16ga.com ~ View topic - What is your best piece of advise to a new Grouse hunter?

Two rules
1: always trust the dog , you cannot and will not second guess them
3:If in doubt refer back to rule #1!
As far as advice for s thst’s It that’s all i Got!
Cat

Two rules
1: always trust the dog , you cannot and will not second guess them
3:If in doubt refer back to rule #1!
As far as advice for s thst’s It that’s all i Got!
Cat

Two rules
1: always trust the dog , you cannot and will not second guess them
3:If in doubt refer back to rule #1!
As far as advice for s thst’s It that’s all i Got!
Cati

Two rules
1: always trust the dog , you cannot and will not second guess them
3:If in doubt refer back to rule #1!
As far as advice for s thst’s It that’s all i Got!
Cat

Todd, valuable information and CORRECT

Joined: 10 Feb 2018 Posts: 2 Location: Iroquois Falls Ont

Ok here goes from a guy who's been chasing them for 40 yrs
Some things are not for everyone ,a bag of good intentions and a dollar will get you a chocolate bar,but you need the dollar.Before you decide you want to be a grouse hunter you need to go out with an experienced guy.My dad used to say grouse hunters are born not made.Im sure this can also be said for other persuits ,definitely goes for grouse hunting.Sometimes you can go all day and come up MT.
Walking through brush grouse inhabit can drive a person mad.I have taken people.Especially if the tangles are endless.They can only endure so much,they want out, flat ground with nothing pulling and tugging at them .Of course that is not where the grouse are.Here's a list I've put together.I'm sure I left some things out,in my experience these are the requirements that make a good grouse hunter.
1. You must be in shape.
You need to be able to walk in tangles holding the gun at ready with one hand while you bust brush with the other.Or you will quit long before you see many birds.
Grouse are heard before they are seen,so
2. Gotta have good hearing.This one is obvious.
3. Quick on the trigger They don't give you much time
4. GPS's and compasses are fine,but if you don't have a good sense of direction in the woods you will be always thinking about where you parked.That is a distraction
Distractions will make you miss.
5. A lot has been said about trust your dog.But I am the master,the quarterback.I set the play.We walk this way .My dog needs to be able to predict my next move ,read my mind.I am not about to be walking through the woods yelling,screaming,whistling for an out of control dog.If this is the style of grouse hunting you want to persue,go to Scotland.They pay people to walk through the woods making noise,to scare up birds.
Here,you want to be quiet.My cocker is my hunting partner ,he reads me just as good as I read him.Don't need a collar,zapper,beeper,nothing.He knows if he doesn't do his job,I can't do mine.He hunts close,it fits my style,he doesn't leave any stone un turned.He goes out ,circles back.A lot of my grouse shots are at birds coming at me,not flying away.
Which brings me to my next point
6. I stated that grouse hunters are born not made.Opposite,holds true for dogs.It takes grouse to make a good grouse dog.I'm stating the obvious.I am blessed,to be in an area that supports a lot of birds,and we have a very long season.Mid Sept to end of March .Other than nesting season there is a month after snow melt they have breeding on their mind and become very approachable translating into many more grouse,dog encounters.
7. You gotta know your quarry.
Read,study,absorb everything you can about the bird,the habitat it likes,it's food preference .Get out there,bird watch study them.I've hunted with people that swore I could smell a grouse before the dog does.Not true.But I can predict,where I think a grouse might be found.No different than a good fisherman can boat across a lake to stop at a higher %spot where from experience could hold a fish.Maybe it's a sunken island,a protruding rock,a sandbar etc.Grouse hunting is the same .Know what their requirements are at different times of the day,where they will be during certain weather,at different times of the season,and this will up your odds at finding them.
After reading this you decide you still want to be a grouse hunter,good luck always helps as well.

I'll add....young grouse hunter, find the manner of grouse hunting that pleases you. There are many manners(pun intended)...as, of course, there are many "grouse".
*fwliw and having hunted Scotland....red grouse do not always involve a line of beaters.

Try different methods, try different dogs...flushers and pointers, try different coverts, different "experts"...learn what each has to offer and decide what is of interest and appeal and, importantly, of use to you....and do not be surprised if that interest and appeal changes over Time as that is normal.
Do not be surprised that shotgun appeal...changes, develops, reaches back, whatever....the gun and it's choke and weight and barrel length, etc, truly, is the smallest part of a Grousehunter.

Re pups....the reason one "trusts" their dog as I stated is because...pointer or flusher....they will indicate when to be birdy, when a scent-laden puff is flowing and from where and, especially, when to smile at their efforts.
Allow the dog, depending on safety and reality, to both develop and apply their genetics......in that, the grouse hunter would be wise.
There is naturally always a place for a final word but.....the number of places varies with the day and the place, the manner of dog and more.
Do not be fooled by any human preferences or limits which create the impression that breed or line of pup equals yelling and all the rest of the negatives....or defines Grousedog.
Training is a wonderful thing....something for which I am continually at work....dogs require our support in developing into birddogs and in maintaining that development......breed and line may indicate but it will never, ever, define for all time...Grousedog, capital G.

I would advise, young grouse hunter, to embrace the journey ahead, be willing to stumble in learning, be willing to jettison the shiny balls of foil tossed in front of you, to place the tailgate in proportion to the process and work to become that which needs no applause or adoration...Grousehunter.
Grousehunter needs only an opportunity to be there and to experience the mystery of birds, places, dogs and all the fiddly bits that connect the Big 3.

And really, young "bird" hunter.....ruffed grouse are only one of many gamebirds....do not fall to that "ruffed grouse" ball of shiny foil!
Best of all...look to be a Birdhunter, capital B....following the tail of a Birddog, capital B.

Joined: 23 Aug 2009 Posts: 295 Location: Southern Ontario

No Dog...
Learn to get 2nd and 3rd flushes after the initial flush. Walk five yards IN the edge of any cover, it's called brush busting. Go at a steady pace, in a zig zag path. Stop every 20 yards or so, then get ready to shoot before you take your next step. If you have a partner, have him walk on the outside of the edge.

If you flush a bird and miss or don't get a shot....why walk away from a flushing bird...in hopes of finding another one? It may be the only bird in the area so why not go chase it.
If you have no shot, watch direction, and which way he tailed off (they always tail off left or right the last 10 yards of flight) and listen closely to judge distance of flight. Mark where he flushed from and walk 60 paces in his direction. Stop, make a mark in the ground, then walk a 15 yard circle around that spot. If no 2nd flush then walk a 30 yard circle. You will more than likely get a flush. If you get a flush and miss, use the same method again, except only go 40 paces in their direction of flight as they get tired.
If they flush from the ground....more than likely they will land on the ground. If they flush from a tree, more than likely they will land on a tree. Look at the type of area/foliage they flushed from, and more than likely they will land in the same type of area/foliage. If they flush out of a stand of trees, more than likely they will fly along the edge then back into the stand further down, so walk inside the stand in the direction of flight. If in a tree they will more than likely only be 15ft to 20 ft up. Train your eye and slowly look on every branch. Watch for that dark silhouette, with his neck and crown feathers stretched up. If you see a bird, and your eye to eye, don't move. He will already know which direction he is going to flush. Make a mental note, and know, that as soon as you make a movement....he's taking off. Try to anticipate his flight path. If at ANY TIME you stop walking in grouse country, maybe to take a leak or get a compass bearing, get ready to shoot at your first step!
Before I got a dog, 2nd and 3rd flushes were common. One bird I shot after five flushes. My mentor shot one after he and his son chased one for seven flushes.

Poor etiquette and sportsmanship to ground swat or limb swat....except maybe after tracking him down a couple of times as you worked for it. Never hunt them with an atv or a truck on roads.

Just say'n

Joined: 23 Aug 2009 Posts: 295 Location: Southern Ontario

'I've hunted with people that swore I could smell a grouse before the dog does.Not true.But I can predict,where I think a grouse might be found"

Couliewalker...I tell my grouse partner.....I'm getting a 'grouse on' !
Yes, after a while, one can almost sense them.

Joined: 03 Feb 2008 Posts: 830 Location: Adirondak Mtns

If you want to shoot birds don't loose sight of the dogs butt. The birds will be on the other end. Guns not as important. (sacrilege??)

Also, it took me a while to learn this one but, if you start telling the dog what to do they give you a real stupid look that can be best interpreted as " Hey! Dummy who's got the nose." Listen to the dog.

Joe

Yikes!

Reflush ruffed grouse past once based upon two main considerations...the viability of the bird in one's area and the time of the season. Imo.

Precisely why a would-be grousehunter needs to understand the struggles faced by the bird from cover to weather to non-hunters for each region in which the ruffed grouse is found.
Sometimes, "past once" means nothing at all......in some places, it will matter. Idea

Place any bird first, young would-be....ruffed grouse, especially, are not equal in benefits or struggles across their wide range.

tramrod28,

It has always been our tradition to only hunt a Grouse on the initial flush and the follow up. If you fail to shoot the Grouse on the 2nd flush the bird wins the contest and no further pursuit is done. This is just our traditional way of Grouse hunting here in our Potter County, Pa area. Not many here violate the tradition, and we have a good healthy Grouse population here.

Further always backing up your initial shot, even if you believe you have missed the Grouse when you shoot, is always a good idea. Many times your dog will find a winged Grouse that would have died from it injury. Making sure we do not leave winged Grouse to suffer and perish is also part of our ethical traditional way of hunting.

Traditions vary from place to place especially thru out the world, however along with always shooting flying, our fair chase traditional way of Grouse hunting has always made us welcome in every part of the USA and the world, as we hunt our favorite game bird, and interface with the hunters/land owners of each location.

Remember also to never shoot more Grouse than is legal for each place you hunt. Know the laws of each place you hunt, and abide by the game laws.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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Traditions are nice, Dave...they vary....none are automatically correct or best or indicative of ethical.

My point re reflushes is not in setting a limit of acceptability but rather in being alert to words posted on a public message board being open to interpretation by....anyone, anywhere.
Location matters...that is all.
With ruffed grouse, location matters in the extreme today.

I do agree that a birdhunter, old or young, should effort to make sure of a bird post shot.
I believe that most of us do.....it is tho a wise admonition to a young man or woman and a wise reminder to us all.
Well noted.

Joined: 05 Nov 2016 Posts: 189 Location: Montana

I sure am glad all these idiosyncracies weren't piled on me as a 12 year old wandering the North Shore of Lake Superior.
I just wanted to hike the Northwoods while the colors were spectacular, enjoy the new found responsibility of being allowed to carry a shotgun, and hunt grouse.
Geesh............

mtbirder,

These are many different hunters suggestions, they are from many different places and definitely not flooded on the beginner all at one time. Most young hunters will be actually be advised by the men or ladies they are close to, and if they are lucky read what we here on the SSBB have also written.

I am sure you probably had a mentor of some kind to start you down the path of Grouse hunting.

Dave B. - L.C. Smith Man