A sporting first grouse hunt

[Morel]

Ok folks, here is a rather long grouse hunting question. I am new to hunting and for a first hunt in the fall I am planning on walking logging roads and adjacent clearcuts for grouse. I will stick to grouse and am not considering the possibility of deer at this point. Yes, I have completed the requisite paperwork, spent some quality range time with a .22 and 12 ga (trap) and researched the area.

My question is not weather a .22 or a 12 gauge will kill a grouse but what, in your opinion, makes for a “sporting”, “ethical” or enjoyable hunt? My first plan was to use the .22 but have recently been considering the 12 ga (having a gun that will also shoot slugs for bear defense has also been a consideration). My understanding is that if you find grouse on the roads they don’t flush or don’t fly very far. In this case, it seems reasonable to use a .22. Even though the bird is capable of flying away or flies to a nearby tree and perches, it does not seem particularly sporting to use a 12 gauge on a bird sitting in the road or in a tree. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks - Morel

[KB90]

My girlfriend started hunting this year and she was having a hard time with the 22 missing all the birds. So we tried the 20 gauge.

With the switch she went from missing all her attempts to killing 5 in a row. I'm not sure how good of a shot you are but you can increase your success rate with a shotgun.

Once you get a few under your belt and feel confident you could switch to the 22, I enjoy trying to hit them just in the head.

[Shooter]

Be aware of what is behind the target when shooting Grouse with a .22. This is especially true if shooting at them while they are raised up on a stump or in a tree, where a missed shot has the potential of travelling a long ways. Also I would recommend taking head shots on grouse with a .22. I have seen many breast shot grouse fly away after being hit with a .22. I have seen them flop over flapping all around and then still fly off into the bush never to be recovered yet you know they died.

[Glenny]

A blast with the first grouse on the ground will usually make em flush and you can take second or third one on the wing. Lotsa fun.

[Morel]

It seems that the 12 ga is the most sensible option for me.

KB90, I am not as good a shot as I would like to be - group sizes, distance to bull and number of bullseyes don't lie. I will likely be more successful with the 12ga.

Shooter, the distance a .22 bullet will travel has always worried me a little. I have seen lots of videos of people shooting squirrels in trees with only the sky as a backstop. This seems plain unsafe and the same rules would apply to grouse.

Thanks!

[Bucks&Ducks]

depends where you are hunting, if you are on a road with trees on each side I would use the .22 as they will flush onto higher branches and be easy pickings, if you are on a logging road that has been clearcut and there is sky on all sides they will commonly run off the road and hide in the rubble, when they do this I load up the shot gun and walk off the road towards where I saw it go off and it will flush into the air so you can wing shoot it. its fun and exciting case you never know when its gonna jump

[Buckmeister]

Even though you said your not considering the possibility of a deer at this time, what you will be doing to find grouse (walking the roads and such) is also a perfect way to find deer. So I would not be surprised if you came across a nice buck or two. I would also suggest walking as quietly as possible and listening hard. Often I have been deer hunting and nearly stepped on a grouse, so when they flush right next to you if almost gives you a heart attack if your not expecting it, but looking back I can recall the small noises a grouse will make that will alert you to it's presense if your close enough but you don't see it, almost like the sound of rustling leaves and sometimes a very faint clucking noise.

[fowlweather]

if you see a lot of them in a tree shoot the bottom ones first and the others shouldn't flush. while if you see them on the ground shoot the ones in the front first and work your way back

[FirePower]

Ok folks, here is a rather long grouse hunting question. I am new to hunting and for a first hunt in the fall I am planning on walking logging roads and adjacent clearcuts for grouse. I will stick to grouse and am not considering the possibility of deer at this point. Yes, I have completed the requisite paperwork, spent some quality range time with a .22 and 12 ga (trap) and researched the area.

My question is not weather a .22 or a 12 gauge will kill a grouse but what, in your opinion, makes for a “sporting”, “ethical” or enjoyable hunt? My first plan was to use the .22 but have recently been considering the 12 ga (having a gun that will also shoot slugs for bear defense has also been a consideration). My understanding is that if you find grouse on the roads they don’t flush or don’t fly very far. In this case, it seems reasonable to use a .22. Even though the bird is capable of flying away or flies to a nearby tree and perches, it does not seem particularly sporting to use a 12 gauge on a bird sitting in the road or in a tree. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks - Morel

Sporting I would say is a head shot with a 22 OR on the wing with a shotgun. Personally I only shoot grouse over my spaniel with my 20 or 28 Ga.but thats a matter of choice, that being said if you are out for a bit of meat for dinner while camping and have only a scatter gun and want to take 1 or 2 sitting, thats fine I think, shoot high for the head or you may be sending your dentist to Hawaii lol.

[MillBay]

"Personally I only shoot grouse over my spaniel with my 20 or 28 Ga.but thats a matter of choice"

What firepower said is the true sporting end of it, that being said, shooting a tasty legal grouse on a logging road and not blowing the crap out of it is not unsporting or unethical. I prefer it like firepower does but again that's my choice.