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Thread: Skittish grouse !

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    BC
    Posts
    1,496

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    This weekend I saw around five grouse each hunt. 2 or 3 would quickly split, 2 or 3 would sit there waiting for me to kill them. Seems like business as usual from my view.
    guess you could pretty much say the same thing about muleys
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  2. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Posts
    3

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    I noticed that here on thanksgiving weekend as well in region 8, they shifted from bloody well hopping into the truck to flying at the first footstep outside of the truck from 40ft away!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Crofton BC
    Posts
    535

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    I road hunted grouse two mornings around Lillooet end of September. First day I was by myself and managed two for 4. Second day, I took the wife and she was spotting the birds from further back. We went 1 for 6. It's a psychological game where once you spot them it's hard to keep driving closer. Open sights at 40 yards is way harder than open sites at 20 yards. Sometimes I spot them when they're way too close to the truck and I'll actually back away to that sweet range of 15-20 yards. I've not been seeing as many grouse as usual on the island this year. My 'secret spot' has a brand new road through the middle of it. I think they were building it all spring and summer. The birds just aren't hanging out there anymore. Gotta wait 5 or 6 years for it to all grow back in again I guess.
    Last edited by Ajsawden; 10-15-2020 at 09:42 AM. Reason: spelling

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    NW of PG
    Posts
    723

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    Not too many birds around home this year (PG) and the ones that are here are very nervous. My son is having a tough year

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Langley
    Posts
    6,032

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    Quote Originally Posted by Ajsawden View Post
    I road hunted grouse two mornings around Lillooet end of September. First day I was by myself and managed two for 4. Second day, I took the wife and she was spotting the birds from further back. We went 1 for 6. It's a psychological game where once you spot them it's hard to keep driving closer. Open sights at 40 yards is way harder than open sites at 20 yards. Sometimes I spot them when they're way too close to the truck and I'll actually back away to that sweet range of 15-20 yards. I've not been seeing as many grouse as usual on the island this year. My 'secret spot' has a brand new road through the middle of it. I think they were building it all spring and summer. The birds just aren't hanging out there anymore. Gotta wait 5 or 6 years for it to all grow back in again I guess.
    Seems I am not the only one having a tough time with grouse this season.

    I know what you mean about spotting a grouse from further away and and whether or not to drive forward. Driving forward seems to work better than getting out and walking up, but it is hard to keep driving even though you know it's probably the best bet LOL

    For the ones I spot really close, like right in front of the vehicle, just off to the side, rather than backing up (I have never tried that, maybe will one day) I actually drive 20 yards passed them and jump out. It seems to work sometimes... a grouse will be all skinny and startled as you roll by then is back to messing about with pebbles of leaves as soon as you clear it, then you get a good shot. It's not a sure thing, but it is a common occurrence. I want to try the back-up method now though

    Regarding the new road, I ran into that a couple years back. I had this ridiculous Region 2 grouse spot... I called it "natures drive through" because every time I went by, there was always a grouse on the same part of the road. Well, they logged some of the timber and built a new road just below there. Never seen a grouse in that spot since (3 years later now I think) ... However, I did see some grouse popping up where I didn't see them before a couple km from there (still not sure if that is a repeatable trend though)

    I just wish grouse met the "stupid" stereotype all the time. Sometimes they do, but wow can they ever be sneaky, intuitive and evasive... dang ninjas even

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    6-15
    Posts
    822

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    Just got back from a drive thru an area of region 6 logging roads. Not one grouse showed. I think this season I've only seen one bird, an he was booking it deep into the bush by the time I saw him.

    What the actual f**k? ��
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  7. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Abbotsford, BC
    Posts
    1,047

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    This has been my worst year for easy road chickens. In total I've only seen two birds in all my travels. First and only decent one, I didn't have the .22 with me. The second one was a small skinny little road runner that I could have shot but it was small and I didn't feel the need to shoot the little one. Must have been a cold, wet Spring in my hunting area. No birds.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    YT
    Posts
    29

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    Numbers are down up here in my opinion. The ones I do see are also quite skittish. I find I can up my success by walking into the bush either 10yds above or below where I believe they went in. Often times they are only a few yards in and will give themselves up. My strategy is to take 5 steps, stop, kneel down and listen for 15-20 seconds. They get nervous and give themselves up most times.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    35

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    I have found fewer grouse this year in my usual areas.I also noticed some of the Chukars I hunted were very young/smaller birds.The cold, wetter, spring we had may have played a number on the birds.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Langley
    Posts
    6,032

    Re: Skittish grouse !

    Region 2 grouse down!!!!!!!

    Finally. Even with 2 deer and a bear in the freezer the season felt incomplete being outwitted by all those grouse.

    I think we were 0 for 15 on grouse encounters and only one shot fired out of all those (miss)

    We went for a camping / trailcam trip in Region 2 and on our way out this morning did a little road hunt.

    First grouse spotted at around 25 yards. Perfect! I recently switched out the modified choke for a skeet choke. Got out of the jeep, loaded the shotgun... he was oblivious eating pebbles. That is, until I took one more step to be in a shooting stance. My boot slipped on a frosty branch and found it's way to a pile of leaves... crunch! He flew into the next time zone.

    Next one wasn't so lucky... made for a delicious side dish

    I feel better now. Even if I dont see another one all season, the tradition continues.

    Neither of the grouse we saw today were skittish at all. Perhaps it's the cold weather directly, or perhaps the weather moved down some grouse that are not familiar with road hunting. Either way, I'll take it.

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