Hunter kicks off grouse opener with big bang.

FORSYTH TOWNSHIP -- Tuesday was a big day for bird hunters in Michigan.  It was the opening day for the small game season.  Experts say it should be a good year for hunters looking for ruffed grouse.

Dennis Stachewicz of Gwinn takes his grouse hunting seriously.  After putting some hunter's orange on, we joined him Tuesday morning in an old logging area in the Escanaba River State Forest.

He doesn't hunt alone either. Dennis breeds German short-haired pointers to help flush birds out in the open.  Tuesday morning, he used his trusty dog, Gunner.

“This collar I'm putting on the dog is called an e-collar or a stimulation collar,” said Dennis, “and it has a bell on it.  The purpose of the bell is to hear the dog when he's running through the woods because they do run at an appreciable distance, and it also has a beeper."

That beeper goes off when the dog stops and is pointing his nose towards the scent of a bird.

Dennis and Gunner are both old pros.  After just a few minutes in the forest, gunner finds a scent, and we follow in the dense brush.  It’s not even 20 minutes into the excursion and Dennis shoots and scores.  It’s his first grouse of the season.

“Just what a beautiful bird, some of the best food you'll have.  It doesn't get any better than this," Dennis told us.

For Dennis, this is just the beginning of what he hopes will be a good season in the woods with his dogs.

“I just have an intense love for this sport, and the dogs and this just made my entire day," he said.