10 Next-Level Ruffed Grouse Hunting Tips


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experts from Park Falls, Wisconsin—the Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World—share their secrets for the great North Woods game bird  

With a population of fewer than 2,500 and a two-hour drive to the nearest city with more than 10,000 people, Park Falls, Wisconsin, tends to fly under the radar. Ask outdoor enthusiasts if the name rings a bell, though, and you might just get a nod of recognition. It’s the home of St. Croix Rods. But this little gem has another claim to fame. Known as the “Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World,” Park Falls is nestled in the heart of Wisconsin’s Northwoods and surrounded by more than a million acres of public land. An active logging industry creates quality grouse habitat and greater access to that wealth of land. Many of the area trails have been seeded with clover and gated off to prevent motorized vehicle use. It’s no wonder folks travel from all corners to chase birds here, and it’s no surprise that some have decided to hang around these parts a whole lot longer. As famed environmentalist Aldo Leopold once wrote, “There are two kinds of hunting: ordinary hunting, and ruffed grouse hunting.” Local enthusiasts tend to agree. An unexpected downturn in this year’s spring drumming counts has left some scratching their heads, but the world headquarters of “winged dynamite” is filled with experts who’ve navigated the inevitable bird boom and bust before. And we’re picking their brains at an opportune time—just as they dig a bit deeper in their toolbox of go-to strategies.

WHERE

1) Follow the Food

At the start of the season, these birds have a smorgasbord of options—bugs, berries, mushrooms, you name it. But that all changes along with the weather. “Go to green,” suggests Terry Ides, who has operated Ides Guides since the ’70s, “and keep going green.”

Concentrate on lowland areas until frost arrives. Next, move on to young aspen stands. As the leaves shrivel up and turn brown, follow the grouse toward berry brush and eventually to trails and open sunlight as they search for clover. After snowfall covers the clover, they’ll be budding up in the trees.

2) Hit the Edges

“Grouse, like a lot of birds, love edges,” says Jake Nelson, who has been guiding hunts in the Park Falls area for 15 years. “If there’s a tag alder swamp or a creek bottom, you’re going to find birds along that edge.” And when you get your first of the day, it’s worth your while to see what they’re feeding on. Figure that out, and you have an even better sense of what to look for and where to go.

3) Hunt Their Habitat

Grouse habitat is so specific because they are at the bottom of the food chain and cover is critical. Although there are exceptions to the rule, you’ll want to gravitate toward aspen cuts that are about 9 to 16 years of age, says Ann Jandernoa, who has a background in forestry and 15 years of experience as a guide.

Most recently, her focus has turned to expanding her Scout-N-Hunt Mobile Grouse Habitat Maps, which help pinpoint prime locations within public land areas. When you have the correct stand density, she explains, you have the correct canopy cover to protect against owls, hawks, and other predators. And when you have the correct canopy cover, you also have the correct food source on the ground.

WHEN

4) Watch Your Pants

When wet, grouse feathers get sticky, which makes it more difficult to fly. That’s why they have to stay dry. If it’s going to be a hot day, there’s a timeframe—especially early season—when the dew burns off and the birds become more active, Jandernoa says. If your pants are soaked from a morning walk through the woods, pay attention as the day goes on. Activity will typically pick up as the humidity falls.

5) Go Early, Go Late

Grouse tend to loaf at midday. The best time, according to Nelson, is often in the early morning or late afternoon. That’s when they move around, forage for food, and put a lot of scent on the ground.

See all 10 tips and the complete Outdoor Life article 

 

 

Wisconsin 2021 Ruffed Grouse Numbers on the Decline After Peak in Population Cycle

Ruffed grouse populations in Wisconsin follow a fairly steady 10-year population cycle.

Through decades of surveys, the Wisconsin DNR has found the population usually peaks in years that end in 9, 0, or 1.

This spring’s drumming survey found a 6% decline in breeding males overall in the state. Drumming is the beating sound males’ wings make during mating season.

The northern half of the state saw a 7% decline. The central region saw no change. The driftless area saw a 33% increase.

Alaina Gerrits is the Assistant Upland Wildlife Ecologist with the DNR. She says that decline is nothing out of the usual.

“Now we’re just kind of going down that very characteristic downslide and it’s a typical normal thing. I think that 6% decrease isn’t anything we should be really concerned about. It’s something we were anticipating,” said Gerrits.

She said this means the population likely peaked last year or the year before.

The DNR doesn’t know for certain since it wasn’t able to the survey last spring due to the pandemic.

“It’s a little frustrating for sure because we’ve been doing these surveys for decades. To have one year missing is really atypical,” said Gerrits.

While the DNR doesn’t have the drumming surveys from last spring, it does have harvest data from last year’s hunt.

In 2020, there was an increase in harvested grouse.

“That’s kind of a piece of evidence that leads me to believe that we did peak last year,” said Gerrits. “Once we can have harvest information after this season is over in 2021, we’ll kind of be able to use that as a little bit of an index to see where the population is at as well.”

Gerrits said Wisconsin is home to a robust ruffed grouse population. For perspective, roughly 200,000 grouse were harvested last year.

Read the full WXPR article

MN 2021 Ruffed grouse counts down from last year

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minnesota’s ruffed grouse spring population counts are down from last year as expected during the declining phase of the species’ 10-year cycle — a predictable pattern recorded for 72 years. Although peaks vary from eight to 11 years apart, the most recent peak in the cycle occurred in 2017.

Ruffed grouse populations are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout the state’s forested regions. Drumming is a low sound produced by males as they beat their wings rapidly and in increasing frequency to signal the location of their territory. Drumming displays also attract females that are ready to begin nesting.

The spring drumming counts are an important indicator of the ruffed grouse breeding population. The number of birds present during the fall hunting season also depends upon nesting success and chick survival during the spring and summer.

If production of young birds is low during the summer months, hunters may see fewer birds than expected based on counts of drumming males in the spring. Conversely, when production of young is high, hunters may see more birds than anticipated in the fall.

The 2021 statewide survey results for ruffed grouse were 1.3 drums per stop. The most recent peak in 2017 was 2.1 drums per stop. During the low point of the cycles, counts are typically about 0.8 drums per stop.

Drum counts were 1.4 drums per stop in the northeast survey region; 1.1 drums per stop in the northwest; 0.8 drums per stop in the central hardwoods; and 0.9 drums per stop in the southeast survey region.

Read the full Grouse Survey Report

WI DNR RELEASES THIRD YEAR OF RUFFED GROUSE WEST-NILE VIRUS TESTING RESULTS

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today released test results from the third year of the ruffed grouse West Nile virus surveillance project.

The collaborative multi-year study explores ruffed grouse West Nile virus exposure and infection in the western Great Lakes region. The study also aims to identify future research needs in Wisconsin, including a potential survival study investigating sources of mortality.

Although the DNR did not distribute new testing kits in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin hunters with leftover kits from previous years' sampling efforts submitted 36 birds for testing.

As in humans, ruffed grouse can develop antibodies as an immune response to viruses they encounter. Blood test results from birds collected in 2020 showed that 20% had antibodies consistent with exposure to West Nile. Of these samples, 11% had confirmed exposure to the virus, and 9% had likely exposure to West Nile or a closely related virus. Only one of the 36 samples submitted also had detectable portions of the virus present in the heart.

"We are grateful to the passionate grouse hunters of Wisconsin who took the time to submit samples from their harvested birds," said Alaina Gerrits, DNR Assistant Upland Game Bird Ecologist. "Without their support, this study would not be possible."

Hunters who submitted samples and provided contact information will receive test results via email as soon as possible, regardless of whether the results were negative or positive. The ruffed grouse harvested in Wisconsin during the 2020 hunting season were sent to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Georgia, to be analyzed. Partners in Michigan and Minnesota decided not to participate in 2020 due to the logistical challenges of COVID-19.

Read the rest of the Wi DNR article

Flushing Dogs for Grouse and Woodcock



 (Chris Ingram photo)

Flushers can be effective for flushing and retrieving grouse and woodcock because of how close they work.

By Jerry Ray Cacchio

I am the first to admit that for much of my career I was focused on training, trialing, and judging flushers across the country. That said, I made ends meet by guiding upland hunters on pen-raised birds at the many gun clubs near my home in the Hudson Valley.

When I was a boy, however, there were numerous opportunities to pursue wild grouse and woodcock in my home coverts, and this early relationship with forest birds and flushing dogs developed my aesthetic and my training style. Over the course of my career I also spent ample time with my colleagues at The Orvis Company based in Vermont, right in the heart of grouse and woodcock country. I was fortunate to work with several Orvis employees as they trained flushing spaniels specifically for use in the grouse woods.

Why Pointing is a Challenge

Ruffed grouse and woodcock of the Northeast frequent the most tangled, prickly, unforgiving, and altogether overlooked corners of our region, finding in those places both feed and protection from predators. To hunt grouse and woodcock here is to locate what my friend Pat Berry calls “a piece of woods so thick you’d have trouble throwing a dead cat through it.” Nevertheless, we send our dogs into it, hoping to move a bird or two.

Hunting such cover with a pointing dog can be challenging for a few reasons. First, that pointing dog has to learn quickly that ruffed grouse are rarely willing to sit tight and will flush out of a cover quickly. Ruffs also have an uncanny ability to run, skittering through the understory before flushing at the edge of the cover. These characteristics force a pointing dog to work a cover quickly but carefully, to hold a point from a distance at the first sign of scent, and to re-locate as needed, often without the hunter’s direction. Then, of course, the grouse and the dog must be staunch enough to wait for the hunter to get in position for a shot. All of this proves to be incredibly challenging.


Woodcock hunting over a pointing dog is more forgiving. Woodcock tend to hold tight, rarely running or flushing even when a dog on point is near. That said, they often hold so tight, and are so well camouflaged against the forest floor, that a hunter has to nearly step on them to get them up. The resulting shot is often a mount and snap-shoot scenario in tight cover which can prove quite tricky, even for the seasoned gunner.


A Flusher’s Method

So, how does the pursuit of these birds look different with a flusher? Think first about how a flusher, especially a flushing spaniel, is designed to behave. The flushing spaniel needs to quarter close and check in, making sure that it does not range farther than the gun can reach. Ideally, the dog keeps pace with the hunter, and will not stretch out too far if the hunter is picking through tough terrain. Moreover, a flusher can be “hupped’” as the hunter makes up ground and keeps in step with the dog’s forward progress.

Flushing spaniels are also often more agile in the grouse woods than a long-legged pointer. When a hunter ventures into the grouse woods, he or she can assume that the flushing spaniel will hunt the cover thoroughly and stay within range, working quickly enough to get a grouse to flush rather than run, while not ranging so far as to push wary wild birds.

Read the rest of Gun Dog Magazine article