Sav .250
Member
Grouse tend to make all look stupid. You have to be cat-quick with your shotgun.
Not much aiming going on ...........................just point and pull.
Not much aiming going on ...........................just point and pull.
First Time Grouse Hunter Help
- Thread starter Axel Larson
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Axel Larson
Member
Managed to take a shot at one the other day, missed though:banghead: did not have a big enough lead.
Jason_W
Member
Yeah, once they get in the air, they're usually pretty safe.
Over the years I learned a few dirty tricks that often enable me to shoot them either when they're on the ground or perched in trees.
Over the years I learned a few dirty tricks that often enable me to shoot them either when they're on the ground or perched in trees.
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Patocazador
Member
If it's tight cover, you can't worry about lead. Snap-shooting is the order of the day.
Any time a shotgunner starts using his brain instead of his instincts, he's going to miss. I didn't learn that valuable lesson until I was 66 years old. I could have saved thousands of dollars on shells over the years if I learned it in my 20s.
Nothing is guaranteed with grouse (or with anything else) and they can be found just about anywhere in the woods, however there's a few good places to look.
1) Edges. Grouse like edges such as hardwood meeting softwood, overgrown fields, stone walls, logging roads, and lightly traveled gravel roads.
2) Hunt early mornings and you will probably flush them from trees. If you flush one be ready, there is often more.
3) BE READY! This means at all times. Grouse have a nasty habit of flushing when you're bending over to climb under a log, or even when you're taking a leak. One flew in just as I was doing that one day and I got him.
4) On rainy days hunt the pines. Grouse don't care for getting soaked and prefer the shelter thick pines provide.
5) Learn to spot them on the ground or in trees. If you're hunting old apple trees don't go barging in. Scan the trees and the ground beneath them first. If you spot them first you have a huge advantage even if you don't shoot them sitting still. Often just before dark you can spot them feeding high up in birch trees or any other trees that produce catkins. They go to the very top and are pretty easy to spot against the sky.
That should be a good start for you. They aren't a complicated creature to hunt but they can be frustrating and you have to be persistant. It's also great exercise!
1) Edges. Grouse like edges such as hardwood meeting softwood, overgrown fields, stone walls, logging roads, and lightly traveled gravel roads.
2) Hunt early mornings and you will probably flush them from trees. If you flush one be ready, there is often more.
3) BE READY! This means at all times. Grouse have a nasty habit of flushing when you're bending over to climb under a log, or even when you're taking a leak. One flew in just as I was doing that one day and I got him.
4) On rainy days hunt the pines. Grouse don't care for getting soaked and prefer the shelter thick pines provide.
5) Learn to spot them on the ground or in trees. If you're hunting old apple trees don't go barging in. Scan the trees and the ground beneath them first. If you spot them first you have a huge advantage even if you don't shoot them sitting still. Often just before dark you can spot them feeding high up in birch trees or any other trees that produce catkins. They go to the very top and are pretty easy to spot against the sky.
That should be a good start for you. They aren't a complicated creature to hunt but they can be frustrating and you have to be persistant. It's also great exercise!
One of a grouse's biggest advantages is the sound they make when they take flight. Once you become imune to the surprise of it the game gets alot easier. Throughout the year whenever you are in the woods get in the habbit of raising your walking stick like a shotgun whenever you flush a grouse. It really does help.
Jason_W
Member
This poster knows their stuff!
Fight dirty and you'll end up with bacon wrapped partridge breast on the grill.
rallyhound
Member
In Minnesota at least a flushed grouse almost never goes very far.
If you don't get a shot watch where they go and follow slowly watching about 6-10 off the ground and you will get many second chances.
they seldom travel more than 100 yards in flight.
If you don't get a shot watch where they go and follow slowly watching about 6-10 off the ground and you will get many second chances.
they seldom travel more than 100 yards in flight.
elkdomBC
Member
I had a Ruffed Grouse take out the grill on my GMC Sierra 4x4 yesterday,, he ended up stuffed, not ruffed,, flattened against my radiator,,,,,,,,,,,
YOU send me $200 (insurance deductible)
I will send you fresh, frozen Canadian Grouse,,,,,,, it was minus-23 here yesterday !
YOU send me $200 (insurance deductible)
I will send you fresh, frozen Canadian Grouse,,,,,,,
it was minus-23 here yesterday !
Very good advice.
I could add that the larger the grouse, the more it likes elevation. This doesn't mean sheer altitude but small, steep hills and such - it's much easier to take off downhill. An alternative to thick pines on rainy weather is on ground level under spruces, fallen tree trunks and so on; basically anything that keeps the birds dry. Another thing is to walk very slowly and quietly, I've had snow grouse flush literally at my feet on several occasions.
The major threat to grouse is birds of prey. On clear weather they like some kind of "air cover" too, and try to be as hard to detect from above as possible.
On the other hand, I recommend using a well-trained dog, preferably a pointer. A dog rarely misses even a single bird, it'll notify you about their presence well in advance and grouse have a tendency of trying to lay down when a threat approaches. That's where the pointing part comes in; I have pictures of my weimaraner pointing black grouse on the ground, 15-20ft away and the birds just stay put. Flushing happens on command; it would be unsportsmanlike to not give them a chance and shoot them on the ground.
While it's possible to hunt grouse just walking around, a dog is really a game changer.
richie
Member
All good tips to find them, to hit them, I always use IC choke and #8 shot.
RustHunter87
Member
YA, solo grouse hunting is a exercise in frustration for sure
Ive been at it for 3 or four seasons now, I think I got 2 of them last year
I'm going tomorrow lol
Ive been at it for 3 or four seasons now, I think I got 2 of them last year
I'm going tomorrow lol
Daveboone
Member
I love my grouse hunting, but consider it a reason to go for a nice walk in the woods. I concentrate on apples, alders, poplars, and lumbered areas a couple years old. Stop frequently. IF in likely area, it makes a nearlby grouse nervous and they will bolt. They sometimes run like the dikens on the ground, too. Grouse populations run in about a 10 year cycle. Around here (in NY ) it is on the high end of it. I am not sure if it varies depending on where you are. You could contact your local DEC or Grouse Unlimited chapter to learn more.
Generally, we count our grouse hunting success with the number of flushes. Have patience. Have fun.
Generally, we count our grouse hunting success with the number of flushes. Have patience. Have fun.
RustHunter87
Member
I hear it been a good year for birds but not in my area, they were all over last year
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