Drizzt
Member
Can't wait for armed hiking
Wes Smalling
Star-Tribune
I'm off to kind of a false start with my hunting season this year.
The knee surgery I had last week has me a bit hobbled. But soon I'll be ready to traipse around in the woods for miles without an annoying hitch in my get-along slowing me down.
One of my favorite upland birds to hunt is a somewhat strange critter of the high country that's probably the most overlooked game bird in the sport of hunting: blue grouse.
You've probably come across them on a hiking trail. They're the birds that sat there hidden in the grass until you were almost close enough to step on them, then without any warning they flushed with such a ruckus of noisy flapping wings -- flup-flup-flup-flup-flup -- they damn near gave you a heart attack. That was them.
Blue grouse earned the nickname "fool's hen," probably because they sometimes fly to a high tree branch after they've flushed, as if that's a safe place to perch when there's a guy on the ground with a shotgun. And in the spring and summer, especially spring when they're looking for mates, they usually don't fly off if you approach them out in the open. They just stand there and stare at you from a few feet away.
They're a different bird in the fall though. They fly fast and it's rare that they'll light on a tree branch right over your head. A grouse that's been shot at before will flush at the sound of your car door closing a mile away at the trailhead -- flup, flup, flup, flup, flup -- there he goes off to the next county.
The toughest part about hunting blue grouse is finding them. They're scattered in the high country and you usually have to put several miles under your boots before you come across any. Some days you might not see any at all. I think that's why they're one of the least hunted game birds. You have to leave the truck. It's not a sport for lazy or out-of-shape hunters.
Look for blue grouse at the edges of meadows near spruce and fir trees. They're often by water too, sometimes at the headwaters of a small stream. Unlike any other species I've ever heard of, they migrate up in elevation during fall and winter, then move down for spring and summer.
Of course, the best way to find them is to look for them when it's not hunting season. They're everywhere then.
The males are grayish blue and a little bigger than the females, which are mottled brown and white. They look like small chickens and weigh about 3 pounds. The biggest one I ever shot weighed 5 pounds. It was so fat it could barely fly. Talk about an easy shot.
To me, blue grouse are the tastiest table fare of any gamebird. But the most appealing thing about hunting blue grouse is that they live in the prettiest country -- high in the mountains in the fall when the aspen are changing colors and the weather's nice and cool.
Grouse hunting is a perfect excuse to go for an armed hike in the wilderness -- and it doesn't cost you hundreds of dollars and a week's vacation like a big game hunt does. A box of shotgun shells and a free morning or afternoon are all you need. And a very good pair of hiking boots.
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/...n_spaces/fa1244dfc70b3d9d8725734600606057.txt
Wes Smalling
Star-Tribune
I'm off to kind of a false start with my hunting season this year.
The knee surgery I had last week has me a bit hobbled. But soon I'll be ready to traipse around in the woods for miles without an annoying hitch in my get-along slowing me down.
One of my favorite upland birds to hunt is a somewhat strange critter of the high country that's probably the most overlooked game bird in the sport of hunting: blue grouse.
You've probably come across them on a hiking trail. They're the birds that sat there hidden in the grass until you were almost close enough to step on them, then without any warning they flushed with such a ruckus of noisy flapping wings -- flup-flup-flup-flup-flup -- they damn near gave you a heart attack. That was them.
Blue grouse earned the nickname "fool's hen," probably because they sometimes fly to a high tree branch after they've flushed, as if that's a safe place to perch when there's a guy on the ground with a shotgun. And in the spring and summer, especially spring when they're looking for mates, they usually don't fly off if you approach them out in the open. They just stand there and stare at you from a few feet away.
They're a different bird in the fall though. They fly fast and it's rare that they'll light on a tree branch right over your head. A grouse that's been shot at before will flush at the sound of your car door closing a mile away at the trailhead -- flup, flup, flup, flup, flup -- there he goes off to the next county.
The toughest part about hunting blue grouse is finding them. They're scattered in the high country and you usually have to put several miles under your boots before you come across any. Some days you might not see any at all. I think that's why they're one of the least hunted game birds. You have to leave the truck. It's not a sport for lazy or out-of-shape hunters.
Look for blue grouse at the edges of meadows near spruce and fir trees. They're often by water too, sometimes at the headwaters of a small stream. Unlike any other species I've ever heard of, they migrate up in elevation during fall and winter, then move down for spring and summer.
Of course, the best way to find them is to look for them when it's not hunting season. They're everywhere then.
The males are grayish blue and a little bigger than the females, which are mottled brown and white. They look like small chickens and weigh about 3 pounds. The biggest one I ever shot weighed 5 pounds. It was so fat it could barely fly. Talk about an easy shot.
To me, blue grouse are the tastiest table fare of any gamebird. But the most appealing thing about hunting blue grouse is that they live in the prettiest country -- high in the mountains in the fall when the aspen are changing colors and the weather's nice and cool.
Grouse hunting is a perfect excuse to go for an armed hike in the wilderness -- and it doesn't cost you hundreds of dollars and a week's vacation like a big game hunt does. A box of shotgun shells and a free morning or afternoon are all you need. And a very good pair of hiking boots.
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/...n_spaces/fa1244dfc70b3d9d8725734600606057.txt
