Showing posts with label Ely MN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ely MN. Show all posts

Ely MN - 2014 Grouse Opener

We started the 2014 MN Ruffed Grouse season in Ely again.  Our luck hasn’t been too good the last few years in this area so I was anxious to see how this year would pan out.


We hit our first spot at about 9:30.  45 degrees, sunny, and slight breeze.  I started Tasha the two year old setter.  The trail spits into a Y, the dogs and I usually go to the left but this year we went to the right.  The trail drops down to a creek that has been low or even dry recently.  This year it was the highest that I’ve seen it in a while.  Tasha plowed right through the deepest part and I carefully picked my way across.  We made it to the end of the trail without any bird activity.  

About 1/3 of the way back Tasha’s bell went silent.  I tired to make my way back to her but the thick cover slowed me too much and the bird broke before I could get into a position to make a shot.  Tasha continued to work the cover well be we didn’t make contact with any other birds.


Trail number two was Tina’s turn.  Tina is 12 1/2 now and has me spoiled as a hunter.  I can go on autopilot.  I can just walk and listen for her bell to stop.  About 15 minutes into her hunt I saw her locked up on the side of the trail.  I moved into position and took one step into the woods and the bird broke, I was able to snap off a shot in the general direction of the flush.  Tina went into the woods and picked up the bird.  We worked to the end of trail and turned around.  Tina continued to work the cover but we didn’t move any more birds.  The trip back ended up being just a little too far and Tina started to limp about 15 minutes from the truck.  I’m hoping that she is able to do a short hunt on Sunday.

Ruffed Grouse Hunt - Ely MN September 25th 2011

Tina, Marge, Fergie, and I With Sunday's Grouse Harvest

















Sunday Sept 25th

We actually got rolling a bit earlier this morning than we did yesterday. I dropped my dad off at a new trail that he wanted to try and I went up the road to the spot that we tried for the first time Saturday. There wasn’t much breeze as Tina and I started down the trail, I was curious to see if we would see any birds or if yesterday was a fluke. It took about 15 minutes before she got birdy at all but we didn’t move a bird on the way out. After about 30 minutes we reached the end and turned back. I wasn’t feeling too optimistic at this time. About half way back Tina started to tighten up her quartering and locked solid. I was able to move in and connect on a flush through the brush. We didn’t see anymore birds on the way back to the truck. If we can get a chance at a bird or two each time down this shorter trail I’ll be happy.

I picked up my dad, who hadn’t seen any birds on his walk, and headed to the other short trail that we had hit yesterday. Marge got the call this time and we started off. About 2/3 of the way along the trail she went on point in a small area with thicker cover. It was a strait away shot and I thought I saw the bird go down but wasn’t sure. After looking and not easily seeing anything I got down on my hands and knees and found a couple of batches of feathers. I brought Marge back to the spot and she started to work the trail. After she cut back across the trail I could her the bird trying to make a run for it. Marge was right on her which was a little surprising as she is fairly hard of hearing. After coming back along the forest road we called it quits for this area.

We made another try at our old standby but again were not able to move a bird. We pulled the plug and listened to the Vikings blow a huge half time lead for the third week in a row.

All in all it was a decent weekend. Six birds in the bag, some nice Woodcock points. It was a little disappointing to be moving fewer than 1/2 of the birds that we were seeing last season.

Ruffed Grouse Hunt - Ely MN September 24th 2011

15 Year Old Marge and Her First Grouse Of 2011



















Saturday Sept 24th

We awoke to a foggy morning and started the drive to a new spot that I had found last year.  ( ok, just to be clear that I have never found a “ secret spot” in MN.  All of my grouse hunting is on public land ).  We were lucky and no one else was there.  I dropped my dad off at the turn and then Tina and I got out farther down the road.  We started down the trail and for most of the way she wasn’t getting birdy at all.  Finally in the last 100 yards before we got to the turnaround she started to work some scent.  She went on point along a small strip of pines.  As I moved in the grouse flushed from the back side of the pines and I lucked out as it decided to cut back over the trail and I was able to connect on a nice right to left shot.  We worked the rest of the way back to the vehicle and didn’t move another bird.  On the way back I did hear another shot and was hoping that it was my dad.  I found out that it was in fact him but that he hadn’t connected.

We decided to just drive along the forest road to see if we could find another spot to try.  After a few trails that weren’t long enough to make it worthwhile we did find one that looked like it could be a bit longer.  I unloaded Marge and we made our way down the trail.  As we came over a small rise I could see a beaver pond just to the right.  Just then a grouse was flying up the trail towards us, it flared when it saw Marge and was just out of range.  We looked for it in hopes of getting another opportunity but did not come across it.  Another 10 minutes of walking and Marge started to go into her stealthy stalk mode.  Not exactly classic pointing dog / grouse form but it proved effective as she slid into her point.  As I moved in the bird flushed just behind and to my left.  I made it two for two and the right to left shots.  Not something that happens all that often for me.  

After getting back to the truck we went to a spot that we first started hunting about ten years ago.  The cover has gotten older and the new clear cuts haven’t grown up enough yet but last year it was still productive enough to make it worth a stop.  After getting Fergie her exercise I put Tina back into her beeper and gps collars.  We worked our standard areas for a good our and didn’t move a bird.  I’m hoping that the clear cuts will start to produce some birds in the near future.

We ended up calling it a day around 2 pm as it was starting to warm up a bit and we still had tomorrow to hunt.

MN Grouse 2010 opener pt 2

Sept 19 MN Grouse Opener - Ely MN



















Sunday looked to be another day of nice hunting conditions.  It wasn’t quite as sunny as Saturday but still looked good.

I went straight to the newer spot to give it a shot right off the bat.  I lucked out and no one was parked on the way in yet.  Tina and I started out down the main trail.  Tina went on a nice point within a few minutes and the grouse presented me with an easy shot but I choked and blew it.  Not too far up the trail I has another chance.  This time the point was along the edge of a clear cut.  Three birds got up together and I connected on one that swung to my right.  It took me two shots to bring it down.  I focused on making sure where it went down so I didn’t get any shots off at the other birds.  On the rest of the way out on the trail we didn’t see any other birds but on the way back we were fortunate enough to get another point along some younger cover and I was able to connect through the leaves.

Back at the truck I put Marge on the ground and we set out to try a smaller trail in the area that we hadn’t hunted yet.  The trail wasn’t as well defined so I was hoping that not as many people had hit it yet.  About 15 minutes into the hunt Marge went on point towards a drop off and as I walked in two birds got up and one fell to the shot.  It took a while to find it as it had dropped into a low area that was still well covered by leaves.  Three more birds got up while we found the hit bird.  We continued along the trail and didn’t see any more birds but did push up a nice looking buck.

After a Dew and some Mini-Snickers it was time to get Fergie out and let her stretch her legs.  Being blind and 12 she often gets the short end of the stick when it comes to hunting time.  Another nice feature of this trail is that she will walk on the gravel portion and if she starts to go off course and hit the heavier cover on the side she will move back to the middle.  One of the nice thing about early hunts is that there are still birds around that haven’t been pressured yet and this time it worked well for Fergie.  About 10 minutes into her walk we went around a corner and she locked up and there was one about 5 yards off the trail.  The grouse gods smiled on us and I was able to reward her efforts with a bird.  After heading back to the truck we drove around the area scouting some some and found a spot that looked good but already had two trucks at it so we moved on.  After driving around for a bit more we swung by the new honey hole and there was a truck there so he decided to call it a weekend and head back into town for a late lunch before driving back to St. Paul.

2010 MN Grouse Opener





























Sept 18 MN Grouse Opener - Ely MN
Normally I don’t hunt the opening of grouse hunting as the cover is too thick and usually it is too warm but this year it looked like it was going to be a nice cool weekend so I decided to give it a try and head north to Ely.

Saturday started out nice and cool and the leaves seemed to be down more than usual for mid-sept.  As I was pulling into my first spot a pickup was already pulling out.  They said they had seen a couple of batches of up to 6 grouse still bunched up.  Tina ( English Setter ) and I started down the trail to some lower areas that we’ve had good luck with in the past and sure enough it didn’t take Tina long to get birdy.  Within a short period she had two nice points but the birds did their usual flush behind the trees maneuvers and I wasn’t able to get off a shot.  After working the area for a good period of time we started to head back to the truck and not more than 50 yards from it did Tina lock up solid.  The bird flushed towards an open area and I was able to connect with it.  When I picked it up I was amazed at how small it was.  I put Tina in the truck and we started to drive to the next spot and along the side of the trail I saw another bird.  I threw  the truck into reverse and backed up far enough to get Marge out and give her a chance at it.  Marge made a nice point and I got lucky with another nice flush and we had two in the bag.

Marge and I continued into the back portion of this area and while walking down the trail  as we rounded a corner she locked on point and another easy shot and another young bird was in the game bag.  I was quickly becoming a fan of opening weekend.  We worked this area for another half an hour and had a missed shot and a wild flush.  It was time to move to area number two.

Area number two is just a couple of miles away but I had never hunted it before last year but I had good enough luck to make it worth revisiting.  It was a good choice.  We saw a number of birds and I missed a couple of easy shots but ended up connecting on the last two that it took to fill out our limit.  The last bird was a far out crossing shot which I was happy to successfully complete as I have been missing those shots at the gun range all summer long.

We were able to finish up our hunt by about 1 o’clock.  We then drove along looking for some new coverts.  We didn’t find any useable sites but will continue to look as you can never have too many good spots and the new one that we found last fall worked out well for us on this trip.

Ely MN Grouse Hunt Sept 2009


This past weekend I was able to go up to Ely MN to grouse hunt. I've been going up there for the 2nd weekend of grouse hunting for the past 10 years.

One of the challenges is that we've been hunting the same areas for 10 years now. The spots that were hot 10 years ago are now about 10 years past peak.

On Friday we got out at about 1:30 and it was 70 degrees, sunny, and not much of a breeze. We hit our usual spot. I ended up seeing/hearing 6 birds - shot at 3 and ended up missing all three shots. The cover was thick and I didn't really feel like any of the shots were that doable but I've made tougher. We ended up quiting at about six as the dogs were hot and tired.

Saturday we got out at about 11 am. Cooler at 60 degrees but more humid as the weather was changing. We went back to the old reliable spot one more time. Saw 3 more, shot and missed one more time. As we were pulling out 2 1/2 hours later we saw two separate trucks pulling.

I decided to drive down the main road a little bit further. I ended up seeing a nice looking fire road and decided to try it out. I unloaded Tina, my seven year old English Setter, and started to walk. After walking about 100 yards I could hear a chainsaw just up the trail. We went back loaded up and drove up to the chainsaw area. I stopped and spoke with the two guys cutting wood and they said the trail went a bit farther up and that they had seen some grouse now and then. Drove another 100 yards parked and unloaded Tina again. We went a little ways and got a nice point and proceeded to miss another shot. Five more minutes of walking and another point. Finally I connected. 10 minutes another connection and a miss. We worked out way back to the truck and took turns working Marge and Fergie. Marge had a nice point on a ridge but the bird went straight out in front of her so I didn't get a shot off.

Took a bit of a break for a Snickers and a Dew. Unloaded Tina again and decided to rework the original portion of the trail that we had gotten our birds on. We got another point after a short while and I was able to connect on a double so I felt pretty good about myself. I ended up taking 4 out of the last 5 birds that I shot at. We didn't see any more birds and called it a day at about 6:30.

I think we saw/heard about 16 birds on Saturday between the two spots. I think the numbers are up from last year but not to the crazy numbers that I'd seen 8-10 years ago.

First Ruffed Grouse Hunt 2008

This past weekend I was hunting by Ely, MN.
I've hunted up there at least one early weekend for the past 10 years.

On Saturday I saw / heard 8 birds, shot at 2 and got both.

I started with my new Setter Tina ( http://www.hunt.mn/tina.htm ) She has been used as a Guide Dog on hunts before. I was nervous that she would run way to big for me. She actually was about right. I think that if a few more of the leafs had been down we would have been a good match.

She got 1 of the two birds.

Marge and Fergie were hunted together. Marge is a 12 year old English setter and still can hunt far a good period of time. Fergie is a 10.5 yr old Pointer who is mostly blind. She seems to see somewhat when it is sunny outside and enjoys going down the trails and taking her time through the woods.

They did well and we got one bird on the hunt. Marge did end up running off, I'm guessing that she was chasing a deer. She got out to 700 yards. I ended up getting my truck and driving back to where she had taken off. She actually came back and was hunting the other side of the trail.
I was using the Garmin Astro on her for the first time and was really pleased with how well it worked.

Sunday wasn't as productive. We only saw one and heard 1 other bird. We ended up calling it a day around 2 pm so that I could make the drive back to St. Paul.

Coming Soon - Reviews of hunting gear that I am actually using.

http://www.HuntingGearGuide.com


http://www.hunt.mn
Hunt over 6000 acres of private land in Minnesota
All wild game. Pheasant Duck Goose Deer Bear