Grouse hunting.

[Joe13]

Im looking forward to it this year. Last year I saw a few scouting for deer and elk so I took my shotty, almost got one but he flushed as I was taking aim. I cant decide if I should take the shotty or the 22lr....

I think it depends on where your hunting. Shoty is good for brush. .22 for fields or places with longer lines of sight. IMO

 

[Koda]

I think it depends on where your hunting. Shoty is good for brush. .22 for fields or places with longer lines of sight. IMO

I almost always see them on roads. They just stand there.



I'm not experienced at what distances my 12ga is good for but after seeing a few last year I think I should take the 22... which I am experienced with

 

[Joe13]

Head shots gotta be better then a bird full of shot

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I also usually find 'em on a logging road ... and yes a head shot is much easier to clean than a body shot with shot.

I think they also have some sort of firearm recognition class for grouse.
If I have a .22 or some sort of ML rifle they tend to stick to the brush and flush right as I go by ... If I have a shotgun then there they are just out of range and in the open ... LOL.
Now if only I had a Savage arms 24 .22 / .20 gauge combo gun ...
Andy

 

[etrain16]

Not a hunter here, but my step-father, before he retired, would go hunting for chukar every year with his boss. They would get a bunch and he would always get his made into some of the best darn summer sausage I've ever tasted. He would give me a few each year to toss in the freezer for a special treat now and then. Too bad he doesn't get out there any more. I don't know if grouse would work for that as well, but dang, it sure was good stuff.

I should mention, I have been hunting once in my life. At age 12 I was staying with a friend at his family's ranch near Imnaha, OR. One of the ranch hands went out grouse hunting with a .22 and took us with him. We never did spot a single bird, but it was fun to go out with an experienced hunter and see what he was doing to try and flush them out.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I usually fry up the breasts with a little lemon , pepper , onions and garlic.
Diced up with mushrooms , onions and a cream sauce over rice / potatoes is also a treat.
Roasting over the fire at your hunting camp , is hard to beat.
Andy

 

[aflineman]

I am looking forward to it. Looks like I will have a new hunter to walk with this year. Should be a fun time.

 

[Tikkakoski]

I've been out looking for grouse a handful of times when in season but I swear I only ever see one when I'm driving and they sit on the road. I was up in timber area. Any recommendations for where to target them out here in the valley or coast range? I've always had rotten luck.

 

[Koda]

I've been out looking for grouse a handful of times when in season but I swear I only ever see one when I'm driving and they sit on the road. I was up in timber area. Any recommendations for where to target them out here in the valley or coast range? I've always had rotten luck.

I wouldnt hunt them in the Timber area, too much traffic. Drive out 30 min farther, walk abandoned/closed forest roads especially in riparian zones and you will find them.

technically, its illegal to shoot them on a road open to traffic....

 

[Joe13]

I wouldnt hunt them in the Timber area, too much traffic. Drive out 30 min farther, walk abandoned/closed forest roads especially in riparian zones and you will find them.

technically, its illegal to shoot them on a road open to traffic....

Good advice.

The ones I've found were like that on the road until I can get parked and the gun out of the car and then they do a short flight up to a low branch and make for easy picking if they aren't perched over a ravine.

 

[Oregon Rob]

It is illegal to shoot from or across a road and with a rifle although I'm sure as many are taken with rifle from the road as are taken legally. I live in the Banks/Manning area and have not had good luck when hunting for them myself. Would be fun to take a trip east but it's hard to justify that kind of distance for grouse… I have gotten a few while scouting for deer on the east side.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

In Washington state you can use a rifle ...
Not sure about anywhere else.
Andy

 

[Koda]

you can use any rimfire firearm in Oregon for forest grouse

 

[Joe13]

You can shoot small game with a rifle or shotgun in WA.

I walk off the road a bit before I take a shot...

I usually see 4-5 while scouting or going up to shoot in the boonies.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

oh man, me in the blue mountains, a three ruffs and three blue grouse daily limit, a Dutch oven with the makings,,,, Heaven

 

[mjbskwim]

So back in sequim,we're going out to shoot with a bunch of friends and I take a half dozen or so guns for everyone to try out.
I have no less than 4 (ok maybe a dozen guns,lol) 22s a few shotguns and other stuff.
Do you suppose I remember to have 1, just one? ready in case we see a grouse?
Nope
Then the ext time my buddy couldn't hit one from about 20' with his 22 pistol
Grouse fever

 

[Koda]

all this talk about hunting makes me wish it was opening day, I cant wait to get out there. Was out a few weekends ago scouting for elk and flushed a momma grouse and about 6 baby chicks... I skirted around the spot to not spook them any further. Looking forward to scouting again next month with a grouse gun in tow...

 

[BaggerRyder]

Toss the grouse on it's back, place one foot on each wing, tight to the breast.
Grab both feet, pull. Chop wings off, done.
A little final cleaning, and placed in a ziplock bag.
Next!!

Oregon has a law that states you can't just breast a grouse while in the field.
Got to leave the head and one wing attached till you get home or to camp. Used to use that method for years until a GW told us it is technically illegal to do. It also only works well if the bird is still warm.

I used to love grouse hunting, but for some reason got uninterested in killing grouse. Actually for some d@mn reason I've gotten less interested in killing anything I hunt. And I LOVE to hunt, just not the killing part. What the heck is wrong with me.

 

[Koda]

And I LOVE to hunt, just not the killing part. What the heck is wrong with me.

nothing.

there is nothing wrong with not wanting to kill something and everyone has their own threshold. I don't kill anything I wont eat, personally. I give thanks to the animal I took for my sustenance. I don't mean to sound cheesy but really taking any life for food should be done with great respect for the animal hunted however you do it...

 

[Gunnerboy]

Im more excited to have a new hunter to show about grouse hunting than i am about actually hunting them myself... Funny how that happens