One’s instincts must work all at the same timehearing, then seeing, or vice versathe bird, swinging the gun, aiming while panning, then pulling the trigger at the precise moment. This reaction is known as “swinging-through” and consists of getting the gun moving faster than the bird. Drumming and a sudden whir are thrilling sounds that the grouse hunter must be ready to quickly react to. Grouse hidden in the colorful depths of autumn are often scared up by the rustle of crispy foliage under the hunter’s foot. I have found that any trek that winds through bunchberry, clover patches, or wild rose brushes laden with bright fleshy hips offers good chances of flushing out a plump ruffie or two. Since they need to fill their gizzards with stones in order to digest food, grouse are often spotted alongside gravelly paths or streams ‘mining’ in early morning and evening.ĭeciduous stands and willowy scrubland, burned and logged areas that are rich in seedy growth, old orchards, clearings, and edges of forests are prospective places to tramp grouse hunting trails. Studies show that grouse eat buds and needles of evergreens in wintertime which is believed to help them digest food in place of stones that might be hard to obtain from frozen or snow covered ground. Birds hunted in or near bogs will have telltale signs of cranberries or blueberries in their bags. Crops of prairie chickens will be filled with such delights as grain, goldenrod, sunflower, and other common seeds. Those shot in hardwoods will contain berries and plants familiar on hardwood forest floors. Grouse breasts, coated with the hazelnut breading Studying the contents carefully will help make future hunts more successful.
The crops or ‘berry bags’ of downed birds will reveal their diet trends. There are numerous species of birds belonging to the grouse family, and although they are similar in character and habit they thrive on food that is available in their regions. The best woodlands to hunt grouse are those that offer feed. Being able to spot the birds on the ground before they burst into air gives a little more time for planning action. But once you develop the skill, the image seems to register quickly without strain or over-focusing. Learning to spot them is like training your eyes to see stereoscopic images without using 3-D glasses. I remember when I was a kid how dad would tease me because I couldn’t distinguish a grouse up ahead on the trail from a clump of mud. One of the trickiest things about grouse hunting is training your eyes to pick up the perfectly camouflaged forms of these plump birds. In late season, when the trees are bare and I can keep my eye on the bird for further distances, I find No. Although it doesn’t take a ton of bricks to bring down a grouse, one has to consider the brush factor when hunting in early season and choose a shot that throws a wide pattern. 6 shot gives me the penetration for cutting through obstructions. Early in the season when trees and shrubs are still heavily branched in leaves, I find that my 20-gauge with modified choke delivers plenty of spread, and No. I’ve been fortunate enough to try out a fair range of makes and models of shotguns over the past number of years, and I must say a 20-gauge is still a favorite pick.īefore I retrieve a gun from my vault for a day’s hunt, I consider the state of the woodlands I intend to trudge through. I lugged the trusty thing for years before retiring it as a keepsake of cherished memories of my younger days spent in the woodlands. Learning to hunt years ago with my dad in the hardwood stands behind our back stoop, I used an old 20-gauge shotgun which was handed down to me from my father. And best of all is the fact that having a stash of grouse in the freezer means great eating all winter long.Īlthough opinions will forever vary over what gun and ammo is the best pick for grouse, I think the number one thing for any upland bird hunter to consider is to make sure their choice is powerful enough to deliver a quick, clean killbut not so powerful that there’s nothin’ left of the prize but a mess of feathers. I’ve been grouse hunting since I was old enough to tote a gun and, as much as I enjoy the pursuit of big game and waterfowl, I have to admit that grouse hunting ranks number one on my list of autumn outings, for not only is it a challenging sport but also a super long season. No matter how many times I’ve heard it, the whoosh of wings always comes as a thrilling surprise that startles the daylights out of me, like an electrical shock that I just can’t seem to get enough of. Nothing instills such excitement or makes my heart flutter louder than the sudden whir of a flushed out grouse.