Ruffed grouse hunting is to bird hunting what fly fishing is to fishing--the pinnacle of the sport. Grouse hunters are a diehard lot consumed by chasing evasive birds through impenetrable thickets. Back east, grouse hunting has a rich, long-standing literary history, with great authors such as Burton Spiller, William Harnden Foster, Grampa Grouse and many others. Tapping into and carrying on this literary tradition, hunter and author Andrew Wayment offers stories from years of grouse hunting throughout the Gem State. Grouse hunters everywhere will relate to and enjoy this intimate look into "ruffin' it in Idaho."

Wingbeats and Heartbeats is a wingshooter's odyssey to the wild places where, at the end of the day, the companionship of faithful gun dogs and good friends matters more than a bulging game bag. In this sometimes humorous and sometimes poignant collection of essays, Dave Books celebrates a time-honored connection to the land and the hard-earned hunting rewards of an outdoor life. Through these essays, readers tag along on adventures in the forests of Wisconsin and Minnesota, the fields of Iowa and North Dakota, the prairies of eastern Montana and Nebraska, the mountains of western Montana and Idaho, and the deserts of Arizona. Books also writes of the game birds that hunters pursue and admire: grouse, quail, woodcock, doves, chukars, Hungarian partridge, and waterfowl. A heartfelt tribute to the freedom and magic of the hunt, Wingbeats and Heartbeats is a book that has much to say about work and fun, success and failure, and the sights, sounds, and smells of a day afield.

More than 25 wildlife professionals provide in-depth information on every aspect of this popular game bird's life.

Memories of fall days in the coverts are brought alive again in this anthology of grouse hunting stories.