Blue/Dusky Grouse Stories and Tips Wanted!

[CRMarks]

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...

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Your SxS is one of the most beautiful shotguns I've ever seen, especially out being put to good use!

 

[CRMarks]

Do you guys think 6 shot is too big for duskies with a 12 ga? Want to make sure the bird is down but don't want to tear up the meat. I used to carry 6 shot for pheasant, so that's my frame of reference.

 

[JLS]

6s are fine.

 

[COrookie]

I don't hunt with dogs, and it took me about four seasons of getting skunked until I just kind of figured the birds out. I am running at 100% success the last three seasons, I go a minimum of twice a season, and three times the first season that I actually started getting into birds.

My first tip is DON'T GIVE UP. I spent countless hours reading about them and e-scouting. Spent even more hours actually getting out there and looking. I climbed many mountains, and for whatever reason just never found them. This was four seasons in a row, that's four years of nothing. Kept going anyways, and would say I am a pretty decent grouse hunter these days.

I think if I had a dog I would have got into birds much earlier than I did, but I also wouldn't have learned as much either.

Second tip is look for mountains with sage brush at the lower elevations, aspens mid mountain, water flow, and coniferous trees up high. Mountains gotta be steep so the birds have escape. A dusky will always be near a steep, heavily wooded decline. Check the benches that sit above these declines. You're looking for escape. If you can find escape, you can find birds. If there is escape above and below a flat bench, even better. You don't need to be walking these very steep sections, mostly because its hard and hurts your ankles. But like I said, find a bench near escape routes and hunt those.

Next tip, they tend to hang out near dirt roads. It shouldn't be a heavily used road, maybe an obscure jeep trail or even better a logging road. This makes it easy to walk around. Roughly 80% of my birds taken over the last three years have been walking logging roads. These logging roads often create that little bench I was mentioning in my second tip.

Last tip, climb. You gotta get up to those steep areas. A lot of the times the logging roads are not accessible, at least the ones I have success on. The more you hike, the better.

Check out my posts, I posted a story of one my hunts last season, with pictures.

Also have fun, I love bird hunting more than any other type of hunting. I'm new to big game, and its overwhelming. Birds are another story, just the best damn type of hunting there is in terms of level of fun.

 

[D-Mac]

I would have to agree with most everyone here. Hunting grouse is the harbinger of fall and hunting season in my humble opinion. They are the first species of the fall (since the opening day runs the same as doves, I say head for the hills and avoid the crowds). They ring in the season! There is simply nothing like walking down the mountain with the weight of an animal in your game pouch smelling the warm air through the pines! I'm deployed this year so I am going to be missing it and just living through y'alls stories and pictures. So make sure to post them!

As far as finding the birds, I have found that for morning and evenings they tend to to be in cover edges, we find them on shale slopes, and broken terrain. They seem to love vaccinium (little ground cover plant, same family as blueberries) seems to coincide with finding birds a fair amount. In the middle of the day we find them more in cover and in trees. Honestly, never hunted them with dogs and 100% sure I pass by more then I find. They are an absolute blast though! Have fun!

 

[jejack26]

Its interesting, I hunt them with dogs and I'm convinced I would kill more without the dog. The grouse behave totally different when the dogs present. My dogs would never forgive me if I left them at home.

 

[BirdManMike]

Its interesting, I hunt them with dogs and I'm convinced I would kill more without the dog. The grouse behave totally different when the dogs present. My dogs would never forgive me if I left them at home.

I completely agree with this when it comes to blue grouse. Without the dog, theyll just mosey along the trail or clearing, sit on the stump, maybe fly lazily up to a branch, and generally make for an easy shot. With the dog, theyll bump and blow full speed, flying out of sight. Not the best birds for teaching a young dog...

 

[JLS]

Its interesting, I hunt them with dogs and I'm convinced I would kill more without the dog. The grouse behave totally different when the dogs present. My dogs would never forgive me if I left them at home.

I’ve found this to be true as well. For as dumb as duskies seem when you’re elk hunting, they are a completely different bird with a dog involved

 

[CRMarks]

I don't hunt with dogs, and it took me about four seasons of getting skunked until I just kind of figured the birds out. I am running at 100% success the last three seasons, I go a minimum of twice a season, and three times the first season that I actually started getting into birds.

My first tip is DON'T GIVE UP. I spent countless hours reading about them and e-scouting. Spent even more hours actually getting out there and looking. I climbed many mountains, and for whatever reason just never found them. This was four seasons in a row, that's four years of nothing. Kept going anyways, and would say I am a pretty decent grouse hunter these days.

I think if I had a dog I would have got into birds much earlier than I did, but I also wouldn't have learned as much either.

Second tip is look for mountains with sage brush at the lower elevations, aspens mid mountain, water flow, and coniferous trees up high. Mountains gotta be steep so the birds have escape. A dusky will always be near a steep, heavily wooded decline. Check the benches that sit above these declines. You're looking for escape. If you can find escape, you can find birds. If there is escape above and below a flat bench, even better. You don't need to be walking these very steep sections, mostly because its hard and hurts your ankles. But like I said, find a bench near escape routes and hunt those.

Next tip, they tend to hang out near dirt roads. It shouldn't be a heavily used road, maybe an obscure jeep trail or even better a logging road. This makes it easy to walk around. Roughly 80% of my birds taken over the last three years have been walking logging roads. These logging roads often create that little bench I was mentioning in my second tip.

Last tip, climb. You gotta get up to those steep areas. A lot of the times the logging roads are not accessible, at least the ones I have success on. The more you hike, the better.

Check out my posts, I posted a story of one my hunts last season, with pictures.

Also have fun, I love bird hunting more than any other type of hunting. I'm new to big game, and its overwhelming. Birds are another story, just the best damn type of hunting there is in terms of level of fun.

Nice breakdown of the habitat conditions I'll be on the look out for. The area that I've targeted for the trip is an interconnected series of ridgelines, some of which open up into more of a wide park holding little pocket lakes. This area was hit hard by a fire in 2011, so I'm thinking the slopes should still have a good mix of standing trees and downed timber, but also be thick with fresh understory plants that I'm hoping will be good food sources. We'll see if my arm chair ecology pays off opening weekend! If not this area, we'll definitely be enjoying the high country chasing these birds many more times to come.

 

[KMO385]

I'm trying to make up my mind between blue grouse/ptarmigan or going out for sage grouse. I really have no idea how to hunt either being I've never done it. Do they mix in with sharp tail at any point?

 

[ammo]

Hunted for duskies last year in CO! Super fun. I don't think there is a lot of overlap between blue and sage/sharptail - duskies like mountainous slopes.

If I were to do it again I'd probably use a .20 or a way lighter shot with my .12 since we did annihilate some of 'em - we've even thought about going out with the bows this year but all that time and effort is going towards elk

Way tastier than pheasant!

 

[cedahm]

I'm trying to make up my mind between blue grouse/ptarmigan and going out for sage grouse. I really have no idea how to hunt either being I've never done it. Do they mix in with sharp tail at any point?

I would "pick your poison" with one of the above. You may run into blue grouse on the way to ptarmigan country, and I have seen Blues within a few hundred yards of both sage hens and (mountain) sharptails before, but for the most part, those 4 birds are going to be in different types of habitat more often than not.

Hunted for duskies last year in CO! Super fun. I don't think there is a lot of overlap between blue and sage/sharptail - duskies like mountainous slopes.

If I were to do it again I'd probably use a .20 or a way lighter shot with my .12 since we did annihilate some of 'em - we've even thought about going out with the bows this year but all that time and effort is going towards elk

Way tastier than pheasant!

Perhaps edit to "along the I70 corridor" - some people get awful worked up about consistent blue grouse spots. We may or may not have blindfolded a couple people when we took them to one of our spots.

I just switched to #8s last year in the 12. In my mind it gives me more shot to get through branches and whatnot. Although - I will probably end up with a 20 or 28 one of these years. I keep a mixed box of 8 and 7.5 loads in the truck for that purpose. Some times a high brass pheasant load ends up in there and the sausage box gets a new resident. For several years when my old brits were retired, I just archery hunted. It is fun, but arrows are expensive.

 

[KMO385]

I would "pick your poison" with one of the above. You may run into blue grouse on the way to ptarmigan country, and I have seen Blues within a few hundred yards of both sage hens and (mountain) sharptails before, but for the most part, those 4 birds are going to be in different types of habitat more often than not.



Perhaps edit to "along the I70 corridor" - some people get awful worked up about consistent blue grouse spots. We may or may not have blindfolded a couple people when we took them to one of our spots.

I just switched to #8s last year in the 12. In my mind it gives me more shot to get through branches and whatnot. Although - I will probably end up with a 20 or 28 one of these years. I keep a mixed box of 8 and 7.5 loads in the truck for that purpose. Some times a high brass pheasant load ends up in there and the sausage box gets a new resident. For several years when my old brits were retired, I just archery hunted. It is fun, but arrows are expensive.

I misspoke up there i meant Ptarmigan/blue grouse OR sage grouse not and. I know Ptarmigan above the treeline. I promise I'm not dumb

 

[ammo]

Perhaps edit to "along the I70 corridor" - some people get awful worked up about consistent blue grouse spots. We may or may not have blindfolded a couple people when we took them to one of our spots.

Ha - I thought I was being pretty prettttty vague but changed to 'CO' for even more vague-ness.

Love that you blindfolded people. That is secret stash commitment.

 

[Bullshot]

Work from the low side up until you find them, in 100' to 200' elevation intervals or so. Work parallel to the ridge. In CO in sept, start above the aspens into younger second growth conifer slopes with shrubby ericaceous ground cover like lowbush blueberry. No grouse, move up a notch until you find them. One of the best "starting points" would be where you encounter one crossing the road or on the shoulder. You always see them first, it seems, if you do a lot of exploratory driving around. Shotgun is best for the flushers. Bow or an air rifle is fun for those on the ground. Working cover in pairs is probably a good plan, with the shotgunner covering the low/escape side. Watch the ground near and far, look under overhangs and near stumps and under gaps in bushes. Be prepared for staggered flushes.

 

[Rthawker]

Iam headed to co for 2nd season elk, the place i am hunting has grouse there as well, so i am bringing my pointer pup in hopes of getting some wild bird exsposure. How high are they that time of year? It looks like 2nd season falls around the 1st week of november.

 

[Rthawker]

Bump

 

[cedahm]

Iam headed to co for 2nd season elk, the place i am hunting has grouse there as well, so i am bringing my pointer pup in hopes of getting some wild bird exsposure. How high are they that time of year? It looks like 2nd season falls around the 1st week of november.

November is dicey. In historically “normal” weather years, they’ll all be up in the spruce and fir by then, feeding on fir needles And spending less time on the ground.

in recent years where it’s been mild, most will be up there, but there may be some stragglers. as reverse migrators, they move up as the snow piles up.

caveat - I honestly can’t remember the last grouse I’ve shot after mid-October. If you re bringing the dog just for grouse, I might reconsider.

 

[rwc101]

I really want to find a late November-December blue. Not necessarily to shoot. Just to know exactly where they go. All my snowshoeing hasn't turned up anything.

 

[Rthawker]

Iam up there anyway hunting elk, soo its just an add on for the mid day. We are hunting near 9000 feet i think the mountain is near 11000. Its going to be tough from what i gather.