The shooting of young blackcocks in summer and in the first part of autumn with a polite, well brought and enough experienced gun-dog is one of the most interesting and fascinating huntings.

A significant part of July and up to middle of August broods of blackcocks keep not far from a former nest mainly on berry-fields (wild strawberry, bilberry, raspberry), which are seldom attended by a man and by home animals and near to them. The old burnt out places in forest glades and other open places with rich, high grass are the characteristic places of stay of broods. The haymaking makes the broods of blackcocks get over on the berry-fields located closer to a large wood. In the second part of August the frightened in such places small blackcocks usually have a seat on trees. At the end of August the broods move on the borders of a forest where they eat bilberries and later cranberries.

Naturally the hunter must take into account where and what berry has already ripened at the given moment and regulary he must observe these places with the dog. It is necessary to examine the craw of a killed nestling-blackcocks. It helps to determine what the bird eats in the given area and where the hunter should look for the bird.

It is necessary to begin the summer hunting be blackcocks-broods after sunrise and to continue up to nine, and sometimes till ten o'clock in the morning. If the dew is plentiful, it is better to wait while the dew will be dry.

The brood-coming is visible very well on the grass, covered with dew. The hunter should go along the border of the forest or bushes having let the dog to search in more open place against the wind. It should be done for the purpose that the brood having caught the dog had no time to run across closer to fastening where it will be more difficul to tale the drood.

To midday the brood gets in to the fastening and hatches here up to sixteen - seventeen hours waiting till the day heat is over. After that the brood goes to the evening feeding in more open places where it is fed up the sunset. During the dull days with drizzling rain the brood usually is fed all day keeping more open places. In very strong dews blackcock-estlings are fed on high hilly places and in a thick forest where the dew is not so plentiful. In the most cases the hunting during the morning dew is more successful, than during the evening dew.

Searching the broods the hunter should pay attention to the degree of freshness of so-called "diggings". It means the holes in soft ground, in hummocks, in old ant-hill etc. In these places the blackcocks like to be fed and to swim. These holes are located in the southern part right in the sun. It is easy to distinguish the forest digging through down and feathers, fresh traces of bird on the ground. Very often from diggings the dog brings the hunter directly to the brood. It is not difficult to define the approximate number of brood by the amount of near-located diggings. To the opening of the summer hunting there are five - eight nestling-blackcocks in the brood.

Having found the brood, it should not hurry the dog. It is better to keep the dog on the set some minutes to give the time to the brood to run up. If the dog works on the first field or if it is very hot at job, it is useful to recall the dog from the set for fifteen minutes and then to let the dog return back to game. As the result of it the nestling-blackcocks rise under the dog not all together and it promotes a success of hunting.

It is impossible to shoot at the old hen-blackcocks. It is categorically forbidden by the law to get the old hen-blackcocks. Any infringement in this sphere involves penalty and a fine. Besides any conscious hunter should understand that game shooting of female brings to reduction of blackcocks and in particular in the given area. Having saved the old hen-blackcock, the hunter will find the future summer the new brood in the given area because blackcock usually are located and are propagated them selves in one and the same places.

The more elder and the more experienced the old hen-blackcock is and the more young her nestlings are, the more she takes care of her nestlings. Quite often the hen-blackcock risks her life. Saving her nestlings from fox and from other beasts of prey, from the hunting dog, she usually pretends to be wounded, flits and run around the dog, she tries to take the dog from the brood. She is a success, if the gun-dog works as per the first field or it isn`t experienced.

That is why the hunter should pay attention to the behaviour of the female and he must take the dog apart in time having directed the dog to the place of the brood.

Before sending the dog forward to rise the brood, the hunter must stand on a direction of the set to have some open space before himself which makes the shot successful.

It is not difficult to shoot at the August nestling-blackcocks. Having risen on the open place the nestling flies directly and very slowly. In these cases it is useful to let the bird off for a moment not to break the bird by a shell of fraction. In bushes and in forest young birds quite often rise from under the legs by a candle, being entangled in branches. At this time of the year fraction number 8, 7, 6 is quite sufficient. After the shot it is necessary to reload the gun and after that it is necessary to move further.

It is not recommend to hunt more than together with one gun-dog because of frequent shots the dog, especially young, begins to get excited, to break sets and to drive from place to place.

The wounded August nestling-blackcock usually does not run so far. He hides in the nearest bushes and he is easily found out by the dog. If the brood has flown away or has sat down the trees, it is necessary to take the dog aside and to wait for 15-20 minutes. During this time the nestling of blackcocks fly from trees on the ground, leave the bushes, give the trace and soon they will be found out by the dog.

At the end of August the young blackcocks grow up as the female; cocks become black, feathers of a tail begin to take a lyrate shape. During the feeding the cocks are separated from the old hen-blackcocks and go away for day`s rest separately from the brood. During September the broods are located close to the moss-bogs eating the seasonal berry. This time the young growth does not stand the set of gun-dog so hard. It aims to run away from the dog and quite often flies up already on a distant shot.

The crops of the ripped oats are visited by the blackcocks willingly even after the crop will be removed. The feeding of blackcocks is easily determined through trampled down paths. Such paths you can meet and in grass-places where the blackcock are fed.

The grown-up brood flies sometimes to be fed on a significant distance. The birch moss-places in this period are usually served for blackcocks as a place of sleeping.

September young growth quite often rises without set running away from the pursued hot gun-dog. The raised brood flies away much further than in August. That is why it is necessary to use the experienced dog during the autumn huntings. The hunting be the grown-up brood is more difficult than at the beginning of the season but its trophies are not comparable with August nestlings!

The grown-up nestlings prefer to have a seat on trees where they sit for half an hour and sometimes longer. At the end of September and at the beginning of October cocks are finally separated from the brood, keep together with the old chernish and begin to live quite independent life.

In the middle of October the blackcock begin to bunch the flights and this time the hunting with the gun-dog carries already a casual character.

In September it is necessary to use the fraction № 6 and 5.

For summer - autumn hunting at blackcocks it is better to use the double-barrelled gun with not long trunks which provide good management of gun during the shooting in bushes and the other closed places. Calibre of trunks is the 12th, giving quite sufficient scree of the shot shell; drilling of the right trunk - improved cylinder, the left - a small muzzle narrow spot. The combination of charge and shell must provide good sharpness at a small condensation to the centre of scree.