Grouse Hunting

[H20fwler]

We used to have a decent population of grouse in Ohio when I was younger in the southern part of the state. Never really had a lot of them but enough to hunt, four or five of us would chase them and maybe get one or two and flush a dozen with a day of hiking up and down the southern Ohio hills. I think I shot my first one when I was in Junior High and maybe a dozen or so total over twenty plus hunts...the last twenty years there haven't even been enough of a population to try and hunt them.

So my boys and I were talking a couple months ago about grouse and decided to go up to the UP in Michigan. With our schedules we couldn't hit the early season so decided on this past weekend. I gleaned the internet and picked a county that looked promising and we went for a road trip this past Thursday.
Neither of my boys had ever shot a grouse before, I tried to tell them how fast grouse break out and go and they thought they new it all being accomplished duck and pheasant hunters...Ha!

Well Friday morning was the boys first crack at it...we had around eight flushes on birds that had been hunted and miles of walking...and a couple missed shots and a pair of humbled young hunters. We broke for lunch and a rest regrouped and went out for round two in the afternoon.
It was like a dream come true for us...over thirty flushes in a couple hours, plenty of misses but quite a few hits.

Oldest boys first grouse ever;

Youngest boys first;

Youngest with the first snowshoe hare we have ever seen;

The grouse were eating small clover and some minty smelling plant;

It was a great weekend Friday was the best day, we saw lots of birds and Dad even got some shooting....there is nothing in the world like hunting with and spending time with my boys.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Excellent hunt !! I love to grouse hunt - so I can appreciate your story. Hunting with your sons or daughters is just the best.
Those grouse are all the " gray phase " variety. Here in Pa. we see the rusty, chestnut version. They're all handsome birds !! Congrats to all of you guys. Enjoy the eating.

 

[H20fwler]

Excellent hunt !! I love to grouse hunt - so I can appreciate your story. Hunting with your sons or daughters is just the best.
Those grouse are all the " gray phase " variety. Here in Pa. we see the rusty, chestnut version. They're all handsome birds !! Congrats to all of you guys. Enjoy the eating.

Thanks, it's the first gray phase I've ever gotten. We boraxed the fans and pinned them out on cardboard, I skinned one rooster out from the ears down and pinned and boraxed it to save and ad to the garage wall décor.

I think I like eating grouse better than anything else I've ever had. I'll take it over steak/prime rib/crab legs or lobster for the best tasting thing on a plate, my wife even loves eating grouse.
For all the work in getting them I always jokingly say they have to be worth $100 an ounce!

 

[yoderjac]

Great pics! I used to love to grouse hunt when I lived in central PA. For some reason, even on what looks to me like the same kind of habitat that grouse love in PA, I find no grouse in VA. I know there are some here and the department is looking to increase habitat. Most must be in a different part of the state.

I do have to say, you pictures show great success. In the habitat I hunted in PA, we found a lot of grouse but shot much more air than grouse!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Great pics! Sounds like a a great day afield. A lot of good memories right there!

 

[Peplin Creek]

I grew up hunting grouse with my dad in northern Wisconsin. When I was a teen, we could walk logging roads for hours and it wasn’t uncommon to jump 40 birds in a day without a dog. Go through a box of shells. Get into coveys of birds and literally couldn’t reload a shotgun fast enough as they kept flushing. I don’t think there is a better small game to hunt when your with family. Walk miles and still be able to have a normal conversation with a person and not have to whisper. Congrats on a successful hunt.

 

[Bill]

Glad Peplin bumped this thread. I missed it in November. As a kid I shot boxes of shells at those things. Never killed one. I could never get past being startled by the flushing fast enough to actually make a good shot.

 

[Peplin Creek]

Glad Peplin bumped this thread. I missed it in November. As a kid I shot boxes of shells at those things. Never killed one. I could never get past being started by the flushing fast enough to actually make a good shot.

I know right... I still to this day don’t think I ever aim at them. My best luck is to try and use the barrel of the gun as if I am pointing my finger at them.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

They STILL scare the crap out of me when they flush !! I had one flush as I was creeping to a stand for deer a few days ago and I jumped like a first-timer. Best bird flying - IMO.