16ga.com ~ View topic - Hunting 2022-2023

Joined: 26 Nov 2020 Posts: 33

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ColdIron: You know this spot. It is where you had the "hole in one" grouse. The one you "centered".

fourtrax57,

Real nice birds, our Grouse season here in Pa started yesterday the 15th, my new Gardon pup Pine Creek Shadow is doing fine work, pointed 4 birds opening day, I ended up with 2 nice Grouse and missed both Woodcock in some real thick habitat. Birds are real spooky right now, she was pointing the Grouse from almost 25 yards back and the Woodcock from about 20, even with the woods dripping wet. Sorry no pictures, forget my camera will pick it up when I go down to vote. Looks like we both had a real nice start to our Grouse season!

All the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 05 Oct 2017 Posts: 284 Location: Central MN

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Joined: 05 Oct 2017 Posts: 284 Location: Central MN

Double post

Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 1310 Location: Western WA

No, I did not knock this plump Spruce Grouse hen from a tree limb with the lower 8mm barrel. It was fairly felled on the wing by an ounce of 7 1/2 from the upper 16 ga barrel.

I’m actually not totally sure what a spruce grouse is anymore. The game biologists now call some of them Sooty Grouse. They seem to come in two sizes: large and small. The small ones which I call sooty grouse are lighter colored. The big darker ones like this I still call spruce grouse.

Maybe someone here can edify us on the subject.

V/R
B.

Brewster11,
Nice shooting on the wing, congrats on some fine Grouse gunning with a nice old gun!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

Sooty grouse and dusky grouse were thought to be the same species for many years, known as Blue grouse. Sooty grouse are primarily located along the west coast, and Dusky grouse are a Rocky Mountain species. Spruce grouse are a more northern species and most of their range is in Canada.

Some range overlap of all three species does occur in areas of the PNW and northern Rockies.

Here’s a photo of a Dusky grouse hen I took a few years ago in central Colorado:

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Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 1310 Location: Western WA

NJ GSP,

Yes, that, along with the Spruce and Ruffed Grouse, appears to be what we see out here in good numbers. Thanks for the photo.

B.

Joined: 19 Oct 2015 Posts: 94 Location: seattle, wa

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

Here's another photo of a Dusky grouse in the high country of Colorado:

nj gap,

Real nice picture of a Dusty Blue Grouse, serious stuff!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.c. Smith Man

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 371 Location: mpls mn

Steve
What happened to you image?

Joined: 16 Jul 2015 Posts: 2126 Location: Hudson,Wy

Dusky? Sooty? I still call them blue grouse.

Spruce a different bird, small with an orange tail band and red eye combs.

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

Joined: 09 Mar 2016 Posts: 754 Location: Mn.

Steve can't see your picture? But know exactly where you mean.

Rob heard you were headed up for MEA weekend hope you were successful! I bag out Wednesday before MEA starts.

Seen my first spruce grouse with fourtrax57. It flew and acted just like a ruff as most of them do that I encounter. I now hunt just a little further North and see even more of them. Couple of times have shot Ruff Spruce hybrids. The meat is still dark and taste like a spruce grouse. I try not to shoot Spruce if I can help it.

2 year old Toller pup got his first taste of a Spruce grouse this year. Got a 3 sec. clip of him bringing it back

https://flic.kr/p/2nTws1V

Every once in awhile will get a "dumb" spruce that doesn't want to move out of the road. But not often