Blue Grouse?

[lizziedog1]

Does anyone here have any experience hunting Blue Grouse? It is one game bird that I have never bagged, my goal is to change that.

What hunting methods are used? Does using a dog help much? Is there any such thing as a call for these birds? Most importantly, how do these birds compare to other game birds as far as tastiness?

Any and all information and hints will be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[exbiologist]

Yes. A dog helps immensely if you are out solely for blue grouse, but I suspect 90% of the grouse taken are taken as incidental species while big game hunting, which is why you can use a centerfire rifle on them.

I know of no calls for them.

They are delicious, better than pheasant in my opinion.

 

[FNA]

I usually find them at 9000+ ft. Usaully around stands of berries in Aspen/evergreen mix.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I've shot quite a few while hunting elk, using a Ruger Mk1 I carry. They're almost always around the high ridges, and since they're not hunted much, they'll give you quite a few shots before they fly off.

The old timers called them "fool hens" because they're so dumb. I suspect if they lived at lower elevations, they would have been either extinct or a lot smarter long ago. We used a shotgun once, when I was a teenager, and it was way too easy. Every time we shot one, another one would pop up to see what the noise was.

Yes, they are quite tasty.

 

[oneounceload]

Where are you hunting them? Outside of Carson? - you'll find ruffed grouse in the same area up top, at least that's where I found them when I lived there, and yes, a dog is most helpful, as is a nice 20 gauge

 

[Bwana John]

Ive shot them on the east side of the Sierra Nevada from ~7000-9000 ft.

Listen for their "booming" then find where they are perched.

In CA it used to be legal to take them with a pistol, Ive use both shotgun and S&W 32-22 .22 kit gun, I dont know about current regs.

They are very tasty.

A flock of them almost took me out one time on my road bike (bicycle) as I was flying down the Minaret Summit road to Reds Meadow.

 

[ChefJeff1]

They're yummy with mushrooms. Kinda dumb. I like when they flush to the first branch of the nearest tree and stare at my dog while he barks at them. Then I shoot them.........yes, in the tree, I don't care.

 

[sliverflinger]

Blue grouse

Most of them around here are shot with rifles during deer and elk hunts.I've killed more sage grouse with a 257bob than with a shotgun .