A not so sporting first grouse hunt

[GoodPartner]

I went for a long hike this morning, scouting for deer and checking trail cams. I hiked into a new area with the plan of intercepting an old logging road and walking out on it. One of the outdoor activities I have really grown to love in the last year is taking pictures of animals when I am out in the woods. Unfortunately my wife is out of town and she took the camera with her. When I went to dig my old camera out last night the battery was dead and I couldn't find the charger. So no camera today on my hike for the first time in a long time. It was a beautiful sunny morning and I missed out on getting pictures of a flock of geese that flew right over my head, a small hawk narrowly missing a song bird, squirrels, blue jays, and a grouse.

On my way out the logging road I caught movement out of the corner of my eye of something in the ditch off the right hand side of the road. I could see it was a grouse trying to sneak off into the underbrush. My first thought was for my camera, my second thought was maybe I could kill it? I am thinking tonight as I write this about our instinct to impose ourselves on the natural world in this way. I don't think this is good or bad in this particular case, it is merely a reflection of that instinct. I would be happy to take away a picture of this animal, in lieu of that I want to take it for food. In either case I want to take something. I want to force the action. I am curious to experience how/if this desire will change in me over my lifetime.

I have come across grouse occasionally in my hikes and have considered buying a pellet gun or sling shot for them but this isn't something I have done yet. And while I grew up with stories of grandpa taking the top half off the head of a grouse at 30 yards with his 30/30, this is not something I would feel comfortable with trying to replicate with my .270. So...I picked up a rock.

The section of underbrush the grouse went into was contained between the road and a steep bank. I estimated the grouse probably wouldn't flush up the bank and that if I went in to the underbrush it might come back out onto the road. So in I went into the salmon berry bushes, rock in hand, cut behind the underbrush a ways and then came back out. Back on the road, I hadn't seen it or heard it, so I knew it had to be there somewhere. I sat down on the road to wait and listen. About 5 yards down the road I caught its shape again in the ditch. It's amazing how well they blend in when they don't move. I stood up, took a few steps forward and hurled the rock.

This section of the road was pretty steep and being above the grouse gave me a good angle to throw the rock down at it. To my surprise the rock struck the bird squarely in the body. I never would have considered this an option if I hadn't read about it and seen videos of guys doing it on here. It tried to fly and came back down less than 5 feet away rolling and flapping on the ground. I quickly advanced on it and grabbed another big rock and crushed its head. The whole thing was over in seconds. Later, after cleaning it, I was able to see where the rock had broken its back.

At that moment I felt a mixture of excitement and sadness. It was the same for me the first time I shot a deer. I don't enjoy killing yet the ability to carry this out also feels natural. As with the other animals I have killed to eat, this experience has given me a deeper appreciation and connection to what goes into sustaining my body. I am grateful to have had this experience today not for the opportunity to kill something, but to be present and conscious of my choices and how they impact the world I live in. Hunting seems to bring me to this place in so many different ways.

My dad showed me how to clean the grouse by stepping on the wings and pulling the breast out. My first thought when I saw the meat is how similar it is to the chicken breasts I have purchased at the supermarket so many times. I have never really stopped to think about the chicken in the same way that I have about this grouse.

As I said I didn't have the camera with me so here is an older pic (posted on here before) of a similar bird to go along with this story. Next time I have my camera with me I wonder what I will do?

http://i42.tinypic.com/2507dbc.jpg

[Danny]

That's an awesome picture. I'd be hanging that on the wall

[itsy bitsy xj]

Thats a great storie. Let us know what happens next time when you have the camera... just a pic or a pic and a meal???

[The Hermit]

I like your thoughtful approach to hunting... I think you capture what most of us feel and think very well. Nice picture too. So now you can take some pictures of preparing your meal and tell us how you enjoyed the feast! Cheers and good hunting!

[Philcott]

I agree with Danny. Real nice picture.

About the other stuff. I agree the we do seem to have an "instinct to impose ourselves on the natural world". It's just the way it is. How we impose is the interesting part. Do we see a beautiful part of nature and pick it up to bring home so we and we alone can enjoy it or leave it there for others to look at. Do we see a beautiful valley with mountain views and a creek running through it and sit there in awe of it's beauty or bring in heavy equipment to build a resort to make money from while allowing others to enjoy the view.....Or just take a picture to hang on the wall and remember how beautiful the place is as we yearn to once again sit in the peaceful place smelling the smells and reveling in it's spender?

Who knows. We're all different and we all make our own choices.


Side note..If you do get a pellet gun make sure it's a rifle. I mention this just in case you didn't know we can't hunt with a pellet pistol in BC.

[Sasqman]

Awesome story and reflection on hunting! Thanks for sharing!

[solo]

Great reading, good job posting it. I always joke with my daughters that men are easy to figure out. In any given situation, three questions go through our heads: the first is Can I eat it? The second is Can I screw it? And the third is Do I have to run away from it? I know neither of them has looked at a guy in quite the same way since then!

[kjohn]

Good story. I have passed on many an easy shot with bush partridge. I am not a mighty hunter, nor am I a tree hugger. I often come upon a partridge and have to chuckle at how blind I must be to have missed seeing it sooner. I've been hunting them for over 50 years, and many have provided me with a good supper.

I have seldom felt that I am imposing myself on the natural world. One time, years ago, I did feel bad after I pushed apart an old windrow of trees that had been pushed up years before. I didn't gain much farm land.

I love to take a gun and go for a good walk in my old hunting grounds. All the tree huggers and anti-gun kooks can go fly kites. Equating owning guns with gun violence is about as dumb as it gets. Bah! I'm preaching to the converted! :mrgreen:

[Rackem]

I have never really stopped to think about the chicken in the same way that I have about this grouse.

And this folks is why so many ANTIs have warped thinking...they have no idea what their food went through before it hit the plate....

thanks for the beautiful mindful posting, I wish everyone would go through this thought process, it would shift many paradigms..

[BlackOwL]

Your story took Me back to those years when I was a kid and went to hunt some grouse with a slingshot, in those days We didn't had the "Legal Hunting Methods" that We have today, They are explained in page 16 of the hunting & trapping regulations. :)
Thanks for sharing.

[kjohn]

Good story. I have passed on many an easy shot with bush partridge. I am not a mighty hunter, nor am I a tree hugger. I often come upon a partridge and have to chuckle at how blind I must be to have missed seeing it sooner. I've been hunting them for over 50 years, and many have provided me with a good supper.

I have seldom felt that I am imposing myself on the natural world. One time, years ago, I did feel bad after I pushed apart an old windrow of trees that had been pushed up years before. I didn't gain much farm land.

I love to take a gun and go for a good walk in my old hunting grounds. All the tree huggers and anti-gun kooks can go fly kites. Equating owning guns with gun violence is about as dumb as it gets. Bah! I'm preaching to the converted! :mrgreen:

[Barracuda]

what caliber / gauge Rock did you use??? left or right handed ? knuckle slider or curve or did you windmill it soft ball style.
details we need details:mrgreen:

[britman101]

I am glad you found the bird. That grouse could have flapped and twisted, and then rolled down off the side of the road and died, and as you described it would have been very hard to find. If you are lost in the bush, and you need a meal to survive, that is one thing, but dispatching a grouse with a rock while taking a walk is another can of worms entirely. But here is another scenario, what if a C.O. had been coming down the road and witnessed all of this? I can see him shaking his head, and feeling very justified if he wrote up some tickets for what had just seen. Just my two cents worth.

[Rackem]

You are allowed to use a slingshot to hunt grouse....

[britman101]

I am not condoning or advocating what the poster did. However, if you go grouse hunting with a sling shot, you had better be prepared to try and find each bird you wound. That is why the preferred method of grouse hunting is with a .22 or a shotgun as pointed out in the sporting way of taking a grouse thread.

[Rackem]

I have hunted grouse with slingshots all my life, and I have no idea what you are talking about. I have never lost one, they flap like hell when you hit em...hard to miss that...

[Gateholio]

I don't know how many grouse I've killed with rocks or sticks but it must be close to a hundred. None got away since they flap like crazy, as said.

[ruger#1]

I am not condoning or advocating what the poster did. However, if you go grouse hunting with a sling shot, you had better be prepared to try and find each bird you wound. That is why the preferred method of grouse hunting is with a .22 or a shotgun as pointed out in the sporting way of taking a grouse thread.
I have seen so many grouse fly away from being shot with the 22. I use my 16g or 20g. None fly away.

[GoodPartner]

I am glad you found the bird. That grouse could have flapped and twisted, and then rolled down off the side of the road and died, and as you described it would have been very hard to find. If you are lost in the bush, and you need a meal to survive, that is one thing, but dispatching a grouse with a rock while taking a walk is another can of worms entirely. But here is another scenario, what if a C.O. had been coming down the road and witnessed all of this? I can see him shaking his head, and feeling very justified if he wrote up some tickets for what had just seen. Just my two cents worth.

Fair point.

[KB90]

what if a C.O. had been coming down the road and witnessed all of this?

It wouldn't matter as he didn't do anything wrong

[ruger#1]

Fair point.
No it is not a fair point. Get him to show you or us in the regulations where you can not hunt grouse with rocks or sticks. He might take a long time to get back to you.

[GoodPartner]

No it is not a fair point. Get him to show you or us in the regulations where you can not hunt grouse with rocks or sticks. He might take a long time to get back to you.

Sorry, I should clarify. I haven't read in the regulations or from different threads on here (I have looked) that it is illegal to use a rock. If I had read that I would not have done it. I think the point is fair that there is a risk of harm to the bird and that it is not sporting to use the rock. this is why I named the thread "a not so sporting first grouse hunt". I wanted to know if I could do it, I did it, and I'm not ashamed of it. I am open to other people's opinions on it as this might help to shape my decision the next time I am in a situation like that. I take no offence.

[ruger#1]

Sorry, I should clarify. I haven't read in the regulations or from different threads on here (I have looked) that it is illegal to use a rock. If I had read that I would not have done it. I think the point is fair that there is a risk of harm to the bird and that it is not sporting to use the rock. this is why I named the thread "a not so sporting first grouse hunt". I wanted to know if I could do it, I did it, and I'm not ashamed of it. I am open to other people's opinions on it as this might help to shape my decision the next time I am in a situation like that. I take no offence.
What page is this info on. And I didn't say you did anything wrong.

[GoodPartner]

I referred to page 16 in the regs "Legal hunting Methods". "Rocks" as a hunting method are not addressed there as being legal or illegal. There have been threads on HBC where this topic has been covered thoroughly. See this thread (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?39674-Pellet-gun-for-hunting-Grouse&highlight=grouse). It is one of those areas that seem to present arguments primarily around if listing the methods that are legal make all other methods illegal or that if there was a method that was illegal it would be listed. I read it the way that Gatehouse explains it in that 2009 thread. Hypothetically if a C.O. saw me killing a grouse with a rock and wanted to write me a ticket, I would be drawn into the same argument with the C.O. and would most likely have to accept what that C.O.'s interpretation was if I could not change their mind. That doesn't mean that I would agree. I don't like dealing in hypotheticals though. I am comfortable with what I did with the information I had about it. I am open to someone with clearer information around the legality that would inform my actions in the future. Until then I will continue to interpret the rules the way I have read them.

Now as far as the personal ethics of using a rock to kill a grouse I can see how some people would think what I did was wrong, legal or not. Especially those that hunt them with a dog and shotgun. There is a unique culture to each style of hunting and I can see how my method in this instance would not be viewed favourably by some. I could see it even being offensive to some. That doesn't mean that I agree that I was wrong or offensive, but I do respect other people's opinion on this. I knew this would be the case before I posted the story, I'm ok with that.

[The Dawg]

I am glad you found the bird. That grouse could have flapped and twisted, and then rolled down off the side of the road and died, and as you described it would have been very hard to find. If you are lost in the bush, and you need a meal to survive, that is one thing, but dispatching a grouse with a rock while taking a walk is another can of worms entirely. But here is another scenario, what if a C.O. had been coming down the road and witnessed all of this? I can see him shaking his head, and feeling very justified if he wrote up some tickets for what had just seen. Just my two cents worth.

Ive seen it all now.

An HBC grouse saint

[hare_assassin]

An alternative (and probably more accurate) interpretation of "sporting" would show that GoodPartner's method was in fact more sporting than "a dog and a shotgun".

Nevertheless, it really does all come down to a CO's interpretation and personal judgment.

Are we all comfortable wishing or assuming that all CO's are chosen for their mastery of common sense?

They are, after all, a product of the modern law enforcement personnel selection process. These are people who would be just as happy to participate in blanket gun seizures (High River).

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Blainer]

I enjoyed the read
Got me thinkin, takes us all back to earlier days, be it a grouse,squirrel or gopher
Good share

[Gateholio]

An alternative (and probably more accurate) interpretation of "sporting" would show that GoodPartner's method was in fact more sporting than "a dog and a shotgun".

Nevertheless, it really does all come down to a CO's interpretation and personal judgment.

Are we all comfortable wishing or assuming that all CO's are chosen for their mastery of common sense?

They are, after all, a product of the modern law enforcement personnel selection process. These are people who would be just as happy to participate in blanket gun seizures (High River).

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Yeah you are wrong. COs are not interested in seizing guns for no reason and refused to participate in the long gun registry.

When they write you a ticket they need to reference a section of the wildlife act. There isn't any section that says Thou shall not hunt grouse with a rock.

[jessbennett]

I am glad you found the bird. That grouse could have flapped and twisted, and then rolled down off the side of the road and died, and as you described it would have been very hard to find. If you are lost in the bush, and you need a meal to survive, that is one thing, but dispatching a grouse with a rock while taking a walk is another can of worms entirely. But here is another scenario, what if a C.O. had been coming down the road and witnessed all of this? I can see him shaking his head, and feeling very justified if he wrote up some tickets for what had just seen. Just my two cents worth.


who the heck are you to judge??? keep your two cents in your pocket, until someone "needs" it........

[jessbennett]

Sorry, I should clarify. I haven't read in the regulations or from different threads on here (I have looked) that it is illegal to use a rock. If I had read that I would not have done it. I think the point is fair that there is a risk of harm to the bird and that it is not sporting to use the rock. this is why I named the thread "a not so sporting first grouse hunt". I wanted to know if I could do it, I did it, and I'm not ashamed of it. I am open to other people's opinions on it as this might help to shape my decision the next time I am in a situation like that. I take no offence.

there is a risk of harm to any animal that you hunt whether it is with a rock, a stick, a bow or rifle..... no rules saying you cant kill a chicken with a rock.... you did nothing wrong...

[landphil]

I've always considered humans to be part of the "natural world" as you worded it. I really cannot figure out why anybody would think otherwise. Alas, its not the first or the last grouse to be taken out with a "single projectile natural weapon".

[HIGHRPM]

Best pic of a chicken I have ever seen !!

[250 sav]

Showed my son how to get grouse with snare wire and a 8' stick.

[BRvalley]

the bird was not wasted, so nothing to feel guilty about...I think that little bit of remorse or respect you feel after you kill something is a good thing...when you lose that feeling, then something is up

and good on you for using the rock, I know a few guys who have blasted a grouse with their big bores and ended up with nothing to eat

[ActionJackson017]

I'm surprised I missed this, but what an excellent read. Thank you for sharing.

[GoodPartner]

Let us know what happens next time when you have the camera... just a pic or a pic and a meal???

I drove up this morning to check a few trail cameras and this time I had the .22 and my camera in the truck with me. When I saw this guy I didn't even think to grab the camera.

http://i40.tinypic.com/k98f4l.jpg

The grouse was perched in a tree and when I shot it fell into some thick brush on a steep slope. It took me a while to locate it. I had a sick feeling in my stomach thinking I had killed it and was not going to find it. Unlike when I hit one with a rock, this one was not flapping. After about 15 mins I went back to the tree it fell out of and used a grid. I found it shortly after that, it hadn't gone far, it was just hard to see. I was very relieved. I took it home, cleaned it, tossed some seasoning on it, and put it in the oven. I overcooked it a little but it tasted really good.

http://i39.tinypic.com/hx1aw1.jpg

[Walking Buffalo]

I'm glad I opened this thread. Good post Goodpartner!


If you have not done so, look into the evolution of Humans, brain size and hunting. Hunting is what made us Human! :)


Dinner looks good. Did you eat the legs and wings as an appetizer?

[Rackem]

Nice pics of grouse pre and post dinner..!

[GoodPartner]

I tried to get the before and after photo so I stepped out with my camera first. When I went back for the .22 the grouse slipped out into the woods before I could get a shot. I went in after it and was lucky to spot it standing on a log. I didn't chance a photo on the next two.

http://i44.tinypic.com/wiq9e9.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/11w7a6t.jpg

[Wullfen]

Awesome photos! Good story. My dad has kille, and I mean killed them stone dead, with a sling shot more times than I can count. He's better with that thing than most of you people are with your rifles lol! Nothing wrong with using a stick or a rock, i've never seen anything about it in the regs.

[Rackem]

Grouse stew...

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1381633_10151652397725754_2081504970_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/1378088_10151652802655754_1500492146_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1377100_10151652796965754_1744261979_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/995500_10151652791045754_91720633_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1378034_10151652811220754_1798141684_n.jpg

[GoodPartner]

Nice pics Rackem...

Since the rock throwing I have taken 6 more grouse with the .22. A few missed shots initially but happy to report no injured or lost birds to date. I now have a good general idea of the spots where they will be and the times they will most likely be there. It seems like it has been a good year for grouse numbers. I'm happy to have added this experience to the many positives of getting out in the woods this year.

http://i42.tinypic.com/r6xzlx.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/9icx86.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/1693k2w.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/dlghgn.jpg

[Rackem]

Wow those are beautiful grouse...good photography!