During a normal course of spring at the end of March the old chernishs begin to mutter on trees, more often on birches. With appearance on the glades first thawed patches the kosatch gather in groups and they continue to perform courtship rituals getting down on the ground.

The most typical places of mating-places of wood-grouses are floor places, large glades among the mixed wood, pure moss bogs and sometimes the coast of the river. Quite often the extensive ploughed field may be as the mating-place.

The spring hunting, as a rule, is allowed extremely on kosatch and it lasts two - three weeks. At this time the snow on the fields almost disappears. It coincides with a season of mating-places.

However it is necessary to prepare for these huntings even before opening the season. At the beginnings of April, having established mating-places, the hunters during the day time establish frames for future tents. For this purpose it is enough to drive five or six sticks in to the ground connected above their ends. The beforehand put frames will not pay attention of blackcocks who will get used to appearance on the place of new subjects. The bushes and separate trees (fir-tree, juniper) are the best basis for the tent in the western part of the mating-place because the can have the opportunity to examine the flied kosatch.

Closer to the beginning of the hunting it is necessary to finish making the tents, having transferred them in the case of need in the places which are the most approached to the centre of the mating-place.

As a rule, the external covering of the tent should merge with environmental vegetation. For example, in the field the tent is covered with hay. Among young coniferous growth it is necessary to mask the tent by branches of fir-tree, juniper etc. It is necessary to put inside the tent a scrap of board, and over - the high layer of dry hay or straw if the mating-place is located in a low place. It is better to use low folding chair. If the ground is not so damp it is possible to dig out in the tent a small hole for legs. In this case the height of the tent will decrease. It makes the tent less visible.

It is necessary to remember that the bottom part of the tent must be wrapped with branches. In this case the running blackcocks can not see the hunter sitting in the tent. The upper and the middle part of the tent are wrapped with branches only slightly. It is necessary to make some small holes in the walls of the tent for observation and shooting. The distance of the correct shot (35 м and closer) is useful beforehand to mark with branches sticked into the ground or into snow.

If some separate bushes grow near the tent, it is better to remove them without changing the main view on the mating-place.

The hole for the entrance the tent should be done in the back part of the tent and it is masked very thoroughly even during the intervals between the huntings.

From time to time it is necessary to correct the external covering of the tent adding fresh branches. It is important to replace them in those cases when the tent is masked with deciduous breeds and the trees surrounded the tent have begun to become green.

It should go out to the morning mating-place in the night. It is necessary to be in the tent one hour prior of the first gleams of dawn. It is impossible to walk about the mating-place in the darkness. The trouble is that some cocks spends the night quite often near the mating-place and they appear earlier the other kosatch. If the hunter was late and the blackcocks have already begun to sing, it is necessary to leave, not finding out yourself not to disperse the cocks who quite often leave the mating-place forever.

For evening hunting it is necessary to sit in the tent in the afternoon when the blackcock are fed not far from the mating-place.

You should be put on very warmly because the long stay in the tent, especially during the morning frost dawns is not possible in the light clothes. The legs should be in warmth. For this purpose it is necessary to have the day footwear, good foot-bindings and socks. It is useful to have a warm cap and gloves.

Even in a spacious tent it is not recommended to hunt two together because the shooter usually prevent each other. Certainly, having sit in the tent it is necessary to accept the most convenient pose to observe complete silence and not to turn the head. It is impossible to smoke in the tent, especially up to dawn.

The mating-place blackcock flies as the first. Having sit some time in silence, he begins to short calling with the nearest cocks and soon, having begun to sing, he opens the mating-place. The blackcocks flay on the mating-place very early, sometimes before dawn. But it is necessary to shoot when you can distinguish the main blackcock.

It is impossible to shoot hen-blackcocks, and also the main blackcock - the blackcock who has flown as the first; because the mating-place can be upset. The most successful shooting is the shooting at the clearly seen cocks. The normal distance for shooting from the tent is 35 m. It should not go out of the tent before ending the display ground. It is necessary to shoot at winged birds in order to avoid of loss. It is necessary to use the shot for this hunting № 5 and № 3 depending on the fight of a gun.

It is necessary to avoid the hunting every dawn from one and the same tent. The often shooting in one and the same place can scare the birds and the hunting will be upset. As the result, the cocks usually begin to sing in the area of former mating-place one at a time. It is better to offend the mating-place in turn.