Appalachian Grouse Hunting Areas/Tips?
After shooting skeet for the first time a few months ago, I've felt desperate to move beyond just hunting big game and do some upland wing shooting.
I've got the gun and ammo for the job---12ga Winchester SXP shooting 7.5 shot---but I need to find out where it's worth burning some serious rubber (and cash for licenses) to flush ruffs.
I'm a grad student in DC (living across the district line in MD), but I come back to the SE Tennessee/NW Georgia area for Christmas break. I hear that near there the Cherokee Natl. Forest near Tellico Plains and the Cohutta Wilderness Area are good, high-altitude places. The latter looks really cool, but as a non-resident of GA I'm apprehensive about dishing out $173 just to hunt on a WMA/Wilderness Area that may or may not have any grouse to speak of.
Don't have a dog, but will be hunting with 1-2 others. I've been reading a good deal of articles that strongly suggest even without a dog I should still be able to find ruffs if I hunt the right habitat (usually thick laurels and conifers, especially along creeks at high elevations), stopping periodically to spook grouse into flushing rather than waiting for me to pass by. But as a weekend warrior who's busy with school during the semester, I'd rather know it's worth looking somewhere than go in not knowing whether there's a huntable grouse population at all.
Anyway, if anyone knows good grouse land within driving or camping trip distance of DC or the "tri-state" area (TN/GA/NC), I would greatly appreciate it.