Grouse with a 12 gauge?

[svt1940]

I always favoured 1-1/8 or 1-1/4 small games load with #4 or #5 shot with a 12ga full choke single shot and i will stay with thoses loads this year with my recently acquired sxs 12 M/F choke. I like 4 or 5 shot size because less dense pattern do less damage but i usually go for the head shot so all is allright and with thoses size of shot, only 1 shot hitting is enough. I tried smaller shot but still prefer 4 or 5.
Joce

 

[GameStalker30-06]

I like the smaller gauges...but Recently picked up a Browning Citori upland special (straight stock) off the EE. 12 gauge, 26" and choked mod/imp cyl.

Will probably carry it more than anything else this fall.

 

[xXBreminXx]

For years I used a 12 pump, 3" with a Full Choke for everything. Grouse, just aimed for the head with loads anywhere from #4-#6 and had no problems at all, or destroying the body. Like a lot of people would say, just pick your shot.

I got a Modified Choke last year for the first time to try out for Waterfowl, and I will not go back to Full. Worked well for grouse up close and worked just as good for me at range on them.

 

[MrTwitch]

7.5 IC, Aim 2 inches over the head for standing birds.

 

[stubblejumper]

I use nothing but #7-1/2 for grouse, as it provides a nice dense pattern and has plenty of energy to kill a grouse. I see no reason at all to use larger shot, when it isn't required.

 

[3macs1]

I think everyone also need to specify if they are wingshooting them or ground pounding them.

Who shoots grouse on the ground??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that with the dogs the old man would take my gun and send me to the truck. maybe it is different out west

 

[sherlockbonez]

Who shoots grouse on the ground??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that with the dogs the old man would take my gun and send me to the truck. maybe it is different out west

Thanks for the morel high ground buddy.

I don't know what you guys do on the wee islands, but most of northern ontario grouse will not fly even if you walk up to them, shoot his buddy and reload. So you can either shoot them or boot one up in the air and shoot it as it falls.

 

[Joe549]

I normally use 7 1/2 with a full choke.

 

[Home3]

Who shoots grouse on the ground??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that with the dogs the old man would take my gun and send me to the truck. maybe it is different out west

 

[3macs1]

Thanks for the morel high ground buddy.

I don't know what you guys do on the wee islands, but most of northern ontario grouse will not fly even if you walk up to them, shoot his buddy and reload. So you can either shoot them or boot one up in the air and shoot it as it falls.

Not about morel high ground at all just the way I was brought up in the 60's hunting. Too much risk of shooting one of the Britts shooting on the ground.
Also hunted in Ontario quite a few times since I have a brother there and those guys I went with wing shot everything also. Never ran into any of those birds that didn't want to fly.
To each their own I guess but even with the dogs out of the picture I cannot see it being much of a challenge same as shooting ducks or geese on the water unless it was a cripple . Oh well times are a changing I guess.take care

 

[JRodko]

All this 7.5 shot, aiming for the head, and counting to 5 talk is making me go crazy! Central sask you might get lucky on an opener, or mega windy or blizzard day to get that close but otherwise no way. I've used 6 on huns in certain scenarios but never lighter than that. I usually prefer a heavy loaded 4 with a Mod choke but even then have had no luck getting close enough late in the season. Have used 3.5inch BBB to get close enough to even try a shot. Even then sometimes they just get back up. Have also used .22 blazers upwards of 150 yards.

 

[smelly pete]

Who shoots grouse on the ground??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that with the dogs the old man would take my gun and send me to the truck. maybe it is different out west

Yup, different. I use a .22. Or a rock. My brother was idling down the road at noon, saw a ditch chicken, put the Chevy 454 in park and bopped it in the noodle with a stick.
Who hunts grouse with dogs??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that the dogs would look at me funny and gently grab a live grouse off the ground and bring it over to me. Maybe it is different out east

 

[stubblejumper]

All this 7.5 shot, aiming for the head, and counting to 5 talk is making me go crazy! Central sask you might get lucky on an opener, or mega windy or blizzard day to get that close but otherwise no way. I've used 6 on huns in certain scenarios but never lighter than that. I usually prefer a heavy loaded 4 with a Mod choke but even then have had no luck getting close enough late in the season. Have used 3.5inch BBB to get close enough to even try a shot. Even then sometimes they just get back up. Have also used .22 blazers upwards of 150 yards.

I grew up in East central Saskatchewan, and we never used anything but #7-1/2 shot to shoot huns,sharptails, or ruffed grouse.

Who hunts grouse with dogs??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that the dogs would look at me funny and gently grab a live grouse off the ground and bring it over to me. Maybe it is different out east

You really need to try hunting sharptail grouse over a dog. Post just how many live ,unharmed birds your dog picks up and brings back to you.

 

[3macs1]

Yup, different. I use a .22. Or a rock. My brother was idling down the road at noon, saw a ditch chicken, put the Chevy 454 in park and bopped it in the noodle with a stick.
Who hunts grouse with dogs??? Where is the challenge in that?? If I ever did that the dogs would look at me funny and gently grab a live grouse off the ground and bring it over to me. Maybe it is different out east

You have never hunted grouse if you have never hunted them over dogs. You have to try it.More challenge than ground shooting them that is for sure. Might as well go to a farm and shoot chickens in the yard

 

[smelly pete]

You have never hunted grouse if you have never hunted them over dogs. You have to try it.More challenge than ground shooting them that is for sure. Might as well go to a farm and shoot chickens in the yard

...I will attempt to try dogs this season, I am curious to see if the silly birds will indeed flush, or just sit there like a ...well, grouse on a log. If I can get Hannah to grab a live one I'll post a vid.

Your comment about chickens in the yard is spot on...the chickens probably move around more. Maybe the BC grouse smoke wacky tobaccy? I use grouse to sharpen my animal spotting skills rather than shooting skills...sorry for the derail OP, back to shotguns for these mysterious flying grouse.

 

[Rick]

Ive seen what a 410 does to a grouse, especially up close; me, Id rather have dinner for the shell Im firing, not hamburger-bird or lead in whats left of my teeth.

Yeah, a .410 will mess up a grouse.

Know what? So will a .22 if, just like with a .410, you aim at the wrong place.

Lots of ten year old kids, etc besides me shot grouse in the head with a .410 shotgun without turning the rest of the bird into hamburger. Lots of 'em are still doing it, in fact. So if a young kid just starting out can do that with a full choked, single shot CIL break open shotgun, it really isn't that difficult.

 

[Rick]

You have never hunted grouse if you have never hunted them over dogs. You have to try it.More challenge than ground shooting them that is for sure. Might as well go to a farm and shoot chickens in the yard

Jeez, I grew up hunting in the 60's, just like you said you did. But along the way, I figured out that hunting can very different, depending on where you are. And if somebody sees grouse as roadside lunch pickup, and ground sluices them instead of putting them up (I have yet to see the guy who can guarantee no pellets in the body on flying grouse) to shoot them, well then, that's his choice.

I've been where, yes indeed, you just walk up and whack them with a stick. And I've shot lots of sharpies over dogs where they politely held to you walked up, got ready, and then obediently gave you a nice clean straightaway shot that you'd have to be a putz to miss. Lots of bird dog guys if they only experienced that kind of grouse hunting would go "<yawn>... boring..."

And, I've hunted grouse where it is an achievement to get them to hold for even the sneakiest of bird dogs, and when you do get a shot it's at brief glimpse of a feathered missile careening through the trees.

I've even hunted them in dog hair so thick the only way to hunt them is to shoot them on the ground - if you're lucky enough to have them give you at least a few seconds of view of them before they flush - because once they get up, you aren't going to be able to swing a shotgun on them, even if you can see them. Try that if you think all hunting on the ground is like shooting chickens in a yard. On the ground or in the air, shooting them can be ridiculously easy or frustratingly difficult.

Grouse hunting can be a very different experience depending on species, time of year, where you are, etc. It's a mistake to think that any kind of hunting is the same thing, no matter where you are. And it's a mistake to think somebody else's way of hunting grouse, somewhere else, is inferior to yours.

I don't ground sluice grouse anymore, but that's mostly because I get at least as much enjoyment out of watching the dogs work the birds as I do eating a grouse. If I was all about eating them, I'd go back to ground sluicing them with no apologies, and simply enjoy eating a bird without a single hole in the meat (unless you like eating the head too, of course)...

 

[xXBreminXx]

Jeez, I grew up hunting in the 60's, just like you said you did. But along the way, I figured out that hunting can very different, depending on where you are. And if somebody sees grouse as roadside lunch pickup, and ground sluices them instead of putting them up (I have yet to see the guy who can guarantee no pellets in the body on flying grouse) to shoot them, well then, that's his choice.

I've been where, yes indeed, you just walk up and whack them with a stick. And I've shot lots of sharpies over dogs where they politely held to you walked up, got ready, and then obediently gave you a nice clean straightaway shot that you'd have to be a putz to miss. Lots of bird dog guys if they only experienced that kind of grouse hunting would go "<yawn>... boring..."

And, I've hunted grouse where it is an achievement to get them to hold for even the sneakiest of bird dogs, and when you do get a shot it's at brief glimpse of a feathered missile careening through the trees.

I've even hunted them in dog hair so thick the only way to hunt them is to shoot them on the ground - if you're lucky enough to have them give you at least a few seconds of view of them before they flush - because once they get up, you aren't going to be able to swing a shotgun on them, even if you can see them. Try that if you think all hunting on the ground is like shooting chickens in a yard. On the ground or in the air, shooting them can be ridiculously easy or frustratingly difficult.

Grouse hunting can be a very different experience depending on species, time of year, where you are, etc. It's a mistake to think that any kind of hunting is the same thing, no matter where you are. And it's a mistake to think somebody else's way of hunting grouse, somewhere else, is inferior to yours.

I don't ground sluice grouse anymore, but that's mostly because I get at least as much enjoyment out of watching the dogs work the birds as I do eating a grouse. If I was all about eating them, I'd go back to ground sluicing them with no apologies, and simply enjoy eating a bird without a single hole in the meat (unless you like eating the head too, of course)...

Very good Rick, couldnt agree with you more. Im out for the meat, so Ill take em however I can get em! Be it in the air flying, on the ground runnin or on the ground sunnin... I dont use dogs, never have so cant comment on it. I always enjoyed walkin through the woods looking for them.

 

[stubblejumper]

One thing is quite apparent from reading this thread, that being that most people seem to have experience with only Ruffed Grouse, or possibly Spruce Grouse, which often behave similarly. Other people hunt Sharptailed Grouse which aren't nearly so tame, and are hunted in different terrain, using different methods.

 

[diemaco]

One thing is quite apparent from reading this thread, that being that most people seem to have experience with only Ruffed Grouse, or possibly Spruce Grouse, which often behave similarly. Other people hunt Sharptailed Grouse which aren't nearly so tame, and are hunted in different terrain, using different methods.

Admittedly my experience is only with ruffed grouse, but around here most of them seem to flush at 30 yards and barely offer a shot while others will walk to within a few feet and let you load the gun then shoot them.