Ruffed Grouse over 35 yards.

PeakXV

PeakXV

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Acadian Forest
I'm currently using Browning Superposed 12 gauge, 28 in, f&m, using #6 2 3/4 shells. The past 3 years, I've pulled down 31 ruffed grouse. That's the good news. The bad news is that I am 0/11 on logging road straight aways. It's always the same Groundhog day like situation: spot grouse about 25 - 30 yards ahead of me pecking dirt/gravel, start to sneak up on it while switching my barrel option to full, grouse gets nervous & picks up it's walking pace, eventually flushing into a warp speed at about 35 yards out, & probably @ 40 - 50 yrds before my shoot catches up with it & floats harmlessly by.:mad:
Pushing the limits for penetrating feathers?, better gun/shot for that situation?, or better head to the range for extra practise?
 
It well could be off. I find myself wondering though if the grouse's feather structure is better designed to repel shot at the distance coupled with a straight away flight path from the shooter.
 
here is one for ya, and although i was there im having a hard time believing what i seen.

Rounded a corner and had a grouse flush from the ditch, we came to a stop and my hunting partner stepped out loaded and fired (o/u full/turkey choke) then all hell exploded with grouse flushing every where.

after the carnage was over, he tells me to run to where that first grouse was. as he believed he had hit it.

sure enough i get out there, and the grouse was stone dead at the side of the road.
I counted it back 106yards, with a hand loaded 2 3/4" out of the turkey choke.

so no i don't think 50yards is to far at all!
 
Could be garbage shells, or maybe somthings changed in your mount. I've dropped pheasant at longer ranges so distance isn't much of an issue. Perhaps a buffered load or somthing with less lead and more speed might help things out some. Best you can do is experiment with a few different brands and see what happens. Patterning loads is fine but the real test comes when the feathers fly. Solution number 2, try a .22 rifle.
 
just do what i do man. go smooth bore with #6 in a 3" 12g pump. Spray and pray, If you cant hit em with a tight chunk of lead..... send a tittle wave instead

but seriously..... it works man
 
It certainly could be the shells, I've been using some older imperial lead pellet shells that although have proven deadly 35 yards & under ... may be losing appropriate punch in that 45 - 50 yard range.
 
Alot of people figure more lead in the shell is a good thing. Sometimes it is, but I'm a firmbeliever that the fewer pellets in your shell, the less likely they'll be fighting to get through the same hole and knocking into each other. A little more speed helps because if your like me, your usually shooting behind birds when you miss. I like Remington's old heavy game load. They had more capacity but in larger shot always worked very well. I treasure the few shots I have left. Try a 1 ounce load of #4 or #6 at reasonable velocity. Cheap stuff works well enough. I'm just not a big fan of trying to squeeze too many pellets through your choke at once.
 
Does a ruffie ever fly straight away? Have shot a few myself and I can tell ya that sneaking up on one and having it flush is nerve racking to say the least. IMO a ruffie only flies straight for a second or two with that characteristic turn up, down or whatever. i do well when they burst out of cover and require instinctive shooting. No time to think about whats about to happen...just pure hand/eye coordination! As for ammo...any cheap promo trap load will kill them dead at 35 yards. Just use an open choke..IC rocks and shot NEVER larger than 7 1/2's...unless you intend to just shoot their heads off while they stand and look at you!
 
In my experience, grouse will flush downhill, if there is a downhill side from you. Not every time, but very often.

They will flush straight away sometimes. If you miss out on a few birds, note which way they went. Come back again a few times on different days, but approach from a different direction. They sometimes don't go far, and have their favorite escape routes - you may catch them by surprise.
 
M12shooter said:
Does a ruffie ever fly straight away? Have shot a few myself and I can tell ya that sneaking up on one and having it flush is nerve racking to say the least. IMO a ruffie only flies straight for a second or two with that characteristic turn up, down or whatever. i do well when they burst out of cover and require instinctive shooting. No time to think about whats about to happen...just pure hand/eye coordination! As for ammo...any cheap promo trap load will kill them dead at 35 yards. Just use an open choke..IC rocks and shot NEVER larger than 7 1/2's...unless you intend to just shoot their heads off while they stand and look at you!
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Yes it will fly straight away when it doesn't have a choice or boxed in by nature. This particular scenario is almost always the same occuring, on narrow, dense, straight logging roads in the Acadian forest where the ruffie can/will fly straight away for 15 - 25 yards gaining air as it does this. As soon as it gains enough altitude though it will make a sharp right or left and pop over the tops of the tallish roadside trees & then descend downward into the thicker cover.

I could switch to 7 1/2's, but 6's work much better for me in denser cover & thought they might have more penetrating power in that 40 - 50 yard range as well - when the bird is at top acceleration, exposing a profile of mostly tailfeathers & wing edges.
 
I have hunter birds for many years with 12ga and got sick of so many birds full of 7 1/2 and not a lot of success after 45 yards shot I switched to a 410 Pump first shell is #6 3" second two are # 4 Have shot many many birds over 50yards with the 4s and not full of shot and the 4s will break a wing and dog does the rest.
manitou
 
I hunt a lot of prairie grouse and huns each year, the experience should apply to your logging road ruffies.
1. pace off the distance of your next few shots. Many people have trouble estimating range, it may be the birds are just too far. More than 50 yards IS too far.
2. pattern your gun. Does it shoot where you look? how big are the holes in the pattern at 50 yards? A bird should be hit solidly with 2-3 pellets, not one "magic BB" If you can't get three pellets in the body every shot it is too far, or your gun is not up to the task,(choke, barrel patterning ability etc.) or it does not fit you and the center of the pattern is simply missing what you are aiming at.
3. From extensive patterning and hunting experience, I found that there is no advantage to going bigger than #5 on grouse, and #6 patterns so much better in most guns that bigger shot is a mistake. No 4's are too large for most upland bird shooting IMHO. There is also a big difference in penetration between 6 and 7-1/2, try it on 3/8" spruce plywood at 40 - 50 yards some time. 6's will penetrate right through, 7-1/2 will stick in the first layer at that range. #5's pattern OK in many guns, but are hard to find in most stores. So #6 gets my vote for your situation, unless you have access to hand loaded #7 nickel plate, that stuff penetrates very very well because of the slick plating it does not catch on feathers, but slips between the fibers.
4. "Magnum" lead loads look good on paper, but do not deliver the goods in the field unless you need turkey loads. The long shot column strings out, the pattern generally has holes in it because the pellets are deformed from the high pressure and crowded condition at the forcing cone and choke. Specialty tungsten pellet long range waterfowl loads will work, but are kinda silly to use!
If you do your homework, I think you'll solve the mystery of the armour plated grouse! good hunting!
 
One other suggestion - shoot some trap. If you cant hit handicap trap targets you won't hit "logging road straightaways" either. many shooters forget that the birds are rising and shoot under them. You need to keep your gun moving up through the bird or use a gun with a naturally high point of impact. Learning to swing through is generally better!
 
AKD said:
just do what i do man. go smooth bore with #6 in a 3" 12g pump. Spray and pray, If you cant hit em with a tight chunk of lead..... send a tittle wave instead

but seriously..... it works man
Click to expand...

that has to be one of the stupidest things ive read about shotgunning. using the proper choke and load (3" is never needed for grouse) and allowing for proper lead is a much better idea than spray n pray.
 
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