Grouse 2022

[Fletch]

Anybody know when Grouse season opens in 2022.  Will it be the 10th or the 17th? or back to the 1st?

[millerwheeler]

17th I was told , but it’s extended at the end so don’t really lose any days

[bobcat]

Should be September 15th.

[sagerat]

17th I was told , but it’s extended at the end so don’t really lose any days

You lose those prime early September days in the high country, perfect for kids. Thanks again WDFW.

[MtnMuley]

Should be September 15th.

No. It SHOULD be Septerber 1.

[bobcat]

Should be September 15th.

No. It SHOULD be Septerber 1.

I agree but it's not. I was pretty sure it was the 15th last year and again this year.

[BLDtraLR]

Should be September 15th.

No. It SHOULD be Septerber 1.

    AGREED  Archery guy's get screwed again   Hopefully this goes back to the 1st next year. Didn't and don't really see any difference it made. Guess i'll just throw rocks again this year :'(

[duckmen1]

I was amazed with how few grouse I saw last year. And I went to a lot of different areas. Although I didn't designate a lot of time specifically tageting grouse. I spent a lot of time afield. Spring, summer, fall. And numbers were terrible. Sure I could go and taget them and find a few if I designated time in prime areas but its a far cry from 8 to 10 years back.

[Tenkara]

https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/migratory-waterfowl-upland-game

[opdinkslayer]

Probably gonna be a poor grouse year with this cold wet spring.😞

[RobinHoodlum]

Not to sound too jerky or cynical here, but if you believe we didn't lose days, you should get out and hunt for blue grouse grouse the first 2 weeks of January. What a farce!

Secondly, hoping DFW is going to reinstate the September 1 opening date is living in Dreamland. Doesn't align with their approach or philosophy for managing grouse. They invented a population level concern/issue with the wing barrel data and will now try use it to demonstrate their genius and maintain the reduction in opportunity. I have a terrible short term memory, but don't recall any discussion of this being a trial basis or potential reinstatement.

That cranky BS aside, I thought grouse abundance last year - particularly west side - was not drastically lower than years past. Admittedly wasn't out as much though. Wet weather slopping into May is not ideal for this season. Hopefully it shuts down soon.

[sagerat]

Yeah we’re not getting that September 1 opener back. If anything it’ll just get worse. Somebody has to validate all the wing research somehow though so why not screw with something that’s not broke.

[hunter399]

That's what just blows my mind.
They went to Sept 15 opener. Then tried to create a spring permit season durring breeding in the spring.

Does that sound like a good idea.
Then the spring permit season got shot down,but the September 15 opener still stands.

I still think that grouse numbers are on the way up.
Should be a great season.

[444Marlin]

Probably gonna be a poor grouse year with this cold wet spring.😞

We should be concerned about avian flu and how that is going to impact the birds. 
Last year was an amazing ruffed grouse year in the areas I was hunting.

[sawyer]

Does anybody know if anything ever came of the proposal to open a spring hoot hunt here in WA? I remember last year or the year before there was a proposal to open a spring hunt for blue grouse males only. That would be such a fun new opportunity. I'm sure it got shot down but I've never heard any follow up about it. I've already ran into a handful of hooting males around 3000 ft elevation this spring.

[Skyvalhunter]

I never heard anything more. When they shifted the fall season it was to allow the grouse a couple more weeks to grow. With the grouse population being so cyclic I think an additional spring hooter season might hurt the population as the birds are easier to locate unlike the fall.

[Broomd]

Concerned at this point with the prospect of any '22 grouse chicks.
We've had an absolutely horrendous Spring here in North Idaho.

Awful! Hard to imagine decent chick numbers surviving.

[Dave Workman]

I'm Ready! 

[Dave Workman]

Concerned at this point with the prospect of any '22 grouse chicks.
We've had an absolutely horrendous Spring here in North Idaho.

Awful! Hard to imagine decent chick numbers surviving.

Don't discount the possibility of a late second hatch. 

[bornhunter]

The best thing wdfw could do for grouse is to make us only shoot male grouse.

[Skyvalhunter]

No only Trans grouse

[phildobaggins]

No only Trans grouse

 

[bobcat]

The best thing wdfw could do for grouse is to make us only shoot male grouse.

With blue grouse, maybe, but that would be nearly impossible with ruffed grouse.

And you'd be forced to only shoot grouse on the ground or in a tree, which some people actually consider to be unethical.   

[bornhunter]

The best thing wdfw could do for grouse is to make us only shoot male grouse.

With blue grouse, maybe, but that would be nearly impossible with ruffed grouse.

And you'd be forced to only shoot grouse on the ground or in a tree, which some people actually consider to be unethical.   

I was joking you know. 

[Dave Workman]

The best thing wdfw could do for grouse is to make us only shoot male grouse.

With blue grouse, maybe, but that would be nearly impossible with ruffed grouse.

And you'd be forced to only shoot grouse on the ground or in a tree, which some people actually consider to be unethical.   

 

I've never considered it unethical to shoot grouse off a tree limb or on the ground. But I'm from around here and my ancestors knew the difference between following somebody else's "ethics" and having a tasty grouse dinner. 

I have actually encountered grouse that absolutely refused to fly! It was like they were wondering "What's your problem?" as they kept moving to get out of my way. This is how blue grouse became known as "fool hens."