Tracking grouse

[KGB]

Originally Posted by -JR-

So I am a little puzzled ,how and why would you track a bird when it can fly ?

Cause they RUN! They run like crazy, lol! They will fly but this is the last resort, they will run first.

[Blacktail22]

I have a chocolate lab that’s scared of grouse lol

[KegRiver]

I hunt grouse with a .22 so I don't want them to flush, can't help you there.

I assume you are talking Ruffies, Sharpies are a different hunt.

But finding Ruffies is a matter of walking bush roads and cutlines where there are grouse.

If I can spot them at a distance, or before they decide to head for cover I've got them, but once they head out, on foot of wing, they are gone.
I've tried following them but no dice, they move fast and keep cover between me and them.

Finding tracks only tells me they are in the area, not where they are at that moment. They could be just out of sight or half a mile away. Going after them will only spook them.

You can fool them into thinking you don't see them but if they think you are stalking them they will melt into the forest like a shadow.

My advice, don't act like you are hunting. Act like you are just traveling.
Walk slow and steady but keep an eye on the trail edge.

Or late in the day, at last light, watch the trees, they will get up high to look around before going to bed. Only watch the clock. You don't want to shoot after legal light ends.

The only birds I've had any luck finding by tracking them are Ptarmigan.
But they don't flush or run like grouse.
And often following tracks is the only way to spot them.

They can be ten feet away and if they don't move or you don't see tracks that end at the bird, you can look right at them, in the open, and not see them.

But I don't hunt Ptarmigan often, and when I do it's with a camera these days. I don't care for the meat, so prefer to let them be.

[Kawibunga]

Originally Posted by DRhunter

Looking forward to trying the rabbit as I have never had the the change to eat one

DR

Very curious as to how it turns out........ and good shooting!

[buckbrush]

Originally Posted by BCSteel

Ruffies are real runners so they are probably long gone through the bush if you're trying to flush them.

Couple years back there was a big male ruffie that I could never get close to. He would sit on a clover patch on a wet spot that had good view for about 80 yards in 3 directions with thick bush behind him and would run like the wind as soon as he saw any movement. I ended up hunting him out of a blind like a turkey. Took 3 days but it was worth it.

If they are hanging out under evergreens in snow free areas they are more reluctant to get their feet wet and more likely to let you get close even if noisy. If they are freely walking around on the snow they usually have no problem running off 100m or more if they hear you coming.

Now thats determination! No trophy photos to go with the story?

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by BCSteel

It started off as a joke to myself because really, who blind hunts a single grouse lol By the end of day two I'd seen no grouse, no other animals either. Day 3 the bird came out pretty early in the day and I was a lot more excited than I though I should be haha

I was a pretty bird, red tail and copper ruff if I remember right but nothing out of the ordinary other than being exceptionally wary.

I’ve noticed that the majority of ruffed grouse are not to timid however there are exceptions and like the bird you got I’ve also a few times encountered such intelligent specimens and they are always mature males.when they see you and immediately stretch there necks out like a rooster pheasant and start running you know your dealing with a smart animal.

I saw the same bird 3 times in 2019 before I finally shot him and it was a red copper bird too.That sucker ran again and instead of chasing him through the thick stuff I made a huge circle around him and waited where the thick stuff opened up and sure enough he came strutting out and my 410 broke the silence of the forest.