Back in the late 60s and early 70s, I had the opportunity to hunt capercaillie and black grouse in East Tyrol during the springtime. It was exhausting, but also overwhelming to experience the early morning in the still mostly snow-covered Alps.
Hunting hazel grouse is something completely different
Hunting the beautiful hazel grouse is completely different.
I have had the opportunity to hunt the hazel grouse call for guests or for myself in large, stately hunting grounds in Styria. This call is called "Spissen".
At the time, I had a metal hazel cock decoy and a plastic mouse whistle with me. It soon turned out that the mouse whistle was more practical as it also worked in the cold.
The right hazel cock caller needs the perfect sound
The Weisskirchen hazel cock caller is sorted out among many mouse whistles. Only one of about 20 mouse whistles is suitable. Namely the one that produces the brightest sound.
The most important thing, however, is how you whistle into the mouse whistle, i.e. the hazel cock caller. Old hunters from the Alpine countries swear by cat, hare, rabbit, goose or cattle bones. However, it is a little macabre to still rave about "cat bones" today. What's more, it takes a lot of effort to make this little whistle from bones in the first place.
A whistled question mark
A question mark must be whistled into the verse. But how can you describe that in a text?
I was lucky enough to receive the different verses from a young hazel grouse and an old rooster from a hazel grouse researcher in Poland on a sound carrier. So switch on the loudspeakers and listen for yourself:
First the young cock:
Now the old cock:
A nice story to go with it
A young female hunter bought a hazel cock decoy with CD from me at the Graz hunting fair. Two years later, she came to my stand excitedly and with a beaming face and told me that she had mislaid the decoy. A friend lent her a portable CD player with speakers. She took it into the woods where she thought a cockerel was.
She put the CD on and on the first verse (young cock) a hazel cock fell in about 60 metres in front of her. On the second verse (old cock) he came within 20 metres of her. The young hunter thus shot her first hazel cock.
Electronic aids are rightly banned on the hunt, but here I got confirmation that the sounds had hit the mark.
Lure hunting for hazel grouse - a particularly beautiful form of hunting
I had the most success during the stag rut at the end of September in Styria. When it came to a well-known prime stag, the guests' passion for hunting knew no bounds. But woe betide the chosen stag! Either it had misbehaved or failed to leave its stand, or it was shot past. The frustration was often great. I was always able to reconcile the unsuccessful hunter by telling him that we were going out for hazel grouse.
An important tip on lure hunting for hazel grouse at the end
On these occasions, it was always important that I knew where an elderberry or rowanberry bush was in connection with a nearby forest road. Hazel deer like to stay close to their favourite food. An unpaved road is also needed for foraging. Hazel deer search for mates in late autumn. There is a good chance of bagging a cock with a spit during this time.
Learn the animals' voices and you will be the master of your hunting ground.
Yours, Klaus Weisskrichen
