Questions from a beginner

[Northway]

Looking for some advice from experienced grouse hunters:

What steps would you recommend someone new to the sport taking before engaging in a hunt? (Outside of acquiring the right gear)

Which areas of Central Washington would be good for a beginner to frequent?

Generally, what can I do to work towards being able to hunt grouse effectively?

I know a number of hunters, but no one who is more than casually interested in grouse. Thanks in advance for any knowledge you can provide.

[h20hunter]

All my grouse hunting as been done while deer hunting. I find them along the blocked off roads picking at gravel. I suppose there are two ways to hunt. Get a nice over under 20g and a dog and have at it. Or, road hunt on foot and blast them where they stand.

I'm a road hunt on foot and blast them where they stand.

[Stilly bay]

What steps would you recommend someone new to the sport taking before engaging in a hunt? (Outside of acquiring the right gear)


Generally, what can I do to work towards being able to hunt grouse effectively?

I am somewhat obsessed with grouse, I have been hunting them ( mostly on the west side) since I was a kid. I would say out side of getting a good dog, the best thing you could do toward becoming a serious grouse hunter is learn how to identify grouse holding cover, feeding cover-aka food sources- and roosting cover. some covers are better than others and many are only productive for a decade or so. you can find grouse just about anywhere in the woods, but if you want to find grouse consistently, you would do well to key in on the bits of cover they prefer.

remember, 99.9% of what has been written about grouse hunting pertains to the midwest to east coast. in washington the plants and terrain are bit different, so it wouldn't hurt to talk to a biologist or two. you will soon learn that despite what many people think grouse and gravel roads are not bound to each other.
 

Which areas of Central Washington would be good for a beginner to frequent?

I would look for any wooded area, if it has an abundance of aspens grouse are usually there.  although I have kicked them up in some very un-grousey places on the eastside.

[Glockster]

Focus on the east slopes of the cascades national forest land.  Water will be where they're at if it stays dry next week..especially the ruffeds.

After you shoot the first one, pluck around the neck and open the crop to see what its been eating then look for that food source. 

[Special T]

 
On the west side  you can often do qhite well walking old loggin roads just after a rain. I've killed a fair share of grouse and rabbits this way. They love the salmon, and huckleberries, in addition to new growth on certain trees. If you are good at picking shapes out of the thick you can kill lots of grouse. 
Does anyone have a good book recomendation that talks alot about coastal hunting of grouse for here on the west coast? I would love to know.

[Stilly bay]

Does anyone have a good book recomendation that talks alot about coastal hunting of grouse for here on the west coast? I would love to know.

I will send you an autographed copy when I am done writing it.

[Curly]

Try to find grouse articles that Dave Workman has written.  I'm not sure if he still writes grouse articles, but I think I read all of them that he wrote for H&F News.  I don't subscribe to NW Sportsman magazine, but I bet he has some articles in there.......

[Dhoey07]

A great place to start would be the thickest, nastiest swamp you can find  Grouse will be there.  Not an easy way to hunt and you will hear 5x for than you actually see, but no better way to hunt them in my book.  Another way to locate grouse is to spend some time in the woods during the spring and listen for drumming. 

[Northway]

Thanks for the information. I'll have to wait a couple of years more for the dog, but hopefully I learn enough to still have some success in the meantime.

[Woodchuck]

Here is the best surefire tip to see grouse in the woods. Put a stalk on any big game animal in seaon and you have a tag for, when you are just about to a good place to take the shot one or more will EXPLODE out from the nearest piece of brush to you. After your heart attack and the big game animal has run off due to the noise shoot your grouse. 

[Fishnfowler]

Find some closed off logging roads that have been seeded in clover.  Go there after the first few frosts have killed everything else off.  Don't even need a dog.  Be sure of your quarry.  Take some time to shoot clays first so you become comfortable with your weapon and can handle it without shooting your foot off.  If you haven't taken hunter ed, I strongly believe you should. 

[sticknstringman]

PM sent

[magnanimous_j]

I would love a push in the right direction for finding a place to get a couple within 2 hours of Seattle.

[WA hunter14]

ill pm you the best west side grouse spot i have ever seen because i am moving and will not be able to hunt it

[magnanimous_j]

I don't even need the best spot. Any spot will do. I don't understand the regs at all.

[GrousePointer]

After 4+ years in Michigan I'm finally moving back to the northwest. Grouse hunting is something of a religion to guys out there and I've learned a good amount from some of them.

My advice goes like this.

1. Hunt the food, not the bird.
2. Hunt in the early morning or more towards the end of the day.
3. Buy a pointing dog from Coverdog lines. They are used in ruffed grouse field trials and the lines are generally proven on wild birds. A Pointer from a place like HiFive Kennels or any number of other coverdog breeders would serve you well.

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

[Stilly bay]

After 4+ years in Michigan I'm finally moving back to the northwest. Grouse hunting is something of a religion to guys out there and I've learned a good amount from some of them.

My advice goes like this.

1. Hunt the food, not the bird.
2. Hunt in the early morning or more towards the end of the day.
3. Buy a pointing dog from Coverdog lines. They are used in ruffed grouse field trials and the lines are generally proven on wild birds. A Pointer from a place like HiFive Kennels or any number of other coverdog breeders would serve you well.

After 4+ years in Michigan I'm finally moving back to the northwest. Grouse hunting is something of a religion to guys out there and I've learned a good amount from some of them.

3. Buy a pointing dog from Coverdog lines. They are used in ruffed grouse field trials and the lines are generally proven on wild birds. A Pointer from a place like HiFive Kennels or any number of other coverdog breeders would serve you well.

is michigan cover as thick as western washington rain forest?

I have often thought about getting a dog from coverdog lines, but its my understanding they range pretty wide in the woods. a dog roaming 200+ yards in the western Wa Jungle would be a bloody nightmare to catch up to even if you did have an astro. although our birds are dumb enough to sit and wait for you even if it takes half the day to find them and your dog.

[GrousePointer]

I got asked about the thickness of the cover out here by guys out in MI a lot. I can only say it's different and just as easy to lose a dog in. When you can't even swing your gun without hitting a branch...

I've seen dogs from coverdog breedings that range 100-500 yards. I've heard of some guys who let them stretch it out to 700 on some casts. I don't like that but that's how some guys like to hunt their dogs in the woods. The thing to remember is those dogs are all about objectives. Moving at a slower pace in unproductive cover is seen as wasted time.

It's all in how you train them to handle.

To be frank, my dogs don't come from such lines. But I'll probably take a long hard look at coverdog stuff when my current crew starts to grey.

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

[bearpaw]

Northway
I'm not sure where in central Washington you live but forest grouse need cover so look for certain types of areas in the forest. There are three species of forest grouse in Washington. Ruffed grouse love thick brush and snow berries, those are the white berries you see on knee to waist high brush in the fall. Blue grouse love open ridges and steep ground so look to the more open forested ridges and sidehills. Spruce grouse love thick high elevation lodgepole pine forests. There are far more ruffies and blues in Washington, there are only spruce in certain pockets of the state.

We, me and my close hunting buddies probably killed thousands of grouse before we ever even thought of owning a bird dog. Of all the upland bird hunting, you need the dog less for forest grouse than for any other bird hunting. Look in the hunting regs and call the nearest WDFW Regional office, tell them you are new to hunting and you would like to talk to the biologist who would know the most about hunting forest grouse in the area that you want to hunt. Usually these local biologists are pretty helpful about telling you some good areas to check out. If nobody at WDFW will help you, post it here in this topic, I'm sure someone will find you some help one way or the other.

Either get out and hike in the type of areas mentioned or drive mountain roads in those types of areas. but you will likely find more grouse using your feet than driving if there is much hunting pressure in your area.
Good Luck,
Dale

[BB]

Find some closed off logging roads that have been seeded in clover.  Go there after the first few frosts have killed everything else off.  Don't even need a dog.  Be sure of your quarry.  Take some time to shoot clays first so you become comfortable with your weapon and can handle it without shooting your foot off.  If you haven't taken hunter ed, I strongly believe you should. 

Dont you need to take the hunter ed course to purchase any type of hunting license in WA??

[BigGoonTuna]

i do most of my grouse hunting in river and creek bottoms.  to me, grousy areas are logging roads with dark reprod on one side, and alder thickets on the other with green leafy stuff along the road.  grouse like berries, cascara, elderberry and snowberry bushes.

my rules of thumb:
if you have a shotgun, they'll flush 100 yards ahead of you.
if you have a .22, they'll flush 3 feet behind you.
if you don't have a gun, they'll stand there in the road and stare at you until you get 15 feet away, then run off into the bushes.

[Forrestrover.02]

Dont you need to take the hunter ed course to purchase any type of
hunting license in WA??
[/quote]

It's not required if you were born before 1972.

[Special T]

i do most of my grouse hunting in river and creek bottoms.  to me, grousy areas are logging roads with dark reprod on one side, and alder thickets on the other with green leafy stuff along the road.  grouse like berries, cascara, elderberry and snowberry bushes.

my rules of thumb:
if you have a shotgun, they'll flush 100 yards ahead of you.
if you have a .22, they'll flush 3 feet behind you.
if you don't have a gun, they'll stand there in the road and stare at you until you get 15 feet away, then run off into the bushes.

Thats why i carry a savage model 24! 22lr over 20ga! I've still killed more with the front spokes of my bike than anything else! 

[Glockster]

i do most of my grouse hunting in river and creek bottoms.  to me, grousy areas are logging roads with dark reprod on one side, and alder thickets on the other with green leafy stuff along the road.  grouse like berries, cascara, elderberry and snowberry bushes.

my rules of thumb:
if you have a shotgun, they'll flush 100 yards ahead of you.
if you have a .22, they'll flush 3 feet behind you.
if you don't have a gun, they'll stand there in the road and stare at you until you get 15 feet away, then run off into the bushes.

Thats why i carry a savage model 24! 22lr over 20ga! I've still killed more with the front spokes of my bike than anything else! 

Stevens .22/20 .....best grouse gun ever!

[Special T]

I've killed my fair share of rabbits and grouse with that combo gun... I'm hoping with the new model 42 that they are making they offer it up in .243 12 ga for the best of all worlds. That would be a gun right there for killing predators and such, or even deer/bear hunting with some bird shot for those grouse that always pop uP!

[Glockster]

There used to be a company called Valmet (I believe) back in the 80's.  They made all kinds of crazy over/under combo's. 

Maybe Workman remembers them?

[AWS]

They still are, they are called the Finn Classic now.

http://www.doublegunhq.com/Finnclassic.pdf