Bad season for Grouse in Region 5?

drache

drache

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Everyone I've talked to around the Cariboo, all stated that they have yet to even see a grouse yet this season.

I went out today just to see if I could see them and I never even seen a single feather! Some years I've gone out and tripped over the damn things because Id already filled my daily limit. This year though....
 
drache said:
Everyone I've talked to around the Cariboo, all stated that they have yet to even see a grouse yet this season.

I went out today just to see if I could see them and I never even seen a single feather! Some years I've gone out and tripped over the damn things because Id already filled my daily limit. This year though....
Click to expand...

Not much diffrent in #4 either.:(
 
This is my impression in the area of 3 and 8, also. In the area where the two abut, I mean.
 
I go hunting every day during the summer months and haven't even SEEN a single grouse at all this year which has NEVER happened before!

Sad, sad, season this year without the wild chickens.... :(
 
Really? Ive seen tonnes of grouse here in region 8 while bowhunting. At least 4 each time ive went out. Upwards of 15 in one day! My dad lives in fort st james and they have had lots of luck so far as well.
 
I saw 3 or 4 dead grouse on the highway this morning between Mcleese Lake and Quesnel. Our resident "flock" in the brush back of the house also seems to be in good shape.
 
Have seen a few in 3(3-13,15) ... But no, it doesnt look like the beginning of a productive bird season from what i've seen....
 
For all you grouse hunters when do you usually go grouse hunting? Early in the morning as the sun comes up, middle of the day, afternoon?

I usually go out in the morning when the sun is up and the birds usually are sunning themselves after the cold night.
 
If you want to road hunt the sunny times of the day are best.... but if you are pushing the bush any time of day could be productive
 
Boombb said:
If you want to road hunt the sunny times of the day are best.... but if you are pushing the bush any time of day could be productive
Click to expand...

Yeah beating brush around here isn't really an option, in most places you couldn't even walk through let alone swing a rifle. :D

I go hiking down roads or trails usually.
 
Ruffs are easy. Just walk old tote roads just before sunset. Plenty of Ruffies and Spruce grouse out picking grit. 40 grain CCI Mini-mag solid .22 rimfire rounds is my load of choice launched out of my Marlin Golden 39A.

Sharptails however are my favorite. :) Walk miles over 2-3 year old clear-cuts during mid-day and be prepared to connect on 30-40 yard wild flushes. 12 Gauge loaded with 1 1/4 oz of hard #6 shot is my load.
 
Went snooping around my moose area just before moose season in Region 7 and knocked off a day's limit in just about ¾ of an hour. [Mossberg 42M, using CCI Blazers] Saw lots of others as well. Eagleye.
 
Well I went out for a week before grouse season just scouting and never seen one, went hunting the first day and never seen any either.

It wasn't until I went around to the OTHER side of Quesnel Lake then I bumped into 10 of them.

Talking to other hunters it seems that the area where I used to hunt them is dead for grouse (no one seen any in the area).

So it just means that I have to go around to the other side of the lake from where I live then....
 
Grouse all over the place here, just liek last year.

Pretty funny to see a long line of cars slowdown so Mr Juvenile grouse could cross the highway, too:)
 
Grouse can be fools, but you have to see them to call them such..

I used to hunt a specific area for deer. Always there at 7 a.m and 6 pm watching for the deer.. never ever saw a grouse. One day I went for a longer hike than usual and was walking back the path at 9 a.m.

There were grouse coming out of the woodwork... I ran and got my .22 and soon there were 18 or 19 grouse in the truck...

After several more trips, we learned something...

The Grouse were coming out for grit at exactly 9 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, for about an hour each time..
Without a dog, you'd never know they were there otherwise if you were sticking to the trails..

Now I'm not saying this is the reason in your area, just a thought if some are seeing them and some aren't..

Could be on the low end of 7 or 8 as well...how were numbers last year?
 
sealhunter said:
Could be on the low end of 7 or 8 as well...how were numbers last year?
Click to expand...

Last year I had to stop hunting because I reached my max limit in 4 days (at least until we started eating). And that is at the same places where Im now seeing no grouse at all.

Yet all I had to do was go to the other side of the lake and I got my daily limit the other day. Very weird...
 
I have place up 100 mile way and saw only one grouse all summer, not looking good.



drache said:
Everyone I've talked to around the Cariboo, all stated that they have yet to even see a grouse yet this season.

I went out today just to see if I could see them and I never even seen a single feather! Some years I've gone out and tripped over the damn things because Id already filled my daily limit. This year though....
Click to expand...
 
Grouse always 'boom' and 'bust'. In the spring, grouse naturally gravitate towards each other and gather in large groups called a 'lek' for breeding purposes. Then they start to spread out as the year progresses more and more and by the end of fall they can't stand each other and are pretty evenly dispersed over a wide area.

It's believed that often while they're still in large groups, an illness can spread amongst them and wipe out a significant percentage of all the grouse in that area. It then takes a few years for the population to rebuild itself (which grouse are very good at, they have lots of kids and a decent survival rate most years.)

So you can get 'cycles', where an area that is usually plentiful suddenly crashes and there aren't any for a few years, then suddenly they're plentiful again.

And in some years it can take a little longer for them to start to disperse. It's been a hot summer. It might be that you'll see grouse in that area yet in a week or two.
 
ive seen lots of grouse so far this season .even a few blue grouse .looks like a good year for them .
 
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