GORDON, Minn. — Thirteen-year-old Connor Pennings advanced cautiously through the head-high alders and hazel brush, his 20-gauge shotgun at the ready.

He knew that at any moment, a ruffed grouse might roar from the cover, or that a woodcock would go flitting toward the aspen canopy.

Jordy, a 2-year-old English pointer owned by Superior’s Mark Fouts, was holding a solid point nearby, indicating the imminent presence of a grouse or woodcock.

“With the dog on point, you always walk in on the left or right and walk past the dog,” said Fouts, an official with the Ruffed Grouse Society who was serving as Connor’s mentor on this late September hunt in Douglas County.

Connor is one of 37 new hunters being groomed in the Ruffed Grouse Society’s New Hunter Mentor Program this fall in Northwestern Wisconsin.

All of the hunters go through three class sessions where they learn about gun safety, dog handling and field skills before going afield to hunt with a mentor.

Connor’s dad, Cale Pennings of Duluth, Minn., was along for this hunt as well, though not carrying a gun. If the mentoring program kindles a desire in Connor to pursue grouse and woodcock, his dad will be the key to getting him out on future hunts.

“What we’ve found out with the mentor program,” Fouts said, “is that if you’re not able to provide a mentor with follow-up and transportation, it’s a one-and-done program. You have to set them up with a parent or guardian who can take them out.”

Learning the game

Connor moved past Jordy now, but no bird flushed. Perhaps the bird had run ahead, eluding the dog and hunters. Fouts released Jordy, who quickly relocated the bird and locked up on point again.

Connor knew the drill. He moved confidently past Jordy, and when a woodcock twittered skyward, he fired a single shot from the over/under double barrel that Fouts had loaned him. Only leaves fell, but Connor had seen the whole sequence unfold - point, flush and shot.

“That was awesome,” Fouts said.

It was the first of several chances Connor would have that afternoon under Fouts’ tutelage.