Anybody seeing grouse out there

[Acemac]

had about 10 flushes in pilsbury forest this weekend but I did not see any of them cover is very thick.

[Chef]

Sorry--was out all weekend. It means there was good new brood hatches, the young birds I see dead are the really dumb ones.

[Odonata]

Was not hunting, but saw 4 last week. We'll see how the season plays out.

[JMO555555]

Have been out everyday since season has started 97 seen 18 shot one out of the tree the rest over points. This week has been better birds that I have seen have only been in perfect grouse habitat mostly hunting around bemidji but have been up around i falls on weekends. not tons of birds but enough to keep the dogs and I intrested. one more week and the leaves should be off and I hope my numbers improve ha. enjoy the next month for us grouse hunters its the month we dream about all year.

[Mike Sertich]

Where were you,at the zoo?

[Matt Breuer]

We hunted the last 3 days with some success. 6 birds bagged with 21 spotted. Tough getting shots over points with all of the leaves up yet. Whoever said the leaves in Bemidji should be off in a week can come rake my empty yard next week! Colors haven't even peaked, so we've got some time yet before it gets good....

[Craigums]

What do you guys mean when you say "shooting over points" ect...

[Matt Breuer]

What do you guys mean when you say "shooting over points" ect...

I have two German Shorthairs, pointing dogs. When I say shooting over points, I mean the dog pointed a bird, I flushed it, and I shot it. Others may mean something else, but that's what it's supposed to mean...

Wild flushes, bumped birds, and roadies don't count...

[TylerS]

What do you guys mean when you say "shooting over points" ect...

Birds that are pointed by a dog, such as those found by the best hunting dog in the world, the GWP

[Acemac]

Birds that are pointed by a dog, such as those found by the best hunting dog in the world, the GWP

[cribbageboy]

Went up last weekend. No dog. Flushed somewhere around 10 birds from 9am saturday to 3pm sunday. Got a couple shots off, but missed gracefully. Still too thick out there. Plan on hitting it again in a couple weeks.

[JMO555555]

yea might be more like a couple weeks before the leaves are off. But alot of the underbrush has thined and where Im at I would say they are in full color I dont know. anyway it cant come fast enough for me

[Craigums]

When trying to flush a grouse w/o any dogs. Do you guys walk on trails or through thinker growth? any tips?

[Matt Breuer]

You can do either, just move slow and stop once in awhile. The stopping makes the birds nervous and you'll hear them shuffling or beeping, or they'll flush. Some days going dogless is more productive than with a dog...

[cribbageboy]

Yup. The key is stopping every once in awhile. Vast majority of the time they will flush while you're standing still.

[gtaggart]

I saw 7 grouse and heard another today. The first 4 were in a covey together and the other 4 were singles. I got a shot at two of them and should have come home with both, but my shooting left a little to be desired. The woods are still really thick with leaves, but sure is a great time to be in the woods.

[brittman]

Yup. The key is stopping every once in awhile. Vast majority of the time they will flush while you're standing still.

Yep. Stopping to take a water break, snack break or bathroom break on a trail has resulted in plenty of flushes over the years.

They must be waiting for you to set your gun down.

[Chef]

Yep--I always save a "pit stop" just for that reason! I think Deer and Grouse comiserate on that one.

[fisher_king2004]

My brother and I went out last Saturday. Saw almost two dozen birds and bagged 9. Great day. I can't go this weekend but will be back up with my son next weekend.

[TRZ II]

What area?

[setterguy]

You can do either, just move slow and stop once in awhile. The stopping makes the birds nervous and you'll hear them shuffling or beeping, or they'll flush. Some days going dogless is more productive than with a dog...

What? Thats like saying sometimes ice fishing is better without a flasher. I can't ever remember a time when not having a dog would have produced more birds. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I have to know what you mean.

[tacklejunkie]

More leaves are blowing off the trees and the number of birds I'm seeing have been increasing. My kid got two this AM at Canosia and I got one yesterday near the house.

From what I'm hearing and seeing, not a lot of young birds being shot this year. I think we will start to see a downturn next year

[fishuhalik]

i usually shoot more birds w/o a dog cuz i'd rather groundpound 'em! i know its herasy to some, but i grouse hunt for meat. if i wanna practice my wingshooting there's always pheasants and ducks!

[JMO555555]

ha this is a age old battle in my family my brothers and dad hunt dogless and and I run setters. In my opion dogless hunters shoot alot higher percentage of birds they see my dad does the numbers and they see about a third of the birds i see. seven years running my dogs and I have shot more birds than my brothers and dad (since I started hunting with dogs) My dad has kept track and dogless hunters shoot 33% of birds seen and me (with dogs) is around 25%. for me whats the fun without watching the dogs do what they were born to do.

[laker1]

Was out the other day and walked 12 miles and seen 12 birds,all adults and all singles. heard other people talk and saying seeing very few young ones.

[401TE]

Was out the other day and walked 12 miles and seen 12 birds,all adults and all singles. heard other people talk and saying seeing very few young ones.

Funny, young birds constitute the vast majority of what I'm seeing and shooting north of Duluth.

Lots of leaves fell yesterday after the hard frost we had Friday night. Saw 22 degrees on the way to the trails.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Everyone needs to remember that when you say you are seeing tons of birds at xyz, that a lot of people read this and next week, xyz will be full of hunters. You can brag all you want about the number of grouse you are shooting, but don't go all out and show everyone your spots.

[djlong]

I went out the last two weekends and my experience has been that there are just as many birds this year as last. Most of my birds have been young so I guess I have just been lucky to hit some good spots. Having a dog really helps me get ready when my dog gets birdy but with all the cover still up, I have only been able to get a shot off about 30% of the time. Then take into consideration that I cannot shoot worth a darn and most are still in the woods. I do have one question. I have a pointer and while pheasants hold really tight, does everyone else have the same problem of grouse only holding for a second or longer when you get a strong point? My dog is not busting them but I have yet to have a bird where I have to kick around to get a flush.

[life=outdoors92]

From what I'm hearing and seeing, not a lot of young birds being shot this year. I think we will start to see a downturn next year

From the 15-20 birds i have shot/seen shot with buddies north of rapids so far this year, only 2 have been what they would call "adults." everything else has been last years crop with 1 or 2 being this year. lots of short tail fans this year so far

[dave12341234]

Northwest wisconsin- I have been out almost every other day since opener usually toward the evening for a few hours, walking no more than 2 miles. I usually see 1-3 birds per outing. All were on the the ground by a logging rd, but not directly on the rd kinda off to the side in the weeds so its been tough, flying away to early. only saw a few coveys this year, most are single.

Where I hunt,its usually driven down 1-2 times a days, but its impossible to know what time they drove down there last? Id hate to walk a logging rd thats already been disturbed 15 minutes before i got there. I was thinking of setting up a post at the begining of the trail with a notepad and paper where you can write down the last time you walked the trail. Maybe a good idea? This trial is sponsered by the ruffed grouse society so i know its heavily used.