sproulman

to get a grouse here in wmu2g OF PA.after leaves are off and they are shot at,is very difficult to do..

1 thing i did see, if you have dog, any dog, setter, pointer, brittany ,whatever that hunts out far, like 30 yds and on,forget ever getting a grouse..

i dont care if they point the grouse..the only chance i see is if you have a dog that hunts close, i mean 20 yds max..

the only dog i have seen that is doing this is the LAB..they flush ,i dont like that but if you are 20 yds away with him, you will get a shot..

those pointing labs may be something that i have to see..

flushing is not bad at 20yds but is at 30 yds..a dog trained to hunt close is winner i see..

i saw pointers pointing a grouse this week at 30 yds..guess what happened, that grouse ran and flushed at 40 yds..no way to get shot..

that pointer stood there pointing and grouse was gone..if only that pointer hunted at 20 yds..that would be dog..

so, from what i am seeing,if you dont have dog that hunts close,flusher or pointer,watch bird fly away out of range..these spooky grouse will not sit until you get there to pull up to shoot..


it interesting that only dog i saw lately that would hunt close was the LAB..

birds

Hello, I live in Northern MI, Good Grouse hunting this year. One thing Ive learned orver the years is the more ya go out the more birds youll get.
Early season the birds are still together, After they have been flushed a few times they start splitting up , and yes you can chase the same dam bird again and again. the more ya chase em the quicker they flush. A good dog doesn't hurt.Its all about getting out and doing itHave Fun

birds

by the waqy I have a large britt at 50lb 's she's all muscle and likes to run but when we hunt she's all bussines, that god to training collars, she only gets out there to far about twice and then she stay close

Win70

I love partridge hunting, a trick I use is to always make noise w/ my feet while walking. You can pretty much get within 10 or 20 yards by doing this believe it or not. Once you stop making noise they get freaked out figuring they,ve been spotted by whatever is making the noise and flush. As long as I've been doing this it's proved effective. I limited out 6 days in a row doing this, making a total of 12 birds. Leave the dog at home, he'll only screw things up........Another thing I've found is that they are a pretty tough bird. I,ve him them w/ pheasant loads, I see feathers fly but the bird just keep going, they need to be hit hard. I even used turkey loads one year w/ a mixture of #4 & #5 pellets. Get home peel out the breasts, soak them in ice cold salt water for an hour and fry them w/ sweet basil. Happy Hunting.

sproulman

making noise as you say, i do agree with that..when you stop ,thats when grouse will flush not usually as you move..

as for dog, i agree there also..dog will flush more grouse that you cant get at..but, fun is not KILLING its hunting with dog..boring without dog..

last, here is where i disagree..on grouse you should never use below no.6 shot..not needed..

the bird is not tough they are just QUICK..1 PELLET WILL PUT THEM DOWN..a good dog comes in handy to find bird then..

i did a lot of research and thinking..it seemed when i used low brass target loads i killed more grouse than i missed.. i use 7 and 1/2..if you pattern your shotgun for distance you will shoot, 7 and 1/2 LOW BRASS target loads is awesome..

most of my shots here in pa. in oct are within 20 yds max..this is do to leaves on trees..so, i use a IMPROVED CYL choke..this choke is good all way to 35 yds..

then ,now when things get harder and leaves are off, i use MODIFIED CHOKE..

now, shots are 25 yds to 40 yds easy..

i can put over 100 pellets fronm 7 and 1/2 LOW brass at 35 yds with modified..remember, 1 pellet will kill a grouse in vitals, heart or head..

you get more pellets also..

dont play with high brass game and the pellet size game..no. 6 pellets are fine to but my favorite is 7 and 1/2..

NOW, why does sproul shoot so much better than others with 7 and 1/2,remember, been doing this for 50 years..

why, i took game loads out and shoot them at 35 yds, many pellets did not hit the 30 inch circle,i then took out the TARGET LOADS,guess what..i hit that 30 inch circle with over half pellets..

those target loads were same, 3 drams of powder, 1 oz of shot,low brass..

so, i cut open a shell of GAME LOADS,then i cut open shell of the TARGET LOADS..what do you think i found??

i found that the GAME LOADS pellets when i cut them with knife they were SOFTER than the TARGET LOADS that are used for skeet..

pellets were HARDER..

this is why i have used TARGET LOADS over game loads and i get better pellets down range..

now, if you are shooting at 25 yds max, game load is not different than the TARGET LOAD,but 25 and out, oh myyyyyyyyyyy!!

look at velocity on box of LOW BRASS, why anyone would use a HIGH BRASS on grouse is beyond me..low brass will have velocity of say 1290, the high brass will have velocity of 1330 but it DEFORMS the pellets going down barrel..

so less pellets past 25 yds get there..

this is why ole sproul can crack a grouse at times beyond 25 yds with 7 and 1/2 shot,its not my shooting its i use TARGET LOADS, LOW BRASS,3 DRAMS,1 OZ OF SHOT,in my 12 ga with MODIFIED choke..

pattern you shotgun with 7 and 1/2 low brass TARGET LOADS , i guarantee you will never, ever, need or use high brass or 1 and 1/8 shot or 1 and 1/4 shot or bigger pellets..

also ,only 2 chokes is all you should ever need..my 2 favorites are this in beretta uricka field..EARLY SEASON,improved cyl,LATE SEASON,modified..

i have used FULL chokebefore if i wanted a grouse at 60 yds, i stopped that foolishness and now let them fly aweay at that range..so, its 2 chokes low brass TARGET LOADS..

if anyone would like info on hunting grouse in the big woods, you can pm me and i will help..

again, this is not knock on any opinions on here, its just sharing what has/has not worked..most would not tell anyone these tricks to getting more grouse ..only thing i ask is, lkeave a few grouse for next year..

i never over hunt area i am in, i saw grouse wiped out because of over hunting..take care

Win70

Hunting is hunting.......I've killed more than my share of partridge, and are they ever good eating. If you want them a person needs to what he has to do to get them. I like using #4 shot for every bird I hunt. If I go through an area and the birds are flushing in close then the following day I use my 18" barrel w/ mod choke. If they are coming up at a good distance then I use the 26" barrel w/ full choke. Every Partridge I ever shot w/ field loads, well lets just say they could have been hit harder. I don't like chasing them around in the woods after I nail em. Mabe Ma birds are just nastier than the ones in your area. I like to drop them like a bad habit. Have you ever tried soaking the breasts in ice cold salt water and pulling out the carteledge that seperates the two halves and then fry them in oilve oil w/ some sweet basil. Even my Wife pushes me out the door to go partridge hunting and she doesn't like wild game.