First time grouse hunter, a question...

Keller said:
Yeah, there's no place on the property that looks like that. Our bush is quite young and pretty diverse. Lots of aspen and birch as well as many kinds of conifers. There are some maple trees, but not many, most are very young and might need some help to grow among the dense aspen.

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"Lots of aspen?" When I hear that, I think of migrating woodcock, the continent's #1 most sought after game bird these days. Keep an eye out for them and don't omit to get a federal migratory wildfowl permit if you have any to shoot, I don't want to get you in trouble. I've known some to walk through flocks of them without raising a gun but they're fun to wing shoot and furnish a unique sort of meal.

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Keller said:
I have yet to see or hear any Woodcock. We did have a Wilson's Snipe hanging around this spring though.
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Ah, you know your birds. Well, I've found the two species together so it seems your ground is right, and woodcock are migratory as well as resident so they may come through. I don't think you'll get many with a .22 however.
 
Thank you for those ruffed grouse habitat pictures from the east.

I found them to be rather educational.

It is amazing how that tasty little galliforme has fed and entertained the settlers and their offspring through the centuries.

The ruffed grouse society out of some eastern state has a wonderful little bush management plan for raising them. Look them up on the internet.

You do not require very much bush either.

I have used the grouse society plan, and it works.

Basically, it involves a high sugar diet for the chicks and a lots of bright berries for the fall fat creation.

What is even better is other galliformes like the Hungarian partridge and pheasant get a little greedy and come in for a feed.

And you will require a shotgun and an accurate rifle to eliminate the predators. Something that is a lot of fun in itself.

Happy hunting gentlemen.

WTH? I forgot the hunting dog. Train it. Don't look stupid.
 
Big Bad said:
Ah, you know your birds. Well, I've found the two species together so it seems your ground is right, and woodcock are migratory as well as resident so they may come through. I don't think you'll get many with a .22 however.
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Nah, have been using the Merlin app and learning as I go. A Wilson's Snipe makes the strangest sound when it flies, makes you feel like you're in Jurassic Park.
 
Well, I've been at it quite a few times since grouse season opened and had nothing but bad luck. I'd walk the dog in the morning without a gun and see 9 grouse, the next morning I'd take the rifle and the few birds I did see would flush from 100 feet away.

Was debating throwing in the towel for grouse hunting on my property but it seems my luck is changing. We have a couple inches of snow on the ground now so I put on my milsurp canadian winter whites and it's like I'm invisible to them. Every-other thick cluster of conifers I peek under there's a ruffy under there peeping at me. I could almost walk up and grab the little buggers.

Not sure if it's actually the white camo, but things have definitely changed since the snow hit the ground.

Happy hunting all.

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45CAT said:
Haven’t seen a Woodcock in decades
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Funny that you mention that, last fall I was telling the wife how surprised I was to see a few of bunch of them... as I hadn't seen one in a decade or so.
- I prefer the name timberdoodle, just because it sounds more fun, and seems to fit them better.

Speaking of predators, coyotes seem to have left the area (or at least, I haven't seen/heard them in the last year or two)... But I did come across a few bobcats.
 
Keller said:
Well, I've been at it quite a few times since grouse season opened and had nothing but bad luck. I'd walk the dog in the morning without a gun and see 9 grouse, the next morning I'd take the rifle and the few birds I did see would flush from 100 feet away.

Was debating throwing in the towel for grouse hunting on my property but it seems my luck is changing. We have a couple inches of snow on the ground now so I put on my milsurp canadian winter whites and it's like I'm invisible to them. Every-other thick cluster of conifers I peek under there's a ruffy under there peeping at me. I could almost walk up and grab the little buggers.

Not sure if it's actually the white camo, but things have definitely changed since the snow hit the ground.

Happy hunting all.

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Nice rig - very similar to my grouse hunting gun.

Determine what shoots best at the range you expect to shoot at and concentrate on head shots.
 
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