Ruffed grouse hunting?
 

I will walk the woods almost all day and maybe kill one or two grouse. Do grouse have any kind of pattern? Like what time of the day do they go to water? What kind of terrain do they like? I know the place I am hunting them as lots of grouse because I have seen lots of tracks and I have seen them sittin in the road or they will fly up in front of me while hiking in the off season.

I have read somewhere that Grouse will eat over 100 types of food and believe it...

This past weekend yielded 2-Rabbitts and 3-Grouse from my hunting group of buddies...
All Three Grouse gizzards had acorns, berries, green leafy folliage and minimal amounts of apples.

Try freshly cut/logged areas, they are very productive due to Grouse like to eat off the ground, they VERY RARELY will pick off the trees or bushes. Ground feeders mainly...

Early in the morning some Grouse will still be on "Roost" so don't forget to look up in the trees! Later in the day Grouse might be found around gravely areas/roads as they will ingest pebbles to help break their food up.

I'll post some pics within a week , or so, to show our luck so far this year...

most hunters hunt to early for grouse.9 am is my earliest time i go out.

Exactly - its nice to sleep in and have a nice egg breakfast - mmm-mmm!

This weekend TimberDoodle season will be in full swing, so last weekend was the only sleep-in day... Up early for the whistling helicopter bird:)

...in early fall. Once there is snow on the ground, I have routinely watch them from a deer stand while they eat thorn apples, buds, etc while perched on the branches of saplings.

you are right. i seen guys out at daybreak in fog with english setter hunting grouse.
grouse will not come out of tree in fog.
they had to beat the other hunters to woods.
9 am is BEST time to hunt on most days. the fog has lifted and ground is dry.
if it rains day before. i go out at 11am.grouse dont like to get their feet wet.:biggrin:

i dont have heart to kill those little timberbirds ,so to keep toby from getting pissed off at me, i shoot over their heads after he flushes them:wave:

Habitat & Diet
 

Hey Genesis,

Grouse definitely do have patterns, but the trick is knowing where to look. They're actually surprisingly similar to deer, with relatively consistent spots where they're feeding, transitioning to & from roosting areas, etc.

The two best articles we've found for this are from The Upland Hunter. They've got some great articles on grouse hunting tips, their diets, etc.