Grouse Hunt FAIL.... SUCCESS!!! *PICS*

Infantry-Soldier

Infantry-Soldier

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Out East
So....

Tonight was my 2nd evening out looking for grouse... I drove around w/ the wife for half an hour or so, then went walking around for an hour and a half...

Headed back to my truck, and proceeded to drive home, as it was getting on in the evening. So, as I'm driving out of the bush, all hope gone for seeing a grouse for the first time this hunting season, what do I see on the side of the road?! A big fat grouse!!! :eek:

So I slam on the brakes, point it out to my wife, and right as I'm about to get out and load my shot gun, another vehicle comes from the other direction. The guy slows up, but the grouse takes off deep into the bush... :slap: :runaway:

Buddy drives slowly by me and says: "Sorry about that... Bad timing I guess..." and carries on...


Ahhhh, so frustrating... LOL. At least I got to spend some good time w/ the wife.


There is always tomorrow night I suppose.... :kickInTheNuts:
 
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You're allowed to hunt from vehicles where you're from? I was under the impression that it was illegal across the country.
 
stuckon308 said:
You're allowed to hunt from vehicles where you're from? I was under the impression that it was illegal across the country.
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you get out first, then load, then shoot. You can't shoot from inside.

Like he said himself...:
I slam on the brakes, point it out to my wife, and right as I'm about to get out and load my shot gun, .........
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Sorry to hear that bro, in fact I started hunting grouse myself a couple days ago and I spotted only 2 grouses in 8 hours of ATV driving :(

The first one flushed into a tree but I did not shoot it since it was a very steep cliff under that tree.. she got lucky :p

Then the second one was found in a narrow forest trail, it had red color over the eyes and so I tought it was a not so good tasting grouse and just spoke to her. she was 6 feet from my face.

Then next day I do one hour ATV drive and shot/killed two, eating them tonight :)

I think luck has a lot to do with grouse hunting, I know people killing lots of them fast and others dont see a single one.. so I guess just dont get too pissed and continue your search :)

Good luck!
 
I found if you go in where the bird did you will most likely get a chance at it. Hopefully the leaves begin to drop soon. I seen about six birds so far this season. Unfortunately never when I have been hunting. Either cutting wood or working around the camp I suppose I should have had my guns with!!!! Oh well most of the work is done so now I can hunt.
 
I've seen two ruffed grouse in the last two years. At the start of this season, I went up north to the area I had seen the one last year. Driving along, I did the same thing, hit the brakes to see a beautiful ruffed sitting in my rear view mirror... on the road... in between two farm yards. No shot whatsoever. Just sat there until it flew off.

The funny thing was it was on the exact same road as the one I had seen last year. Kept driving and saw the other spot just a few miles up the road.

Oh, well, it's the start of the season. We'll see one in my sights yet.
 
The largest part of the hunt is finding the game. You found them so you passed that test.

If you did not need to work so hard at finding them it's called shooting and not hunting.

Go back at low light and bag em.
 
The leaves are still on the trees and there's zillions of hoppers in the area we most often hunt. With food so readily available and cover everywhere you look, it's been difficult to see birds so far this year. I'm convinced that they're there, but unless you're headed straight for them, they just sit tight - confident that you won't see them.

That confidence has cost 3 of them dearly, over the 2 days that I've managed to get out so far. But, I wouldn't have seen a single one of those, if it weren't for my dog. It's too early, IMO, to call it a good year or a bad year for grouse. But, I am optimistic because all 3 of the ruffies I got were yearlings.

In a "normal" year, we would have had frost by now, killing off most of the bugs. Last Sunday, I was attacked by a swarm of wasps. I got out of it not too bad, all things considered, with 6 or 7 bites. I was especially lucky not to have broken a leg or worse the way I went flying down that steep hill crashing through solid bush with total abandon.
 
Go Back to the same spot that bird will likely still be there abouts and might just have a half dozen progeny in tow. Something to try is to drive past the bird stop out of sight and walk back to it. When you see it again pause a bit to sort out where the other ones are. If they flush and you don't get them not all is lost, sit and listen for a bit and they often start calling to one another. You can start still hunting to where you figure the bird went. They have short attention spans and make Alot of noise going about thier bussiness. I might just be slow but for me it is not uncommon to flush the same bird 2 or 3 times with out having a shot before I finally get it.
Don't get discouraged those skunked or 1 bird days always lead to a morning that fills your bag limit and leaves you more addicted then before.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

Didn't get a chance to go out tonight. Had a lte night at work, and had to make the trip to the gym also...

Will hopefully get out tomorrow. If not, Saturday I'm planning on going out on the ATV to move my trail camera to a new spot.

Yea, the area I saw the one last night is the same general area I always see them in. Usually, as I did last night, if I flush one off the trail, I'll just bush bash in until I flush it again.

This is only my second season hunting. Last year I was in Afghanistan from early September until this May. The year before that was my only hunting. Only got one grouse that year too. Hopefully there will be more to be had this year! This year I will have a lot more time, and as I have some extra leave to burn, I plan on taking off a week when gun opens for deer. (If I don't get one w/ my bow before then... :D )

Anyways, yea... Grouse seem to be a pretty dumb bird. First one I got was spotted on a branch by my wife. It sat there, 10 feet from me as I got out of my truck, loaded up and blasted it... I actually shot another one later that day, it was down in a ditch. I aimed a bit high, hit it... It started doing the funky bacon dance on the ground, and as I went to go pick it up, she took off into the swamp!!! Lost forever I suppose!



Thanks again for the advice fellas... Good luck to you all this season also!



IS.
 
I spend alot of time in the bush...everyday, and I have yet to see or hear a grouse.
Even my "go-to" areas for grouse have nothing. :(

IMHO this years wet spring/summer has severely impacted the population in the Cornwall area.

*Tip for OP...check old pastures with apple tree's during the last hour of shooting...they like to feed there. :)
 
Hmmm... Not too many pastures around here.... I'm like 20 minutes from the north eastern edge of Algonquin park.... Pretty solid forest where I go... It's even a struggle to find a clearing in the woods...

I was talking to the fellow that owns the local outfitters here, and he had mentioned something about the wet spring being very bad for the grouse population.

Forgot to mention, the leaves are starting to fall pretty quickly here now... :D I'm thinking thats a good sign.
 
You'll have more success getting out of the truck and a little ways off the road. Do you have a dog? I can't imagine how many hunts would have been fruitless without my Lab.
 
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