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Thread: grouse hunting with dogs?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    Hope & Tulameen
    Posts
    8,621

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Our two Tollers are great flushers. One is not much of a "retriever" tho' so she stays at home. The boy is pretty decent so he comes with me if I'm just heading out for a walk in the woods. It's surprising how many more grouse the dogs see ( and flush ) than I do if I'm dogless. If just road hunting then as 835 says, don't bother with the dogs but if out for a stroll, go for it.
    Re weapon of grouse destruction we've found a 20 gauge to be the most versatile if just out birding at the time. If the grouse are sitting, a decent 22 is great but hitting the head of a grouse in flight requires a shotgun. My Son loves the single shot HMR17 I gave him last year for the sitting grouse but better be a head shot or it's just beaks and feathers left.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Sunshine Coast
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    2,833

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Quote Originally Posted by wideopenthrottle View Post
    12 guage works great...just aim a little high so you keep the pellets out of the meat
    For upland hunting (Grouse, Pheasant, Quail,Chukar,Huns and Ptarmigan) I like to use a 20ga. lots of guys use a 28ga. But if you can only afford one Shotgun a 12ga. pump is the way to go. I used to pack a 20ga. AYA SxS but now picked up a 20ga. Beretta Xplor a400, what a fun little gun.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Abbotsford
    Posts
    2,272

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Quote Originally Posted by ACB View Post
    For upland hunting (Grouse, Pheasant, Quail,Chukar,Huns and Ptarmigan) I like to use a 20ga. lots of guys use a 28ga. But if you can only afford one Shotgun a 12ga. pump is the way to go. I used to pack a 20ga. AYA SxS but now picked up a 20ga. Beretta Xplor a400, what a fun little gun.
    16 Ga for me
    doesnt matter what kind of bullet it is, as long as it weighs 180 grains its DEADLY, even on ass shots....Todbartell-2009

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    lazyboy
    Posts
    8,347

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    a friend uses his, he loves it.
    good for the dogs too.

    my style of hunting grouse is completely different though.
    usually just pop a few on the trails.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Chilliwack
    Posts
    294

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Working with my young GSP on birds this year and hope to get her out hunting with me when the season opens. So far just been dragging some wings around the bush and such. Now i cant hide them well enough for her to not find it, with a fresh wing i can drag it almost a hundred yards and tie it to a branch so its visible for her. I start her well behind my drag line and work forward until she picks up the scent, my only troubles right now is getting her to slow down. She wants to run 100 mph towards that scent and gets in the "zone" and then has difficulty breaking off and recalling back to me. Once she spots the wing or feather its rock solid point and creep. She gets about 10-15' and is dead still, im even having a hard time getting her to flush as she just wants to hold point and not move until the bird does. Looking like its going to be many years of fun with her in the forest.

    One trouble im running into is false points, well not so much false points but points on critters other than grouse or bunnies. Shes starting to learn that squirrels are not what were after and dad isnt going to shoot them. But she still points them out like crazy and when they start chattering or run up a tree she is on them like a hound to a cat and starts barking like mad up the tree. Been driving me nuts lately when hiking and i see her point, so i go to investigate and its another damn squirrel or chipmunk, robin, or other critter i dont want to eat.

    Slowly getting there though, shes just over a year and a half so lots of work to go before she is a true bird dog.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    2,252

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Dogs make a huge difference. My dog has retrieved birds I never would have found, secondly when u get a good dog you will want to hunt exclusively for birds. Not just sluthe them out of a ditch from a truck.

    As for dog breed in future as well as gun, determine what species you want to pursue and that will make your decisions on both easier.

    Good luck with your choice and enjoy the adventure of hunting with your favourite partner!

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Whonnock for 19 years, Mission for 46 years
    Posts
    4,720

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Get a dog that's big enough for the job though.
    When I was a teenager I had a small female Cocker Spaniel that just
    loved to bird hunt. She worked like a pro finding and flushing grouse
    and pheasants for me, but some of the downed birds were too big and
    heavy for her to drag out of the thick stuff, especially blackberry patches.
    She would sit by the bird barking and whining until I hacked my way in.
    She was excellent at finding them though, and although sometimes it was
    a lot of work and pain for me, I never lost a bird when she was on the job.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    An Island in the Pacific
    Posts
    757

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    My Pudlepointer was great for grouse. Could let him out of the vehicle in a slash and follow him down the road in the vehicle. He would range back and forth until he picked up a scent. When he went on point, we would get out and walk up to flush the birds. Could cover a lot of slash in a day. Worked with two dogs as well.

    Also worked by walking and working down a slash. We weren't always doing it the lazy way.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Abbotsford
    Posts
    2,272

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    Quote Originally Posted by one-shot-wonder View Post
    Dogs make a huge difference. My dog has retrieved birds I never would have found, secondly when u get a good dog you will want to hunt exclusively for birds. Not just sluthe them out of a ditch from a truck.

    As for dog breed in future as well as gun, determine what species you want to pursue and that will make your decisions on both easier.

    Good luck with your choice and enjoy the adventure of hunting with your favourite partner!
    Well put. Watching good bird dogs work is one of life's pleasures!
    doesnt matter what kind of bullet it is, as long as it weighs 180 grains its DEADLY, even on ass shots....Todbartell-2009

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Posts
    63

    Re: grouse hunting with dogs?

    As others have said... a well-trained dog can make a HUGE difference! I've hunted over some good flushers and pointers, and it really is a different world. My lab does well with waterfowl, but for some reason is rather hopeless in the upland. My next dog will definitely be a pointer. The grouse here hold very well...

    And I use a 28 gauge SxS for most of my hunting

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