Some questions after a first grouse hunt

[Morel]

I went out for my first hunting trip yesterday walking FSRs in 2-5 for grouse (solo trip walking the FSR without a dog). In the sense that I had a great hike though breathtaking country and gained experience with the area and habitats, the trip was a resounding success. In terms of shooting grouse, not so much. I only saw one bird while driving in along the edge of a paved road. I can’t wait to head out again and put some more miles on the boots. I am sure that the grouse are just around the next bend in the road – there are just so many bends.

Once again, I was hoping to tap into the knowledge of the HBC members with some questions about grouse hunting.

Do you have a strategy for walking the roads? I was trying to take the curves on the outside to see as far down the road as possible before really rounding the bend. I stopped frequently to listen, look around, look up trees and poke into patches of thimbleberry.

Are recent cutblocks full of small salal, huckleberry, bearberry, blueberry (all with abundant fruit) good areas to find grouse in addition to the roads? I walked through a couple of recent cutblocks but didn’t flush any birds.

I walked the roads from ~9am-2pm (beginning later than I planned). Is 9am too late to catch grouse on the roads (sunrise was ~7am)?

Do you find grouse in habitats with other birds (i.e. does finding an area with lots of small birds indicate it is a likely place to find grouse)? In walking the roads there were some locations with small deciduous shrubs, seedling trees mixed with more open areas (often cutblocks) that had a lot of small birds (sparrows, chickadees, robins).

Do grouse make runs or trails through the underbrush adjacent to roads (I found a spot with what appeared to be small (chicken-sized) trails leading into the underbrush).

Does anyone sit and wait for grouse on good-looking habitats or is continuous walking the best bet?

How important is elevation? My vehicle won’t handle steep FSRs so I hiked from an elevation of ~ 40m to ~500m and covered a total of 12K (6k in and back out the same road). My understanding is that this is spruce grouse territory and blues are higher 1000m+.

Once again, thank you for sharing your experience
Morel

[Tron]

Walking is great for big game but not some much for Grouse. If you can find a stand that you have seem lots of grouse around that is a good spot to walk. Most of the time they are on the roads is early in the morning (first light) to around 10am but slowing down and in the afternoon when it is starting to cool off. Most of the birds Ive found have been driving around. Some of the best places to look are the roads with grasses on both sides and down the middle.

Good luck

[Tarp Man]

I would start earlier and end later. Grouse are great game to focus on for an evening drive with family

[seanps]

Do you have a strategy for walking the roads? I was trying to take the curves on the outside to see as far down the road as possible before really rounding the bend. I stopped frequently to listen, look around, look up trees and poke into patches of thimbleberry.

I do all my grouse hunting while walking, as well. I tend to amble along, stopping every minute or two to crouch down and scan the ground in the bushes/under trees. Once the leaves start falling you'll be able to hear the light "crunch crunch" of the birds walking around. If you're new to this, it's possible that you walked by but just didn't *see* them. I suppose I watch for a bobbing head most of all.



Are recent cutblocks full of small salal, huckleberry, bearberry, blueberry (all with abundant fruit) good areas to find grouse in addition to the roads? I walked through a couple of recent cutblocks but didn’t flush any birds.

Not in my experience. Look for areas with ground vegetation that can provide cover (they're preyed upon by hawks, owls and the like) as well as small trees that the birds can hop into. I find most of mine in young willow/aspen type trees around 15-20 feet high, with a relatively open canopy above. In 2-6 the birds I shoot are feeding on young, green leaves -- not berries. The brush at the edge of a road is the best place.


Do you find grouse in habitats with other birds (i.e. does finding an area with lots of small birds indicate it is a likely place to find grouse)?

I've never found this to be the case.


Do grouse make runs or trails through the underbrush adjacent to roads.

Never heard of this either. I think they tend to wander and make short flights.


Does anyone sit and wait for grouse on good-looking habitats or is continuous walking the best bet?


Keep moving, but come back to "birdy" looking spots -- even an hour or two later -- as some birds may have moved in since you were last there. I have one gorgeous, grassy and sunny road that I tend to walk in slow circles as the birds are always moving around.


How important is elevation? My vehicle won’t handle steep FSRs so I hiked from an elevation of ~ 40m to ~500m and covered a total of 12K (6k in and back out the same road). My understanding is that this is spruce grouse territory and blues are higher 1000m+.

I'm driving a dinky 2WD so I understand what it's like. Just checked Google Earth, and I find all my ruffed grouse at 100m to 300m. I don't know if that means anything, but you certainly don't have to go high for birds.

[buck nash]

I went out for my first hunting trip yesterday walking FSRs in 2-5 for grouse (solo trip walking the FSR without a dog). In the sense that I had a great hike though breathtaking country and gained experience with the area and habitats, the trip was a resounding success. In terms of shooting grouse, not so much. I only saw one bird while driving in along the edge of a paved road. I can’t wait to head out again and put some more miles on the boots. I am sure that the grouse are just around the next bend in the road – there are just so many bends.

Once again, I was hoping to tap into the knowledge of the HBC members with some questions about grouse hunting.

Do you have a strategy for walking the roads? I was trying to take the curves on the outside to see as far down the road as possible before really rounding the bend. I stopped frequently to listen, look around, look up trees and poke into patches of thimbleberry.

Are recent cutblocks full of small salal, huckleberry, bearberry, blueberry (all with abundant fruit) good areas to find grouse in addition to the roads? I walked through a couple of recent cutblocks but didn’t flush any birds.
I usually see them in treed areas with lots of ground cover. Or on roads or trails close to areas like this.
I walked the roads from ~9am-2pm (beginning later than I planned). Is 9am too late to catch grouse on the roads (sunrise was ~7am)?
In my experience this has been prime time for chickens. Could be because that's when I'm out still hunting for big game.
Do you find grouse in habitats with other birds (i.e. does finding an area with lots of small birds indicate it is a likely place to find grouse)? In walking the roads there were some locations with small deciduous shrubs, seedling trees mixed with more open areas (often cutblocks) that had a lot of small birds (sparrows, chickadees, robins).
Never noticed a corelation.
Do grouse make runs or trails through the underbrush adjacent to roads (I found a spot with what appeared to be small (chicken-sized) trails leading into the underbrush).
Not sure if they make their own paths or if they follow established small game trails. Probably both.
Does anyone sit and wait for grouse on good-looking habitats or is continuous walking the best bet?
I've always walked around. But if you see one that your not able to shoot before it takes off, it's a good idea to come back an hour or so later for him. They usually don't go far. If you still don't see him, mark the spot on your gps and try coming back another day around the same time.
How important is elevation? My vehicle won’t handle steep FSRs so I hiked from an elevation of ~ 40m to ~500m and covered a total of 12K (6k in and back out the same road). My understanding is that this is spruce grouse territory and blues are higher 1000m+.
I don't think elevation is too important.
Once again, thank you for sharing your experience.
Morel

Most of my eperience with grouse has been while looking for big game, but I'll rarely pass up an oppertunity at one. A bird in the hand is worth a deer in the bush.

[Wookloaf]

Hey Morel, Seanps is right, if you wanna find some grouse, check in shady overgrown areas.

For example, i was walking along yesterday, came to a fairly decent cutblock, and then found a little old logging path that extended off of it, went for a walk down there and got 1 that was moving along under some fur trees. It was moving along in a group of 3, but the others got away. But something is better than nothing.

I know too, that they like to hang around paths later in the days too, to eat pebbles.

[who_krs]

one other thing is that if you find and shot one. look for more before running up to grab it. In my experience i have very rarely seen one all by itself

[Morel]

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to answer a lot of questions. Hopefully, I will have some more success next weekend.

[Morel]

I got my first grouse today!!

The tips on the habitat were right on!

Thank you again for taking the time to answer questions.

I took a different road and found more overgrown habitat along the roads. I started at dawn and the road had zero traffic during the time I was out. I saw a total of 3-4 birds but only got a shot at one. The other ones immediately flushed after the first shot but I was so focused on getting my first bird that I was not really thinking or planning the next shot. I reloaded quickly enough but the brain stopped there - another lesson learned. I could not find where the other birds ended up but was happy enough with one. I learned the lesson to keep looking if you know there are other birds around! Even though I looked for the other birds and decided they were gone, another flushed 2 feet from where I was standing packing up the first bird. - I was totally unprepared to take a shot. Still happy with one bird.

My wife and I plucked it out and cooked it already - I will likely just breast it in the future but wanted to see what it would be like to pluck out the whole thing. I like the flavour but we need to work on some recipes since it was a little tough (tarragon and cream sauce come to mind). Neither of us has done much cooking of game but we love to cook and this is just a new fun cooking challenge.

Cheers

[beerlover]

If you toss the meat in a ziplock bag and then put it in a cooler or fridge for a day or two the meat won't be tough anymore.

[ItsGrouseTalk]

Do you have a strategy for walking the roads? I was trying to take the curves on the outside to see as far down the road as possible before really rounding the bend. I stopped frequently to listen, look around, look up trees and poke into patches of thimbleberry.

Are recent cutblocks full of small salal, huckleberry, bearberry, blueberry (all with abundant fruit) good areas to find grouse in addition to the roads? I walked through a couple of recent cutblocks but didn’t flush any birds.

I walked the roads from ~9am-2pm (beginning later than I planned). Is 9am too late to catch grouse on the roads (sunrise was ~7am)?

Do you find grouse in habitats with other birds (i.e. does finding an area with lots of small birds indicate it is a likely place to find grouse)? In walking the roads there were some locations with small deciduous shrubs, seedling trees mixed with more open areas (often cutblocks) that had a lot of small birds (sparrows, chickadees, robins).

Do grouse make runs or trails through the underbrush adjacent to roads (I found a spot with what appeared to be small (chicken-sized) trails leading into the underbrush).

Does anyone sit and wait for grouse on good-looking habitats or is continuous walking the best bet?

How important is elevation? My vehicle won’t handle steep FSRs so I hiked from an elevation of ~ 40m to ~500m and covered a total of 12K (6k in and back out the same road). My understanding is that this is spruce grouse territory and blues are higher 1000m+.

Take little skitter trails, or side roads. You never know what your going to find!

Dont hunt cutblocks. I have most success hunting the thick underbrush (About 3-4 feet high) and tree area thats open

You can find grouse at any time of the day, but I have most of my luck from sunrise - 10am and 2-3pm

They dont usually mix in with other birds

They do, hunt any trail

I dont typically, as they mostly fly. I prefer walking and coming across them

It doesnt typically matter, but spruce are pretty well mixed in with ruffies (Willow) and blues are 1000+ for sure.

Happy hunting :)

[overunder]

try walking the old decommisioned skidder trails. also walk down across cut blocks . find a friend with a dog it is alot more fun and great sport if you are a decent wing shot

[markt308]

Early mornings and late afternoons until dark are great on the roads. otherwise it sounds like your already getting the idea. congrats on gettin your grouse!

[Ddog]

Hey Morel, don't bother plucking your grouse, waste of time, just step on the wings close to the body and pull the legs, what your left with is just the two wings on the breast, after some pulling out of the guts if necessary. at that point you must leave one wing to the breast for identification, but you can cut the other one off.
any type of sauce on a nice grouse breast is delicious (i am big on sauces, especially the tarragon ones, like you said) grouse is like chicken, if you cook it to long it will dry out and become tough, cook it just like a nice chicken breast, make sure the juices are clear but still nice and juicy, one minute to long and boom, its dry like popcorn.
cheers...D

[Morel]

Again, thank you all for the great advice.
I went out again a couple of weeks back and got two more (a ruffed and a spruce) and saw some deer (a doe and a nice little spike). It was raining a lot and I had read that grouse can often be found hunkered down under trees and in the lower, drier branches on rainy days. I spent quite a bit of time poking around under trees lining the road. This tactic worked well, I found the a ruffed hiding in a dry spot under the trees! The general habitat provided lots of cover adjacent to the road, I have a much better mental picture of grouse habitat after finding a few in the same area (I also took a couple of digital pics for my hunting notebook). Interestingly the second bird was at much higher elevation (1000m), much more out in the open and much closer to large timber than the heavy newer growth. Given the rain, perhaps the heaver cover was not as critical.

It would be fun to find someone with a dog - having seen grouse blast off, wingshooting should be pretty exciting. Mine is not a hunting dog, she is fine hiking but is very afraid of loud noises - I could not even contemplate taking her hunting. Perhaps next time I go out for a Sunday trap shoot, I'll try to find out if there are any upland hunters in the group.

With the second try, I have gotten better at cooking (and cleaning) the birds. I will field dress next time. With the last ones I tried braising them at a low temp (~250F) with some onions and carrots. The meat was much more tender and certainly flavourful. I forgot about the tarragon but will try it next time (I have a great tarragon chicken recipe that should work nicely with grouse).

Cheers