Grouse!!!

[hunterofelk]

I like to hunt blues, but have not found a good area in Washington yet.  I grew up hunting them in Montana in a more open forest and sage mix.  I could wait for and try the shots on the wing.  Here, in Washington, the grouse are mostly educated to fly early and out of shotgun range and there is more brush to get in the way.  I can see why most people here shoot them on the ground.  Just isn't fun for me.

[team goosebusters]

Here, in Washington, the grouse are mostly educated to fly early and out of shotgun range and there is more brush to get in the way.  I can see why most people here shoot them on the ground.  Just isn't fun for me.

and thats the reason i hunt them with a bolt action 22.

[Houndhunter]

I like to hunt blues, but have not found a good area in Washington yet.  I grew up hunting them in Montana in a more open forest and sage mix.  I could wait for and try the shots on the wing.  Here, in Washington, the grouse are mostly educated to fly early and out of shotgun range and there is more brush to get in the way.  I can see why most people here shoot them on the ground.  Just isn't fun for me.

hit certin wilderness areas and you'll run into a hundred or so a day, but you gotta hike

[Houndhunter]

is there a such thing as an educated grouse

[bobcat]

I love hunting blue grouse, and mostly, they don't just sit and wait to be shot. Course my experience has mostly been hunting them with dogs. There are lots of open areas you can find to hunt them in where you can shoot them on the fly. Just get on a ridgetop that has lots of berries. I've also found lots of blues feeding on old roads eating dandelions. I've seen their crops just crammed full of nothing but dandelions. So look for those dandelions and chances are there's going to be blue grouse around.

[Pat/Rick]

Haven't been seeing to many in So.Central WA the past couple of years.But I like the idea of four a day.

[teal101]

Go out on the FS roads after a good rain.  They all run to the road to sun and dry after the rain and they're just thick.

[Pat/Rick]

Know about the rain thing. There is unfortunantly alot of year round and other illegal hunting in the 500 units.

[ing]

I noticed!  I think its great!  Grouse are the best tasting game bird out there in my opinion.

[ing]

is there a such thing as an educated grouse

You bet there is.  I've had grouse flush at more than 100 yards.  Whenever I hunt them later in the year they are pretty spooky.

[Pathfinder101]

is there a such thing as an educated grouse

You bet there is.  I've had grouse flush at more than 100 yards.  Whenever I hunt them later in the year they are pretty spooky.

 

Agreed.  When I was a kid up here in the NE we used to shoot a limit almost every time we went for firewood after the 1st of September.  Down here in the blues you have to actively hunt them.  You see them on the roads here, but by the time you get out of the pickup and loaded, they're gone.  I think it has to do with the amount of predators in a given area.  We used to control predators better when I was a kid (70's and 80's- when you could still hunt bear and cougar with bait and dogs).  I think the more predators there are, the spookier they get. 
During elk season I always carry a grouse arrow.  I see a few birds, but usually get only one or two shots a year.  They just don't stick around.

[Tom Reichner]

hit certin wilderness areas and you'll run into a hundred or so a day, but you gotta hike

We hunted up high in the Pasayten for 3 days last September, and we only came across 3 Blue Grouse.  One grouse per day.  That's one grouse per every 8 or 10 miles covered.  A hundred a day would have been an unbelievable windfall!  I'll be very happy to "settle" for a half dozen flushes a day, once the season gets underway.  I just won't be going back to the Pasayten to hunt them.

[Dave Workman]

Haven't been seeing to many in So.Central WA the past couple of years.But I like the idea of four a day.

Grouse are cyclic, just like rabbits.

[ICEMAN]

For Dave or anyone else in the know....;

How have the eastern hatches fared this spring? They get wet or not?

[hogsniper]

I hope we have another good grouse year! I havent seen 100 but did see 33 in one day last year!  Hope its about the same this year!!!