You will find Ruffed Grouse
along the edges of gravel roads like this (red lines)
Olympia – Aug 99 As we get closer to the upland game season, my mouth
waters for a grouse dinner. We
started scouting for coveys of grouse during the late evenings, about ½ hour
prior to sunset or if you are an early riser, about ½ hour after sun up.
The past years have not been as productive as the 95’ season.
That season was one of my best; I think we totaled about 35 birds.
I found that my favorite sites were being over hunted so I hung up the
grouse gun and moved on to pheasants. My
daughters and I have kept and eye on our favorite areas, and last year we began
to spot a rise in the populations.
The weather in Washington has been good for the grouse, though rising coyote populations take their toll on these fine birds. That is one reason I shoot any coyotes I see on site, they not only destroy the upland game populations, but affect the deer populations as well.
| Scouting for grouse is relatively easy, they like the new, tender vegetation that grows along side of newly cut firebreaks and logging roads. Grouse need to “gravel” to help their digestive system, so they can be found along the edges of these roads and trails. Grouse get their water from the vegetation they consume, so there is no requirement for a stream or pond to be in the area. |
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Grouse usually habitat the same area, when they flush they head for the trees and when pursued travel no more the 100 yards to the next haven until the pursuit stops. When scouting note the direction which they flush, don’t chase for the second flush, you can do this during season. Grouse also like alder stands that are about 4 to 5 years old. This type of cover is a challenge for spotting the ruffed grouse but can be very productive in the hunt.
Grouse achieve a 7 year population cycle, from almost over population to only two or three birds per coveys. I believe that the population low was during the last year and now they are on the rebound. In the interest of conservation, we do not wipe out the whole coveys but try to leave some breeding couples to insure that we have a good population for next year.
We like hunting grouse in the evenings after a hard day of work, thus we concentrate on coveys that inhabits the lower elevations. The coveys that populate higher elevations are on a different time line so if you are an avid grouse hunter, you can hunt both ecological zones and bag grouse every year.
Many states allow shooting grouse with .22 rifles, this is good when on long straight trails or roads, my weapon of choice is a double-barreled 12 gauge, and using #4 lead shot. You may think this is an over kill for these small birds but when they flush to cover the #4 will cut right through the vegetation. The shot will also travel through the birds, this is a plus when eating, I have not seen allot of #4 in the cooked birds. Big game hunters also shoot with large bore rifles, this can be productive but expensive on ammunition and you have to be very careful where you hit the birds, to have enough left for dinner.
During recent scouting outings, we spotted coveys of 4 to 8 birds. This season looks like it will be an excellent one. With a three month season here in Washington, you can grouse hunt before the ducks start moving and hone your fast shooting skills.
Miller