grouse on the ground?

[Martin]

In my book, flushing a standing grouse for the sake of a "sporting" shot, is equivalent to spooking a buck offering you a broadside.

or shooting a standing grouse is like shooting a bedding buck?

Come on guys, give our game a chance and be a sport. If game isn't reduced by hunters why is it reduced by Coyotes?

In NS it is not permitted to shoot birds with a single projectile! Too bad! Ruffed Grouse is open for a couple of weeks. Spruce Grouse is closed whole year! 'Fool hens' are ment to be food for people lost in the woods!

Martin

 

[huntinstuff]

I figure if you can shoot a bedded buck, you have done a pretty good job of hunting....

 

[Calum]

Smart grouse?

Our Spruces out here on Vancouver Island jump out in front of our Bush trucks all the time...they will even watch the one next to them get shot, and then walk over into the cross hairs to see what the noise was.

Very Dumb but tasty birds.

In 9 months I'll be using my .22, in woods where I'll be 'fair chase' sporting prey for Bears, and Cougars. So I'm not going to be hanging around to wait for an airshow.

 

[jkf]

Pellet pistols under 500 fps are not considered firearms according to the federal government and therefore do not fall under the title of handgun. This makes them legal for hunting in Ontario, I actually have heard of people using paintball guns on grouse at times, apparently it does not break the flesh but kills them with shock. I have a pellet pistol but I have noticed the CO2 varies too much with temp to be accurate throughout the day. Does anyone have a .22 cal pellet pistol around 450-500 fps, spring not CO2?

Hunting with anything you can hold in one hand is explicity forbidden in the BC regs. Ontario may be different -- this would be one of the few instances where you guys have it better than us if so.

 

[Pathfinder]

I have no problems taking grouse on the ground, the fact is I probably wont' hit it them while they are flying so Ill wait until they land on a brand and Ill blast em there. I havent' had the luxury of trying to scare them off so that I can shoot them on the Wing, we dont' always get a lot so we get what we can. When we see a lot most people around here dont' even bother with the with The spruce grouse, just dont' like the taste, me I dont' really care.

If I dont' bag them the fox will so I dont' think it has anything to so with giving them a chance its a matter of preference and a potential empty stomach

 

[Martin]

Grouse a la Martin

 

[Mumptia]

Say what you want about shooting on the wing or on the ground.

I take e'm anyway I can cuz you can't marinate a shot gun shell.

Hell, even if you could the lead would wreck your teeth and you'd be chewing the plastic for days.

 

[boney]

I take them however I can get them. I've never met or hunted with anyone in Ontario that had a problem with "ground swatting". We don't call them grouse either they're pa'tridge around here.

Partridge is a misnomer.They are ,in fact, Ruffed grouse around here. . You're right though,most of the older dads call em partridge

 

[Foxer]

On the praries it was alwasy considered to be bad sport to shoot a duck on the water. In the tight sloughs of the area where you could throw a rock across most of them, it was just too 'easy' to do i guess.

I'd think that's where it started. A lot of people still feel upland birds should be shot on the wing. (probably a good way to safeguard the dogs too now that i think about it )

Personally - i don't subscribe to it. The grouse around here are just too stupid. Getting them in the air would often involve a swift kick in the ass late in the season.

But every place has it's own culture and 'rules' of ethics which evolved there for a reason in most cases. I don't think anyone can say it's a good or bad thing to do - just good or bad for them in their area.

Grouse is a 'free bonus point' for me when i'm out hunting big animals, not really a primary hunt. I'll take 'em on the ground or in a tree. But that's me, and thats here. Everyone's got to make their own choice.

 

[Martin]

The grouse around here are just too stupid. Getting them in the air would often involve a swift kick in the ass late in the season.

Hi Foxer, I assume you are talking about "Spruce Grouse" also called "Fools Hen" The Ruffed Grouse is easy to spook and you won't get very close!

Ruffed Grouse

Spruce Grouse

 

[Win94]

.............i would rather shoot em on the ground as i get a better bead and they get killed fast and humanely.

.............i have injured and lost a few when shooting on the wing when they are zipping by.

 

[44fordy]

I ususally do some grouse hunting when we're up north on our moose hunt.

They walk around on the roads like they're free. So, you jump out and head into the woods and there's piles of them. I will shoot them on the ground or in the air. (I prefer the ground shots as they're an easier target and I can usually get a head shot, killing the bird immediately with no breast damage.)

I think die-hard wingwshooters would disagree with ground shots as they're not "sporting".

If I want "sporting", I'll go to the hockey arena. When I'm grouse hutning, I'm looking for "lunch".

My 2 cents....

 

[Martin]

I thing 'sporting" or to be a 'sport" means in this context to be fair! Fair like a good sport means giving your oponent a fair chance. It's not about getting excercise! Since we are much smarter than a grouse and have an overwhelming firepower in our hands it's only fair to letting them use their wings.

If somebody has to live on Grouse, okay, that is something different. But most of use have overfull fridges anyways (even if it is often only junk ).

Martin

 

[MD]

Calum,

Are you sure you get Spruce grouse on the Island?

I lived on the island for more than 20 years and never saw a Spruce grouse until I moved to the mainland.

Maybe there's some Sprucies on the southern part of the island but around Port Hardy, Holberg, Port McNeill and Woss I never saw one.

 

[david doyle]

I agree the books say grouse but I say Partridge (in N.B), chicken (B.C), fool hen,.......

Anyone have any more local names?

I am still very perplexed as to what fair has to do with it? Sporting starts to come close to toying, harrassing, stressing. If I was neutral on hunting instead of fanatically in favor of it I would have a hard time understanding why it was fairer to stress an animal into flight before killing it as opposed to killing it while it felt safe.
In my opinion being a wing shooter is pretty admirable/fun and If I could afford the guns, dogs, and gasoline I would spend alot of time searching for the perfect flush. Maybe I am just jealous that Martin lives in some pretty sweet upland cover and I am tramping through the Muskeg!LOL>
It is interesting to see how we all percieve these things.

Anyway the most important part of this tread is that we all love going where grouse live and bringing them home to eat. All hail the mighty Grouse

 

[Martin]

anyways, if the grouse stands still and you can get close enough too shoot, even if it sees you, its a spruce grouse!

 

[yorgi]

"Nigel....Nigel....Be a sport and fetch the beaters ole chap!"

 

[straightshooter]

I think the issue of 'groundswatting' probably originated out of concerns for safety. When more than one hunter and/or dogs are involved, shooting horizontally can be dangerous. You never hear the expression 'tree swatting' - probably because it isn't a particularly dangerous practice.

My opinion is that, as long as a particular shot is both safe and legal, its okay. Ever since I got a dog, I can't remember seeing a grouse on the ground. The dog'll either flush 'em or tree 'em. I get much more satisfaction out of a wingshot, but I'll take what is presented to me.

I'll never knock someone for shooting a bird on the ground, but I understand why wingshooting purists limit themselves to birds in the air. Hunting requires skills - skill at locating your game, skill at shooting, etc. After achieving one skill level, we often challenge ourselves by adding another degree of difficulty. For my hunting partner and I, our thing is to see how many different shotguns we can take birds with in one season. Differences between patterns, location and operation of safeties, numbers of triggers, and other variables go a long way towards improving the odds for the birds.

If sheer numbers were an issue, we would abandon any such 'games'. But, getting our limit isn't really an issue, so now we focus on milking as much fun as we can while getting there.

SS

 

[jeepingpw]

While shooting them on the fly may seem more "sporting", I find it also more dangerous.
You must be aware of where your shot is going to land.
& your surroundings while leading the bird (ie. other hunters around you)
I do not let my son shoot anything on the fly for safety reasons.
When I was younger, I took some bird shot in the back from someone not paying attention to these 2 rules.

 

[straightshooter]

While shooting them on the fly may seem more "sporting", I find it also more dangerous.
You must be aware of where your shot is going to land.
& your surroundings while leading the bird (ie. other hunters around you)
I do not let my son shoot anything on the fly for safety reasons.
When I was younger, I took some bird shot in the back from someone not paying attention to these 2 rules.

No doubt you have to be 100% certain of your target AND what is down range from your target - basic firearms safety 101. You raise a good point - just because the bird is in the air, doesn't automatically make it a safe shot, especially if you're shooting at less than about a 30 degree angle above the surrounding ground.

To get hit with shot from another hunter's gun is no picnic. I would like to make a distinction between shot that was fired into the air and rains down on you as opposed to shot that follows a straight trajectory from the gun to you. Shot that rains down on you has only the momentum provided by gravity. Its no more dangerous than hail of the same size. Could be an issue if it hit you in the eye, but even then its not the same as shot fired at you.

SS