Youngbuck41

I did go out on saturday and saw 8 just walking around the woods and got a few and saw another 8 on a firelane on the way back to my cabin.

warny

You are missing out on all the fun trying to hit those birds flying through the trees man...
Here you hunt ruffed grouse and walking in the grown up cuttings can be a real challenge. Having a good bird dog finding them only adds to it.
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I agree.
I've shot a pile of saplings grouse hunting.

mauser06

sproul...i must be against the odds here. im a PA grouse hunter. im usually a good mile from camp if not 2 before i even start flushing. but out of me and the buddies, im always the one with the limit and hoping to see a squirrel or something.

i will say that out of everywhere ive ever hunted in the state, that my buddies camp is rediculous. we average about 30 flushes per couple hour hunt. that aint no joke. sure, some may be the same birds..but often they arent..we change directions alot and dont chase the same birds. we cover ALOT of land. once we flushed something like 8 at one time. it was rediculous. ive never seen anything like that in my life. its almost uncommon to only flush one...well...id say for every single we flush we flush a double or triple as well. GREAT grouse hunting...i just wish my limit were higher...

i guess the numbers and great hunting is WHY im able to limit every time up there. only get up there maybe once or twice a year. if them guys could hit anything id worry about the population...but out of the rest of the guys that use that camp, they might kill 2 or 3 others a year lol.

back to the question...early season hunting is tough...the thickness of the woods makes it hard to see and get good shooting...but you cant hunt them from the couch.

the others are right...i dont have to pull the trigger to have a good grouse hunt. just bein out there with the buddies is a blast. if we flush birds, man its a great day. if we pull some triggers...icing on the cake.

we primarily hunt the late season up there. but its alot of treetops, saplings, old thick nasty fields and hemlocks and pines. so even though it aint green, its still thick and nasty. ive killed my fair share of saplings and limbs.

my secret, open choke and fine shot. i usually shoot a mod barrel and #8s..7.5s if they arent holding tight. also we go slow and quiet and stop frequently. almost tediously slow. kinda drives me bonkers. but thats how we get good flushes.

also found that small groups work best. 2-3 guys is all we really hunt with when we do well. we hunted with 5 or 6 one day and we didnt get one flush. having to yell to stay in line...yelling because the others walk too fast etc etc...2-3 guys that hunt well together works best. cant wait for this year. i may try my hand at early season hunting if i kill my buck in bow season if i can sneak away for a weekend.

early season id just go real slow and quiet and try to get real good flushes.

waterfowler1973

Going out grouse hunting for the first time - is there a time of day that is best or is about the same throughout the day? when people say to look for edges, what are they talking about?

Thanks

moosehunter21

I dont know bout yall but so far this year (Season opened sept.10) I have killed 34 grouse. Mostly all Ruffed and 9 of them were Spruce Grouse.

warny

How do you cook the spruce?
I shot 2 last year,and they sure were gamey.

sproulman

nice weather days,no problem finding grouse at any time of day..
nasty weather days, who knows..
i used to like early morning, but now i see more grouse at noon..

hunters do their best around noon also,i think its because grouse like to walk around after feeding in morning and kill their day.

sproulman

thats a lot of grouse..
i hunt almost every other day here in pa. during our season ,great hunting dog and i get around 10 grouse .
here in pa. road hunting is where you get grouse not in woods with dog.

do you use dog and what is habitat like?

moosehunter30

In the morning is when you will generallysee them out on trails, but you will see birdsthroughout theday. In the early season I like to walk really slowly down Quad trails and spot them in the bush, or standing right on the trail pecking clover.

sproulman

single shot will make you a good shot.
i used 1 for years and out shot all the semi shotguns that hunted with me.
nice and light to carry and great for POINTING a grouse where a swing is not always needed.

i use beretta urickafield semi12 ga with 28 inch barl,moved up to big bucks gun but it is best shotgun i ever shot for grouse/pheasants.
i bought it for 750 dollars 2 years ago and i see them selling for over 1000 dollars now.
gun prices are going nuts...