For all you "Grouse experts"

R

retrvrman

New member
Ok, I have read and seen all the wonderful pics of the grouse some of you guys got, your awesome dogs, and nice shotguns. I say this with all the sincerity in the world, honestly I do. I am not being a sarcastic or a smarta$$.

However, I can only speak for myself and that I have now been hunting in Colorado for over 15yrs and I have not EVER, EVER, EVER seen a dusky grouse in the WILD except at the zoo!!!:eek::eek:

I hunted ptarmgian up in Alaska on snow shoes and got my limit almost everytime. I also got some ruffed grouse hunting up there and spruce grouse.

I am only starting this thread because I am beginning to think they are like the ole snipe hunting joke or something to me.:confused: I mean I have not even seen them hunting elk, deer camping in the mountians or ATV riding, and everyone else I talk to says I see them when I am not hunting them and vice versa.

Again, good for you guys that have shot some and especially to the gentleman who got some with his son, that is awesome!!!

I might try dusky/snipe hunting again this year or just wait for pheasant, because I know they exist and I have actually shot them in Colorado and Kansas!!

Greg
 
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Best clues - West of the divide, north of I70, 8000 to 10000 foot, steep slopes, cool days on southern slopes, warm days northern. Woods and meadow mixes. Nearby water.
 
Greg, I am going to throw you a bone! PM Sent!
 
Mrs. CO_Weimar said essentially the same thing as we got out of the truck near Kenosha Pass on Sunday. :laugh:

Then I had to remind her of seeing them near Eldora and Nederland and hearing a male "wooting" in the foothills.

On Tuesday, (after my weekend grouse "hiking" adventure) a co-worker who knows that I hunt "innocent birds" ;) stopped me and asked about a "large gray bird that blended in with the rocks" that he saw on his way down Gregory Canyon in Boulder. :mad:
 
I always query the bow hunters I come across or know. They spend a lot of time in the woods and generally will tell you if they see any grouse and where. I return the favor by telling them where I see big game...
There are other methods especially checking out the local bird watching groups. They tend to divulge alot of info when talking to fellow birders.
 
You looking for these dumb things? Took this picture as we were driving out after filling our limits

Sent you a PM too :D
 
Uplandhunter67 said:
I always query the bow hunters I come across or know. They spend a lot of time in the woods and generally will tell you if they see any grouse and where. I return the favor by telling them where I see big game...
There are other methods especially checking out the local bird watching groups. They tend to divulge alot of info when talking to fellow birders.
Click to expand...

My son and I actually ran across bowhunters from Wisconsin :eek:, when we got back to the truck and they said they had not seen any, likewise they asked if we had seen any elk, no dice.

They said they saw some sage grouse though.

I have been hunting long enough and I have hunted grouse before to know that if you have dogs, which I do, they will flush and fly, that is if there are any around.:confused:

Good luck to everyone else. I am glad at least some guys were able to bag some.

Greg
 
Dogs will definetly find them if they are around. You'll just cover a lot of country. My hunting partner laugh about how we take the guns for a walk... Sage grouse? Where'd you go if you don't mind me asking?
 
Sage grouse? I know from my friends in the DOW that they are few and far in between unless you are up close to the Whyoming border. If you are around the Gunni or montrose area in the sage brush (not aspens) that endangered sub species is a possibility but stay away from them with your gun. Big a$$ fines. although I would be wondering about a bow hunter spending time in the sage brush country unless they were onto a special honey hole , I've seen elk in that habitat but not many... If neither of those places, those probably were not sage grouse and "fair game". I usually have a fair amount of luck returning to the places I saw them earlier in the summer while moving cows around or locating them while cutting firewood then coming back for them on the way out, or the next day, with the dog. I've never gotten a limit in one day though since I won't take three out of a single covey and they are not easy to locate or hit when flying throughout those trees. Don't give up
 
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