Upland Hunting Assignment for onX

Jess McGlothlin Media. Upland game hunters and dogs hunting for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse in eastern Montana, near Malta. A hunter gives his dog water from a bottle in the field.

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of upland bird hunting. During my tenure at Orvis, my copy chief Paul Fersen was always kind enough to put up with my never-ending barrage of questions concerning the lifestyle, sharing stories and putting book after book in front of my face so I could learn enough to write decent catalog and website copy for Orvis’ hunting products. He carved out days for me to go to sporting clay courses, including the gorgeous Sandanona, to learn how to properly mount a shotgun and become (reasonably) proficient on the clays courses.

It was a first taste of something interesting.

Jess McGlothlin Media. Detail of leather glove and shotgun engraving. Upland game hunters and dogs hunting for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse in eastern Montana, near Malta.

Jess McGlothlin Media. English pointer running in field. Detail of leather glove and shotgun engraving. Upland game hunters and dogs hunting for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse in eastern Montana, near Malta.

That’s why, this past weekend, Paul was forefront on my mind. Without that early introduction, without the patient tutelage and encouraging presence, I wouldn’t be doing the work I’m doing today. That was especially true this on this most recent assignment, which saw me logging miles on the eastern Montana prairie, photographing a group of hunters in pursuit of both sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse.

The project was for a company I’m doing quite a bit of work with these days, onX Hunt, and while it was a quick shoot we made the most of it. Five different dog breeds were represented, as well as hunters from Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Hampshire… we all gathered in a little house near Malta and made the most of a cloudy few days in the sage-laden hills.

Jess McGlothlin Media. Man walking along barbed-wire fence at sunset in sage. Upland game hunters and dogs hunting for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse in eastern Montana, near Malta.

On the final morning, I slung my camera over my shoulder and instead picked up a shotgun, immediately growing nostalgic for my days at Orvis and Paul’s stalwart presence at my side. There’s something about walking through wild country… your feet fall into a rhythm and there’s just so much time to think. Sweat on your brow and a cold autumn wind somehow make the perfect recipe for introspective thought-trains.

As it ended up, after a morning of hiking and following the dogs I brought home my first sharptail and a new passion. Thanks to the day’s hunters from onX and Northwoods’r for helping an upland newbie into her first bird, and for not minding cameras all over the place the prior few days.

Jess McGlothlin Media. An upland hunter places a sage grouse into his game bag. Eastern Montana.

As I knelt to pick up that first sharptail, my thoughts immediately fell back to Paul and how first instilled in me an understanding of the importance of these hunts. A reverence for it. And I wished he was there.

We’re now both on opposite ends of the country — he on Cape Cod and I in Montana — but I hope some day we find ourselves marching through a field together again.

Jess McGlothlin Media. Detail of tall dried grass with hunters in the background. Upland game hunters and dogs hunting for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse in eastern Montana, near Malta.

Jess McGlothlin Media. Man walking into horizon on sagebrush field. Upland game hunters and dogs hunting for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse in eastern Montana, near Malta.

Side note: Packing the bags today for an interesting assignment coming up next week. Security measures prevent me from sharing too many details, but stay tuned for updates in the coming few weeks! It’s going to be long flights, new terrain and (actually) an entirely new continent!

Jess McGlothlin Media. Foggy, misty fall sunrise along the Blackfoot River and farm / ranch in Montana.