Post by: Northway on August 20, 2012, 11:15:32 AM
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.
Post by: h20hunter on August 20, 2012, 11:18:58 AM
I'm a road hunt on foot and blast them where they stand.
Post by: Stilly bay on August 20, 2012, 12:34:13 PM
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.
Post by: Glockster on August 21, 2012, 10:07:05 AM
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.
Post by: Special T on August 21, 2012, 02:35:28 PM
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. :twocents:
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.
Post by: Stilly bay on August 21, 2012, 02:56:51 PM
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.
Post by: Curly on August 21, 2012, 03:01:18 PM
Post by: Dhoey07 on August 21, 2012, 03:04:09 PM
Post by: Northway on August 22, 2012, 10:05:25 AM
Post by: Woodchuck on August 22, 2012, 10:17:27 AM
Post by: Fishnfowler on August 22, 2012, 11:26:42 AM
Post by: sticknstringman on August 23, 2012, 01:14:07 AM
Post by: magnanimous_j on August 30, 2012, 02:59:37 PM
Post by: WA hunter14 on August 30, 2012, 03:04:29 PM
Post by: magnanimous_j on August 30, 2012, 06:23:23 PM
Post by: GrousePointer on September 01, 2012, 08:22:43 AM
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
Post by: Stilly bay on September 01, 2012, 06:29:20 PM
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.:yeah:
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.
Post by: GrousePointer on September 10, 2012, 05:12:21 AM
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
Post by: bearpaw on September 10, 2012, 05:40:22 AM
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
Post by: BB on September 12, 2012, 10:18:32 PM
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??
Post by: BigGoonTuna on September 13, 2012, 07:49:54 AM
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. :chuckle:
Post by: Forrestrover.02 on September 13, 2012, 06:37:15 PM
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.
Post by: Special T on September 14, 2012, 07:19:14 AM
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. :chuckle:
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! :chuckle:
Post by: Glockster on September 14, 2012, 07:48:30 AM
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. :chuckle:
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! :chuckle:
Stevens .22/20 .....best grouse gun ever!
Post by: Special T on September 14, 2012, 10:16:59 AM
Post by: Glockster on September 14, 2012, 03:00:53 PM
Maybe Workman remembers them?
Post by: AWS on September 14, 2012, 05:22:56 PM
http://www.doublegunhq.com/Finnclassic.pdf (http://www.doublegunhq.com/Finnclassic.pdf)