It was a fine day. Mid sixties, sunny, breezy. I had a new box
of 20 gauge No. 6 shells and nothing to do but hunt grouse till I got
tired.

Got to the woods at 10:27. There is an apple tree that sometimes
holds grouse around then. Not this year. The road down to the creek
is badly eroded now. In a few years I think it will be unusable. Then the
trees will grow back in. There were deer, wild turkey, and large canine tracks (wolf?) on it. No grouse today, however.

Across the creek I got cussed by two red squirrels. Heard a couple of
grouse-like noises but saw none--for a while. Just before the spot I had
picked to turn around one jumped up from a sidehill. It flew right to
left but at an odd angle. I shot at it and didn't hear any more wing beats.
So I climbed the hill slipping and sliding, holding onto trees and bushes. Rain in the days before had slicked everything up.

I had made it to the area where I thought the bird might have fallen and was looking around when my phone rang.
It was my wife who was picking apples near where we'd parked.
"A dozen turkeys just walked past the truck." she said. I had a fall turkey
license but wasn't in the right place--again. Jumped a couple late one
afternoon last year. They make a lot of racket taking off.

Supposed to rain for the next two days. If we get a break I'll try the
another part of the area. If not, it'll be Sunday before I get out again.

Sounds like a good day even though no birds. Sometimes just the going is worth it.

25 years ago there were a ton of grouse in southern Marquette country off Co rd 557 down parrin brothers rd, hunted the edge of a hard wood cut cut area. There was a lot of birds, some years were good others years not so much. Good luck on your guest.

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Carpriver.

Roadtrash:
That has been my feeling for a long time.
Fall is my favorite season and I appreciate the days I
can get out and hunt.

carpriver:
When I went to NMU (back in the dinosaur era) I hunted between Marquette and Big Bay and out by Deerton. There were quite a few
grouse near Deerton then.

Sounds like a typical day in the woods. They are all good. Keeps you coming back for more.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

According to the Wisconsin DNR, Ruffed Grouse are at the bottom of their population cycle right now plus all the heavy rain early this summer has cut into repro rates in the state. I would suppose the situation is similar in the UP as it is where I used to hunt near Florence, WI. This isn't to say that there are no birds-just fewer. Having all the leaves currently still on the trees doesn't make things easier either. Finding and especially retreiving birds in the early season is a tough gig without a good dog.

Good luck and hunt safe.

Bruce

Sounds like Heaven on Earth.

Nothing like a cool crisp Fall day with a shotgun over
your shoulder.

Have fun and Good Luck.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

BruceM:
The MDNR is predicting a bit better season this year.
Last year it took nine days for me to find one bird.
I figure this year has already started out better for me.

Sounds like a great time spent with a favorite gun. Nothing like a walk in the woods during the fall, wish I could get out more like I used to when younger. Enjoy, Larry

It took till the 21st for me to get out again.
We had rain, wind, and then I had a tire problem with my truck.
Finally got that fixed Tuesday and hunted Wednesday.

Parked the truck just before 11 am and walked a small road that had been on my mind. It was sunny, breezy, and warm. High blue sky with just a few wisps of clouds. Lots of green leaves still on the trees. I saw
one small maple leaf on the trail. It was completely turned and dark red.
Didn't see any more. There were deer tracks on the road but I didn't
see any canine tracks. No turkey tracks, or turkeys, either.

The trail runs into a cedar swamp. I've flushed grouse right before it
but not in it. So, I was thinking about turning around before the swamp.
Since I am a trout fisherman as well as a grouse hunter, I usually walk
in till I reach a small stream, then turn around. Usually don't see any
grouse after the cedars start.

This time one jumped up just before the stream. Loud flapping and squawking ensued. I got the gun up and sort of on the bird as it flew behind some cedars. When it came out it was over the creek (fuller than usual due to recent heavy rains) and using every cedar tree across it for cover. At one point I thought I was seeing the bird's shadow crossing the trees rather than the bird itself. I didn't fire.

Walked from the truck to the spot where I jumped one on Opening Day.
Things were quiet there except for some snowbirds and chickadees
flying around. I had another spot in mind but a guy on a four wheeler
got there just before I did. So, went home.

I sure miss hunting quail & pheasant over good bird dogs & pass shooting doves from a stand. How you guys find any grouse without having a good dog amazes me... & then finding the ones you do hit are even tougher... wounded birds hide well with their built in camouflage..

But as they say any day spent out in the fields hunting or fishing beats the heck out of anything else... Be careful... but enjoy your days afield & you might think about getting a nice shorthair, Brittany or English setter... heck all of the breeds are great dogs....your bird hunting will improve & you'll have a good friend that will love you & forgive you no matter what for years to come...

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be safe,enjoylife,journey well

I had a Springer once. Good on grouse and even better
with woodcock. Still miss that dog. Would see, and get,
more grouse if I had one. Allergies put a stop to that.

But, I've hunted the same ground since high school and have
a good idea where grouse might be on any given day.
Then I go there. Sometimes I'm right. Sometimes they
surprise me and show up in different spots.

Nothing beats a Fall day bird hunting. We do need some photos.

I'm with Da Gimp...you have to add a good bird dog.

Hunting grouse without a bird dog is kind of like sex without a partner. You can get the job done but it just isn't near as enjoyable.

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Bill Bates

I have mostly given up taking a camera out hunting.
I can shoot pictures, or try and shoot grouse, but can't do both
at once.

I'm lucky, my much better half carries a camera these days instead of gun. It is rare she doesn't go hunting with me.

I do the still photos.



She does the action shots

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Bill Bates

Very nice work.
I would like to have taken any of those.

Went out to the same area today but saw no grouse.
Sunny, breezy, mid-sixties, a nice day to be in the woods.
I don't think a dog would have found any either. Some days
they just seem to have disappeared.

The color is starting to come on. Saw one small maple that
had gone totally red. My wife got some more wild apples for
the freezer, for applesauce, for pie, and maybe for cider.

Hey a fellow Wildcat! When were you there? Class of '96 here.

Wife and I were up at Tahquamemon this week, flushed 2 (maybe the same bird) along the river trail between the falls and dang near hit a third on a dirt road near the rivermouth campground. The DNR may have some issue with hunting within the State Park though.

marvin:
About 20 years before you graduated I did.
Back in the dinosaur era, eh?

Have not hunted the eastern U.P. at all.
Did chase grouse in the Porkies for a few years in the late 1970s.
That state park is open for hunting most places.

Another quiet day in the woods. More and more colored
leaves although where I'm hunting there is less color
than out on the highway.

Saw large canine tracks, three together. Family of wolves
maybe?

Found turkey tracks but no turkeys. Saw several'' flickers that impersonated grouse for the first few seconds of flight.
Jumped no grouse and heard no geese flying over.

First day with some sun after three days of rain.
May get out tomorrow, or on the weekend. Might change
areas to see if more grouse are hanging out elsewhere.

So, how many birds are you seeing and how much time are you spending hunting?? Larry

Saw four grouse and heard one, so far.
The fifth one jumped up behind a wall of brush.
Don't know where it came from or where it went.
Just a grouse wing noise that didn't last long.

The last two trips have been quiet. I saw a squirrel and
a raven on the last one. The squirrel was about 35 yards out
going like crazy across a trail. The raven was just flying around
making a sort of barking noise.

Made seven trips this year. The days when I could hunt a half day, or
longer, are gone. I've spent just short of 10 hours hunting this year.
We've had a lot of hard rain since the season started Sept. 15. On those
days I stayed in.

Put one grouse in the freezer on Oct. 3. It's going to be on the
Thanksgiving table. My wife wraps them in bacon and bastes them
with apple cider.

The MDNR is predicting a slightly better season than last year.
I'd say they are right. Last year it took me nine trips to see any
grouse at all.

Man, I miss being able to walk the woods, hunting or not.

Just not posible anymore for health reasons, but reading this kind of story takes me back...

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Oh well, what the hell.

Went wading through the raspberry canes on an old logging trail today.
I thought they would have lost some leaves but they were still green
and hard to get through. Have found grouse there, but not today. Have seen deer there in the November season. Nothing but trails through the
raspberries today though.

Second spot was a small clearing that used to have a deer scrape in it each fall, starting right about now. None this year and no grouse in the
clearing either. I did bump two on the way to it. They got up out of
brush right beside the main dirt road. No shot at either. They were too
fast and the area was too brushy to get a fix on them.

Walked another trail near a creek. Took a grouse there on Oct. 3.
Haven't seen one there since. Talked to a friend tonight who saw seven and got two out of apple trees near a mostly abandoned old settlement.

Nice day after several rainy days. Supposed to start raining again tomorrow so I'm glad I got out today.

Oh my, that sounds wonderful.

My youngest son is back in town for a while.
We have been out once. At the end of the trip we
flushed one grouse. It flew low and fast across a
bush road from my side to his. We both had our guns
up but it got behind some trees before he could fire. I
had a better look at it, but it had gone into his territory so
I didn't fire. The day was cool, cloudy and windy. Coldest I'd hunted
this year.

Yesterday I hunted alone, since my son was busy seeing
friends he hadn't seen since spring. I tried a spot that
has been on my mind. Found two berms in the logging road
and no grouse. Have been seeing bear and canine tracks other
places. At that spot there were nothing but deer tracks.
Saw no grouse.

Glad to see you are trying, even if no shots are fired it still a good day. A nice single shot would be a great grouse gun. Seems they find the first tree and fly behind it giving you only one shot. Larry

I started hunting grouse with a single-shot 12 that had belonged to my
grandfather. It got too loose to be safe after a few years. Next up was a Winchester Model 12 in 16 gauge with a PolyChoke on the barrel. I also used a single-shot .410 an all metal Bronco by FIE.

In the 1980s I acquired an Italian over and under 20 gauge. It weighs
six pounds and a bit, handles well, and is my favorite grouse gun.
The stock has a bit of figure and there's a little engraving on it as well as a gold-plated trigger guard. I have other shotguns but have decided to
stick to the Italian for grouse.

When I can't hunt any more (for whatever reason) my youngest son,
is in line for it. Of my kids he's the one most likely to keep on hunting
with it.

I have mostly killed grouse with the OU but it has also taken a
few woodcock and snowshoe hares.

Another very quiet trip.
Hunted along and around a logging road made about
five years ago. There had been more logging around it
last year, I think. Lots of slash on the ground but some
new brush grown up among it. Should have held
birds, but didn't. Saw a few deer and coyote tracks. We
might have spooked one by talking. It seemed to run after
standing in the middle of the road for a while.

Color has shifted to brown and yellow. Most of the maple leaves
are down. The understory is still green in a lot of places so
there will be a reprise of the color show in a couple of weeks.

Cold and windy today with just a little sun showing. It was
the best day, so far, this week. Supposed to be a little warmer
tomorrow and I have another place to hunt in mind.

First thing I saw today was two deer. Both very healthy-looking does.
I was still driving to my parking spot and had just come up a rocky
hill making a lot of noise as the truck bounced from rock to rock.
The deer trotted from the middle of a field to the woods.
It had rained all morning, got sunny for 10 minutes, and was threatening
rain when I left the house. Seeing the deer made me a bit more
optimistic about the day. And it didn't rain seriously again till I was
driving home.

I started hunting in a little clearing off the main road. Jumped a grouse
from behind an apple tree. Jumped it, or another, off of a deer trail
at the other end of the clearing. Didn't get a shot off at either.
Too much brush around the first one, and looking the wrong way on the
second. Lots of squawking and flapping with each flush.

Drove back to a little dead-end road near a creek. Shot at the bird
that flew there but forgot to lead it. Walked around some more but
saw no more birds. A few deer and dog tracks on the trails. There are
a few small maples that are still green but the big ones have lost almost
all their leaves.

Cold enough that I wore a camo jacket that I bought for bow hunting and
an orange vest over it. First day for that this year. Have seen 11
grouse, shot at four (I think) and have one in the freezer.

Grouse?

Made another trip with my son.
Drove a lot farther from town to a lake I
hunted by a lot when I was younger. All the
maples and birches, and most of the oaks had
lost their leaves. The only color left was in the
berry bushes and the other brush.

Walked a long way before finding birds.
Saw a lot of canine tracks and a fox burrow with a
dead rabbit in it. Also saw a large, dead raven.
Did not appear to have been shot.
Maybe just too old to keep flying.

While my son was stomping a brush pile hoping to
bounce a rabbit two grouse showed up about 50
yards ahead on the trail. They were in a patch of
sun and looked big and more like a small goose than
a grouse. Then they flew up and were grouse for
sure. Wandered around some more but didn't find
any more.

Remembered to take the camera this time. Got a
couple nice pics of afternoon sun on the logging road,
and my son leaning on my pickup. He's a archaeologist
and is leaving for another job next week. So, this
could be our last hunt for the grouse season. Most likely
we'll get in at least one more, Sunday or Monday.
It's been a good season either way.

Michigan Outdoors this week had a segment on grouse hunting. You can watch it here: Michigan Out Of Doors TV - Episodes

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SWHF #448

-db-
I saw it.

Those guys hunt a lot faster than I do.
Let their dogs range out farther than I used to as well.
Can't argue with their results though. Woodcock and grouse in
the bag at the end of the day.

My son left today for an archaeologist job in another state.
So, the hunt last week was our last, unless he comes back in the
late season. He will miss deer season too.

I went out by myself Sunday afternoon. My son had people to see
and things to do before he left. Saw a grouse and took it at the last
place I went. Smaller than the first one and appeared to be a male.

Very quiet in the woods Sunday. Mid-sixties. Few leaves left on the trees. Almost no wind and a feeling of something impending in the air. Monday was colder so maybe a front was on the way Sunday afternoon. I am old enough to feel the changes coming at times.
Today it rained almost all day. Sun only came out in the
late afternoon. No hunting.

Well, did you tip one of those brown furry critters with horns over today?

Bruce

That's the story around hear. (Darrington WA.)

I still have a dog and a shotgun but no grouse.

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That's just somebody talkin.

BruceM:
Was sick for the deer opener on the 15th.
Got out today at mid-afternoon. Fairly warm and
very quiet.

Saw a few fresh deer tracks and a mouse. No deer.
No grouse either although some deer seasons they
seem to be around more than in grouse season.

A few years ago here in WA they switched the pheasant opener with the deer opener (rifle). The first weekend in Oct. we were pheasant hunting the breaks on the Snake river and I saw some bucks that would drop your jaw. My dog actually flushed a few.

The WDFW (fish comes first in WA) got a lot of complaints from deer hunters. They fixed that by switching the opener. Now the pheasant season opener is two weeks behind the deer opener. So in this state anyway, it's now fish, deer and birds, in that order. Deer hunters don't usually have 20 K boats.

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That's just somebody talkin.