09-12-2005, 07:49 PM
Hey OEJ, don't worry too much about your success. You could hunt the very same spot a month from now and shoot a 4 bird limit. The grouse this year especially I think are very scattered. There is so much good habitat with lots of green plants and berries for food. They can spread out all over the place and get access to food. If you can find a place with lots of food like that, and lots of water, you've found a good spot, and if they're not there now, they might be later in the year when other food and water is exhausted. I also think the numbers are down this year due to a wet spring which had an affect on the hatch and nesting.
The place I went last year we shot 7 or 8 birds that trip, but I went to the exact same place this year and we saw 3 birds and came home with 1 of them.
Grouse hunting = Lots of hiking. I just try to enjoy the beautiful area and the hike, and the birds are just a bonus. I have also noticed that probably 75% of the birds I've gotten over the years have been sitting on or very close to either a main trail or a game trail. I don't find them in heavy thick stuff very often, unless it's on a game trail in the middle of heavy thick stuff. I'm glad you got one.
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The place I went last year we shot 7 or 8 birds that trip, but I went to the exact same place this year and we saw 3 birds and came home with 1 of them.
Grouse hunting = Lots of hiking. I just try to enjoy the beautiful area and the hike, and the birds are just a bonus. I have also noticed that probably 75% of the birds I've gotten over the years have been sitting on or very close to either a main trail or a game trail. I don't find them in heavy thick stuff very often, unless it's on a game trail in the middle of heavy thick stuff. I'm glad you got one.
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