Free: Contests & Raffles.
Sorry, suspect you know the answer, but in my opinion no dog = exercise. Just not the volume of birds to get lucky and step on many. Sure it happens but I'd bet the success rate is 1/20th of what you'd get with a decent dog.
Personally, I use 22 in Sep and early Oct when the grouse are not spooky. Later in the season they get really spooky, so I use a shotgun.Your best bet would be the logging roads (even a little overgrown, check the example below), especially if you find mixed trees and water sources near. And here we only hunt ruffed, dusky (blue) and spruce (never seen one of those). Dusky grouse are a little bigger and I tend to find them only at high elevations.