So i have only taken grouse incidentally while out doing something else. As I am nearing retirement I am wanting to expand my hunting, fishing, outdoor know how portfolio. For the guys that actually go target grouse what is the nack to going out and finding enough to make it a day?
Adding to what Boss said, I find the best hunting early morning and in the afternoon/evening hours along the gravel road edges way up in the mountains. Grouse will be there picking up pea gravel to help grind their daily intake in their gizzards. Mornings, look for them in small groups, and in the afternoons, you'll more likely see them solo.
I prefer blue grouse to ruffed, since they are bigger and you can spot them from a distance better. Along the old gravel roads, they like that tall grass which seems to grow well along the edges. They will creep back into the brush if they think you're moving in, and that's when you can get off the roadway, off the "right of way" as it were and shoot them. I've killed a lot of grouse that way.
Also, you may find them lingering around remote berry fields, and remember blue grouse are needle eaters. They stay up high. In the midday, I typically just relax, take a nap maybe, have a leisurely lunch, maybe breast out whatever bird(s) I may have conked in the morning, and if I feel energetic, I'll slide a couple of shells into my shotgun and beat the brush a little.
Good luck, and remember to have a camera along so you can share photos of your successful hunts!
