it is rattlesnake country.
I’ll stick to the shallow mountains of New
England.
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