Tracking grouse

[MaxxiD]

I went out by myself today, to Harold creek area. Had a walk around in a familiar spot. On the way out I notice a bunch of fresh grouse tracks, so I hang around that area for about an hour, following tracks, kicking up brush trying to flush something. No avail. I sat there and ate my lunch, scanning the trees for birds. Nothing

Eventually I went back to the truck, drove up the road looking for cut lines. Followed one into the bush and thought to myself "this looks Grousy". Saw heaps of fresh tracks and again, followed them, tried kicking up brush, thrashing a stick around in hidey holes, scanning the trees and eventually, aimlessly walking around. Absolutely nothing!

Question here is; What am I doing wrong? Where are they all. I was out there between 9am til 2.30pm. I thought I would've flushed at least one by pure perseverance.

Was I too late? Too quiet? Am I too good looking to frighten a grouse in to flushing?

[sjemac]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

I went out by myself today, to Harold creek area. Had a walk around in a familiar spot. On the way out I notice a bunch of fresh grouse tracks, so I hang around that area for about an hour, following tracks, kicking up brush trying to flush something. No avail. I sat there and ate my lunch, scanning the trees for birds. Nothing

Eventually I went back to the truck, drove up the road looking for cut lines. Followed one into the bush and thought to myself "this looks Grousy". Saw heaps of fresh tracks and again, followed them, tried kicking up brush, thrashing a stick around in hidey holes, scanning the trees and eventually, aimlessly walking around. Absolutely nothing!

Question here is; What am I doing wrong? Where are they all. I was out there between 9am til 2.30pm. I thought I would've flushed at least one by pure perseverance.

Was I too late? Too quiet? Am I too good looking to frighten a grouse in to flushing?

Maybe somewhat late. We had this one by 9:00 this morning. But really it is a tough slog without a dog. I drove with the mutts on some back roads until we cut a track and then released the hounds. We only cut three tracks and this was the one that flushed. Aspen is still a pup but even her bashing around cluelessly is better than a guy on his own. Even a mongrel with no training can put enough pressure on birds to flush.

Problem with this pup is I kept losing track of her in the snow. You can do it without a dog, but having one helps even the slow days put the game on the ground.

[IMG]Untitled by Scott MacDonald, on Flickr[/IMG]

[MaxxiD]

Originally Posted by sjemac

Maybe somewhat late. We had this one by 9:00 this morning. But really it is a tough slog without a dog. I drove with the mutts on some back roads until we cut a track and then released the hounds. We only cut three tracks and this was the one that flushed. Aspen is still a pup but even her bashing around cluelessly is better than a guy on his own. Even a mongrel with no training can put enough pressure on birds to flush.

Problem with this pup is I kept losing track of her in the snow. You can do it without a dog, but having one helps even the slow days put the game on the ground.

[IMG]Untitled by Scott MacDonald, on Flickr[/IMG]

So, what you're saying is, I should make friends with someone who has a bird dog haha

They cannot just vanish though, they are there somewhere

[Smoky buck]

Have you considered walking slow being quiet and using your eyes/ears instead of trying to be load trying to flush them?

I see more grouse slowly moving through mixed timber or walking overgrown seismic lines then crashing around. A lot of ruff grouse run/walk off rather then flush. You will also see more rabbits moving slow and quiet too

[sjemac]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

So, what you're saying is, I should make friends with someone who has a bird dog haha

They cannot just vanish though, they are there somewhere

Usually they are running ahead of you. They can easily out move you in brush. The advice of acting like you are stalking deer instead of flushing grouse will get you more birds-- but not nearly as many as a dog.

Find the areas a day or two before with tracks and then get in early and work like you're hunting a buck instead of a bird.

[MaxxiD]

I figured that might be what is happening. All the tracks were very fresh. I feel like I was doing a good mixture of creeping and crashing haha

I will try again next weekend I guess. They are definitely there

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

I figured that might be what is happening. All the tracks were very fresh. I feel like I was doing a good mixture of creeping and crashing haha

I will try again next weekend I guess. They are definitely there

Then go slow stop and listen. If you flush a flock into the trees they call to each other if you stay still and listen. At least 50% of the grouse I see in the bush I hear first either them walking or calling between each other. Spruce grouse flocks when flushed into the trees are really easy if you listen for the calling to each other

Like hunting any other animal if there is lots of sign and you are not seeing a thing odds are your doing it wrong so change something lol

[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.

[Smoky buck]

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.

Ok you are the only person I have ever heard of to set up a blind to hunt a grouse. That truly is dedication and a bird you put in the work for

You need to post a pic of this bird that drove you to madness to the point of laying in ambush for 3 days

[MaxxiD]

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.

I was wondering if this kind of approach would work. I don't know if I would set up a blind, maybe hide behind a bush or summin

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

I was wondering if this kind of approach would work. I don't know if I would set up a blind, maybe hide behind a bush or summin

I will place bets it is not a tactic that will get you numbers

[sjemac]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

I was wondering if this kind of approach would work. I don't know if I would set up a blind, maybe hide behind a bush or summin

It will if it at a regular and plentiful food source. We used to sit at the bases of old apple trees and pick off the birds as they flew into old orchards for a feed in the evening.

[BCSteel]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Ok you are the only person I have ever heard of to set up a blind to hunt a grouse. That truly is dedication and a bird you put in the work for



You need to post a pic of this bird that drove you to madness to the point of laying in ambush for 3 days

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.

[Speckle55]

Hi MaxxiD

the grouse were roosted all ready

did you check the tracks to see what kind of grouse

Spruce grouse are smaller and have a differn't gait

keep trying as we have and do track them down if fresh snow

remember Spruce grouse will flutter too tree after tree a bit

but will answer or talk ... ... guck guck guck

will get a answer if they are talking Spruce grouse

Ruffed Grouse on cold days try to get high for the morning sun and buds on aspen poplars

but in fresh snow are easy to track if you go slow and watch ahead

was out same time the other day (on ground)

David

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

I went out by myself today, to Harold creek area. Had a walk around in a familiar spot. On the way out I notice a bunch of fresh grouse tracks, so I hang around that area for about an hour, following tracks, kicking up brush trying to flush something. No avail. I sat there and ate my lunch, scanning the trees for birds. Nothing

Eventually I went back to the truck, drove up the road looking for cut lines. Followed one into the bush and thought to myself "this looks Grousy". Saw heaps of fresh tracks and again, followed them, tried kicking up brush, thrashing a stick around in hidey holes, scanning the trees and eventually, aimlessly walking around. Absolutely nothing!

Question here is; What am I doing wrong? Where are they all. I was out there between 9am til 2.30pm. I thought I would've flushed at least one by pure perseverance.

Was I too late? Too quiet? Am I too good looking to frighten a grouse in to flushing?

[MaxxiD]

Originally Posted by Speckle55

Hi MaxxiD

the grouse were roosted all ready

did you check the tracks to see what kind of grouse

Spruce grouse are smaller and have a differn't gait

keep trying as we have and do track them down if fresh snow

remember Spruce grouse will flutter too tree after tree a bit

but will answer or talk ... ... guck guck guck

will get a answer if they are talking Spruce grouse

Ruffed Grouse on cold days try to get high for the morning sun and buds on aspen poplars

but in fresh snow are easy to track if you go slow and watch ahead

was out same time the other day (on ground)

David

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try again next weekend. I'll get there earlier and leave later I think

Nice birds there btw

[MaxxiD]

Still cannot find these grouse! I'm not willing to give up just yet though. Gonna switch up the zone next week.

It was windy today though, that might've been a factor

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

Still cannot find these grouse! I'm not willing to give up just yet though. Gonna switch up the zone next week.

It was windy today though, that might've been a factor

Wind and rain make a huge difference those are the days to stay home or go fishing

[alacringa]

Nothing beats a well-trained pointing dog on ruffed grouse...

[MaxxiD]

Originally Posted by alacringa

Nothing beats a well-trained pointing dog on ruffed grouse...

That is mean of you haha. Good job, good looking dog, great photo

No bird dog for me though, maybe one day

[JRF]

Went out about two weeks back on one of those nice warm days and walked half the day without seeing a single bird.

Went out to cut an xmas tree and the dog put two birds up in 20 minutes! of course no gun when the birds show up.

[kujoseto]

Originally Posted by alacringa

Nothing beats a well-trained pointing dog on ruffed grouse...

What kind of dog?
My kids have determined I need to get a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever if we ever get them a dog, but they exclaimed “that’s a really pretty dog” at yours.

[kilgoretrout]

Its either a Brittany or a springer but looks more like a Brittany because it looks more tall and lanky

[alacringa]

Originally Posted by kujoseto

What kind of dog?
My kids have determined I need to get a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever if we ever get them a dog, but they exclaimed “that’s a really pretty dog” at yours.

Brittany. I don't want to take the OP's post in a different direction, though - if you want dog info, feel free to PM me.

[Red Bullets]

I have on occasion encountered ruffed grouse in snow nests/roosts in snow a foot or more deep. Only during really cold windy weather. I walked right by one at 5 feet and it didn't flush. I didn't notice it until my way back in my same tracks and it stuck it's head up out of the snow.

[Dick84]

I was deer hunting with a buddy a few weeks ago and he mentioned randomly that on his way driving out most nights he noticed that he would see alot of grouse skylined in the younger poplar/birch stands. Sure enough on our way out just after sunset that night we counted an easy dozen in the trees eating buds along the road. So thinking this was maybe a pattern I went down the same road last evening about half hour before sunset and sure enough on the way out in the last 30 minutes of legal light I saw 5 and got 3 of them.
We're in Northern Ontario but still something to maybe keep in mind.

[DRhunter]

Had a little luck this last week out for a late afternoon stroll before the big snowstorm hit! Ended up with 2 Ruffies and a rabbit!



DR


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[brass410]

looks like dinner to me! nice smoke pole I love a double for birds and bunnies in the bush.

[Roamer]

My experience is similar to Smoky Buck’s, I agree with what he says. I also agree with JFR, haha, I often run into Ruffed ground when I’m not looking for them / it is inopportune to harvest them (stalking a deer). I echo the recommendation of slowing it down and being quiet, they just run off if you scare them while they are what they deem a safe distance away from you.

I think using dogs would require some training. I have a two rotty crosses, one is 1/2 rotty 1/2 bloodhound, I think he’s got a good sniffer. One day while walking a power line with my wife and both dogs, the dogs both walked right past a grouse about 5 yards away. The grouse just stood there, frozen. It was out of season so I left him be. Made me laugh at my dogs though. Heaven forbid a squirrel be in the area though, they must be the sworn mortal enemy of my dogs! My dogs go nuts trying to get them, but of course they never do. It’s funny to watch though.

[-JR-]

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

[DRhunter]

Originally Posted by brass410

looks like dinner to me! nice smoke pole I love a double for birds and bunnies in the bush.

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

DR