Grouse Hunting Ethics

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Read a lot use a .22LR to get them but with round nose instead of shot? I only ever used .22LR shot for rats or pigeons in the barn as a kid, so no holes in the tin, so was just wondering...
 
I see them all the time where I target shoot on crown land, along with partridge, turkey, and deer.They all seem to come up to the road for gravel in late spring early summer. Most times I have to honk the horn to get the stupid things out of the way. Last time was a deer, a few days ago, but priour was a partridge with 4 chicks. Looked like the old into to the Partridge Family.

Wanted to try using a shotgun but I'm experienced with rifles. Almost every trip we bring the .22LR to finish up after shooting the larger calibers.
 
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Get what you're saying Hoyt. More just my particular situation, I have grouse that roost every night in a big old birch at my camp so it's a personal thing that these birds are off limits. No problem shooting birds out of trees in general.

Ahhh, I see... protecting your local fauna... I do the same with the deer that come to our yard... I enjoy seeing them, so I let them be.
 
Read a lot use a .22LR to get them but with round nose instead of shot? I only ever used .22LR shot for rats or pigeons in the barn as a kid, so no holes in the tin, so was just wondering...

We have shot thousands with pellet guns... with HB pistols, a 14.3 grain pellet @ 450 fps kills them dead instantly... our CB rifles move a 17 grain pellet at 650 fps and blow right through the shoulders or head of hares... so ANY .22 LR ammo is more than sufficient.
 
Ahhh, I see... protecting your local fauna... I do the same with the deer that come to our yard... I enjoy seeing them, so I let them be.

I do the same out of season...... In season, they aren't hanging out in the back yard anyways.... and if they were, I wouldn't shoot one, although I did once take one with a broken back leg and a bleeding hoof......

That being said, I still find myself sizing them up and picking the perfect boiler room shot..... Lol...... But I do that when I see cattle as well........ And would never shoot a cow......
 
We have shot thousands with pellet guns... with HB pistols, a 14.3 grain pellet @ 450 fps kills them dead instantly... our CB rifles move a 17 grain pellet at 650 fps and blow right through the shoulders or head of hares... so ANY .22 LR ammo is more than sufficient.

I get that, never thought of using a pellet gun, but no one mentioned .22 LR shot. I've only used it as far as one end of a barn to the other, or rafters. So I wondered if there was a reason not to use them. I think I still have a box of them with steel shot and it made me wonder. I've never used them on paper targets either so now I'm curious to try a few out. Just thought it might be a safer choice on crown land near the city.
 
I get that, never thought of using a pellet gun, but no one mentioned .22 LR shot. I've only used it as far as one end of a barn to the other, or rafters. So I wondered if there was a reason not to use them. I think I still have a box of them with steel shot and it made me wonder. I've never used them on paper targets either so now I'm curious to try a few out. Just thought it might be a safer choice on crown land near the city.

Sorry... I missed that you were asking about .22 LR "SHOT"... I was referring to .22 single projectile rounds... I have no experience with .22 shot.
 
I get that, never thought of using a pellet gun, but no one mentioned .22 LR shot. I've only used it as far as one end of a barn to the other, or rafters. So I wondered if there was a reason not to use them. I think I still have a box of them with steel shot and it made me wonder. I've never used them on paper targets either so now I'm curious to try a few out. Just thought it might be a safer choice on crown land near the city.

I missed it as well...... Unless shooting mice in a barn at ten feet, the answer is no......
 
Wing shooting grouse is more self gratifying for me....the grandson gets first crack at sitting grouse with his 22 and I get a chance on the ones that flush. :)
 
I was wondering what the general consesus was on the ethics surrounding hunting grouse. Specifically whether people generally shoot them on the ground or in the air.

Another thread showed that some people felt that shooting them on the ground wasn't very sporting. Personally I must be doing something wrong because I always shoot them when they are landed. Only once that I can remember have I seen one hit out of the air.

I was told it is not sporting if you do not flush and wing shoot them with the sun in your eyes and the bird turns left.
 
Providing it's legal,my only 'ethics' are a clean kill,recovery of game and care of meat and in the case of grouse,head shots to minimize meat loss.Everything else is personal choice
 
Northern Ontario grouse do not flush like they do in the south. Most of my grouse are shot in trees or on the ground, the few that do fly I usually miss. My excuse is Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection, if all the flushing birds reproduce, then they will evolved into a more intelligent species! WK
 
Northern Ontario grouse do not flush like they do in the south. Most of my grouse are shot in trees or on the ground, the few that do fly I usually miss. My excuse is Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection, if all the flushing birds reproduce, then they will evolved into a more intelligent species! WK

Agreed.
When I come across them down south deer hunting, they always take to wing. Unfortunately I have my rifled shotgun barrel and sabots with me.
When I am up north at my camp, 50% run 10 ft, 30% fly to the first branch they find, 10% do nothing. Sometimes the direction they run is right at you, sometimes that first branch is 1 foot off the ground. It is not uncommon to see one and shoot it, take two steps, then see there is another one who hasn't moved standing 3 feet from the dead one. The last 10% will give an opportunity for a wing shot.

I will give them one thing, when they bolt they do have a knack for finding the thickest piece of brush around and disappearing.
 
most upland birds I never see until they are in the air, so that's where I try to shoot them. Grouse in wild country can be much different, and I will shoot them on the ground, from the trees or in the air. If a dog is involved, it's wing shooting only. A few years ago, I went out & vowed to do only wing shooting.. I chased birds through the underbrush and missed the ones that eventually did fly. After blowing on about half a dozen birds, I relaxed my standards since I needed a couple birds for supper! I blasted a ground runner, then kept walking.. the next 3 single birds flushed before I saw them, and I dropped each one! I do better when surprised. When I purposely flush a bird, I usually miss it!
 
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