Blue/Dusky Grouse Stories and Tips Wanted!

[lpcoutdoors]

I'm really fascinated about the idea of hunting blue/dusky grouse with bird dogs. I have some young pups that I am excited about getting going, Brittanies. I've seen duskies while hunting big game in Colorado, and I know they are considered fools hens. But I hear they work really well for a bird dog early in the season. So I am planning a trip for mid September for next year. I haven't decided on the exact spot, I've hunted big game on the Uncompahgre and seen them, but I hear good things about the Steamboat and Marble areas, among others. In any case, I'm looking for anyone to give up their spot.

But I am looking for good hunting stories, just to enjoy and be inspired by during this offseason and self distancing. And any general tips and tricks would be great appreciated too.

I'm still remembering seeing quite a few on the Unc just from the roads, especially late in the evening. And in the mornings I would see their tracks in the loose dirt of the roads. Seems like I could get the pups on some good bird contacts that way, not so much to kill a bunch but just lots of experience for ol' Cap and Tiny girl.

I'm looking forward to some stories!

 

[rwc101]

You should be able to find some near Steamboat. I found a few around there, Rabbit's Ear Pass, and Hot Sulphur Springs during my year in Colorado. Finding the elevation they're hanging out at during that time of year seems to be key. I got this one around Hot Sulphur Springs mid-September.

 

[mdeerjunkie]

You should be able to find some near Steamboat. I found a few around there, Rabbit's Ear Pass, and Hot Sulphur Springs during my year in Colorado. Finding the elevation they're hanging out at during that time of year seems to be key. I got this one around Hot Sulphur Springs mid-September. View attachment 134006

+1
I’ve seen quite a few in that area too, just never seem to have a gun in my hand.

 

[PAGOAT]

I found a lot around 10,000 to 10,600 feet in early October around Teluride and Norwood. When I carried the 22 scouting for elk they would flush before I'd see them. After I killed my elk and got it packed out I took the shotgun. Then they would all just stand around and look at me. Worked out though they are fun to hunt. Good luck.

 

[Nameless Range]

My dad started taking us up to this ridge 25 years ago, so I would bet I have shot my limit on this ridge close to 50 times. It is at 8000ish feet in west-central Montana, and by late September it is filthy with Blues.




I am certainly not an expert, and am more of a few-trick pony because I have 3 of 4 ridges I hunt and I don't deviate much from them, but Blues take part in an altitudinal migration. They go up in the fall for the winter, and they’ve been known to migrate as far is 30 miles, but typically if you saw them during early archery season or even summer scouting, you can assume they are up-drainage and hill from that location in dense timber on the ridges above.

I have taken my lab hunting, but she just comes along and if I'm being honest doesn't contribute much. My brother had a Cocker Spaniel that died this winter, and he was a fantastic grouse hunting dog. In the country above, when he smelled them he would get "birdy", and lose his mind and zig and zag and huff. It was like clockwork, and you knew that if you stopped and looked to edge of what was visible, there was a grouse somewhere out there.



I have had a lot of luck just getting on ridges and walking them in late September/early October. As table fare they are underappreciated and have a lot to offer in terms of volume and taste

 

[glass eye]

I've only shot two while elk hunting in CO.

 

[mdeerjunkie]

I've only shot two while elk hunting in CO.

View attachment 134074View attachment 134075

Nice mount!

 

[cedahm]

I am certainly not an expert, and am more of a few-trick pony because I have 3 of 4 ridges I hunt and I don't deviate much from them, but Blues take part in an altitudinal migration. They go up in the fall for the winter, and they’ve been known to migrate as far is 30 miles, but typically if you saw them during early archery season or even summer scouting, you can assume they are up-drainage and hill from that location in dense timber on the ridges above.

This is something most new dusky hunters don't often realize. I'll add on to say that the family groups (females and birds of the year) migrate later than the males. We occasionally see males in their winter habitat on top of the mountain in July. We never see females that high until September.

We grouse hunt less seriously than we used to, in fact I've killed way more with my bow than shotgun the last 3-4 years, but when we were really serious about it, we'd take most of a week when the family groups were transitioning uphill. If you hit the migration right, you could hunt a ~400' elevation band along a mountain where all the birds were mixing together and it was the wild west. In fact, 10 years ago, after one day where 3 of us limited out in 40 minutes we insitituted camp rules whereby you are only allowed 1 tree-pound, 1 ground pound. Everything else (or any number) had to be a wingshot (and later on this was modified to wingshots or archery only). We also left a 'sanctuary' around camp where no birds were to be harmed.

I have taken my lab hunting, but she just comes along and if I'm being honest doesn't contribute much.

They can be frustrating for flushing dogs as they seem to leave a lot of scent but are also good at hopping up into a tree and the dog gets confused (happens to pointing dogs, as well, but they will typically just point the bird in the tree/group of trees). The advantage flushers have is they tend to work close and that is extremely important given their propensity to sit tight or jump into a tree. My Brits were big running pheasant dogs and it was a struggle for a day or three each year to get them 'into the zone'. My female never really figured it out, tbh. Dogs tend to work better on the family groups (which spend a lot more time on the ground) than on the loner males in the spruce/fir zone.

My male's first limit:


One of his last limits:

 

[jtm307]

Before last season, I always looked for aspens until I found a boatload of them in a spot with no aspens while accompanying a friend on an elk hunt. Before fall becomes winter, they feed on berries, leaves, and bugs in places where the soil is moist. This is why people say to look for a small stream. Aspens indicate moisture, but moist soil doesn't always have aspens or a stream. This spot had a lot of creeping grapes and ground junipers, but no streams. I used to look for fairly steep berry-covered hills with aspens below. Now I look for fairly steep berry-covered hills with *some kind* of cover below AND nearby fir trees. There have always been fir trees around when I've found grouse, and firs seem to be their go-to escape.

Here's some light reading: https://epdf.pub/queue/blue-grouse-their-biology-and-natural-history.html

 

[jtm307]

Also, duskies are not dumb when there's a bird dog around. They're not used to seeing humans, but they know exactly what kind of danger a canine represents.

 

[lpcoutdoors]

Those are some great stories, tips, and pics, THANKS! Ya'll have me even more excited! Keep 'em coming.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

When I lived in Utah, I solo hunted them hard in the Wasatch Mountains.
Extremely steep avalanche chutes with mountain ash berries.
So steep, the lab would get birdy and disappear upslope.
Then the birds would start pouring down overhead...sometimes as many a 30 grouse in delayed flushes.
The limit was 4 and it was common to limit out without moving a step.

When I lived in Idaho, blue grouse were bonus birds on a chuckar/hun/quail loop.
They would be predictably in hawthorn berry patches on south-facing slopes.
We would release the 2 labs and the blues would fly back towards us toward Doug-fir trees on the north-facing slope.
Big, white-meat birds that were like shooting driven pheasants in those good hunts.

 

[EWO]

If you find some, mark it in the GPS! I’ve shot grouse under the same clump of trees a few years in a row. Fascinating and tasty birds.

 

[BirdManMike]

I was cutting some firewood on a hillside in September two years ago. It was a partial burn with a bunch of fallen, still burnable trees. Nice place to cut - just roll the rounds down the hill into the ditch at the side of the forest service road.

Cutting up one of those perfectly hanging deadfalls - one of those ones that really makes things easier as most of it is completely off the ground til near the root ball - I noticed a male blue grouse standing right on the trunk of the tree I was cutting with the chainsaw. I was less than 20' from the little fella with him just hanging out while I had been running the chainsaw on the tree on which he had been standing this whole time.

I pointed the grouse out to my buddy helping out who then ran 100 yards down the hill to his vehicle then came running back with .410 single shot pistol in hand.

'Still there?,' he asked, huffing, as he returned.

'Yep'.

BOOM.



They are actually much more difficult to hunt with dogs, as mentioned above. Early in the season theyll still end up in branches right above where they flush, sometimes making it difficult to get a shot at them on the wing even if you wanted to, but by October theyll often fly hard when there is a dog around.

They taste great, tho!

 

[CRMarks]

I'm going to be taking my Britt out on her and my first hunt in the next several weeks. Targeting dusky grouse in the AZ high country. Does anyone have any thoughts on something they learned but never thought of before their first hunt? I'm getting all of our gear assembled and tested, but I'm brand new to working a bird dog and never hunted grouse before. Anything you've got is greatly appreciated!

 

[BirdManMike]

I'm going to be taking my Britt out on her and my first hunt in the next several weeks. Targeting dusky grouse in the AZ high country. Does anyone have any thoughts on something they learned but never thought of before their first hunt? I'm getting all of our gear assembled and tested, but I'm brand new to working a bird dog and never hunted grouse before. Anything you've got is greatly appreciated!

Dont shoot any birds your dog doesnt handle perfectly, even if that means you dont shoot any birds.

 

[CRMarks]

Dont shoot any birds your dog doesnt handle perfectly, even if that means you dont shoot any birds.

Thanks! Definitely something I hadn't thought of but totally makes sense to not reinforce bad performance, especially right out of the gate.

 

[JLS]

Thanks! Definitely something I hadn't thought of but totally makes sense to not reinforce bad performance, especially right out of the gate.

I agree with most of this. That said, if your dog misses a bird and it flushes behind you, shoot it. That’s a great way to teach the dog to keep an eye on dad. Also, blues might not handle that great for a pup. Be patient. If the dog tries to point, I’ll shoot the bird for a first year pup. As the season goes on, up your expectations and standards n

 

[shrapnel]

Probably the best part of Blue Grouse hunting is that you don’t need a dog. If you have one, you can count on finding those hard to find birds easier.

I have shot hundreds of Blues and consider them and elk tenderloins the best that fall has to offer. There isn’t a better bird for eating and that includes pheasants.

They like the high ridges and shale slopes of the mountains. The best way to spot them is to notice the profile of their head. That has given more grouse away than any other method of spotting them. Look for that head, then be careful you don’t spook other birds you don’t see, as they are often in groups of 2-5 or 6 and I have limited quickly in one spot.

I also shoot them on the ground, which may not sound too sporting, but if I want sport, I will shoot at flying ducks. I don’t care if I miss a duck, but I want to take the grouse home for dinner, because a little butter, a lot of garlic and some bread crumbs make the best meal you can get...

 

[CRMarks]

I agree with most of this. That said, if your dog misses a bird and it flushes behind you, shoot it. That’s a great way to teach the dog to keep an eye on dad. Also, blues might not handle that great for a pup. Be patient. If the dog tries to point, I’ll shoot the bird for a first year pup. As the season goes on, up your expectations and standards n

Thanks! I've been blown away by her performance at "bird school" being reliably steady to fall in training scenarios with pigeons and chukars after only 2 months (very proud dog dad). Looking forward to running our drills and seeing her in action out in the gorgeous wild.