A FEW YEARS AGO, MY WIFE surprised me with a copy of Partridge Shortenin’, by Gorham “Grampa Grouse” Cross. In 1949, Grampa Grouse printed
only 100 copies for his friends, thereby making an original copy about as scarce as hen’s teeth. Two subsequent printings have added 600 additional copies to the
sporting world for a grand tally of 700 editions. Thanks to my wife, I have one of them in my collection.
I was in awe of the outstanding shooting chronicled in the chapter “All Full at Noon,” which tells the story of three men shooting a limit of four grouse each by noon. Cross estimates that about 10 percent of flushed birds are killed, so at that rate it means for every bird killed he saw ten more, for every limit reached he saw 40 birds, and for a three-man limit their shooting party caught at least
a fleeting glimpse 120. Today, any grouse hunter who sees 20 birds in a day has hit a magical benchmark. The same is true of bobwhite quail down South, trout in the Rockies, waterfowl in the Central Flyway, and so on. These days, it seems that finding game takes far more time than actually hunting it.
The lack of quality hunting or fishing opportunities is a leading factor in why die-hard sportsmen take matters into their own hands. Whether purchasing a 25-acre farm or a 250,000-acre ranch, the ultimate goal is to capture their own little slice of heaven-and perhaps re-create an experience that resembles Gorham Cross’s.
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