Question for my Die hard Grouse Hunters

[RUSS0079]

You Grouse nutz know who you are!! So what do you find that the grouse are eating in your most sacred Coverts??? Figured I pose the question and maybe get some Grouse Nutz fired up for the upcoming season!!! Remember you can't kill them, unless you shoot at them!

[The Wadd]

I find more birds around a plant i was told was called A T Berry plant! Small berry, taste realy sweet!

[BarnesX.308]

I see most of my grouse in overgrown clear cuts. The new trees consist of striped maple, silver maple, black birch and beech. I don't know what they eat in there. There are scattered blueberry and blackberry bushes in those clear cuts. I suppose they feed on those and stay in the clear cuts for cover.

[RUSS0079]

I find more birds around a plant i was told was called A T Berry plant! Small berry, taste realy sweet!

Tea Berry or Partrige Berry in New England... Great find when hunting grouse... They eat the blueberries early in the season, cause they don't last that long... What about those Beechnuts??? found a mess of them in the crop of many of the gouse I kill...

Scott,
I hate that damn striped maple though... IT chokes out all the new cherry and poplars!!! They need to eradicate that crap!!

[BarnesX.308]

What about those Beechnuts???

In the clear cuts, the trees are still too young to produce mast. If we're seeing grass in the more mature forest, you can bet they're either eating beech nuts or cherries.

[Wicked Deep Stix]

I have been grouse hunting in the moosehead lakes region of maine for the past 13 years and found that they are very fond of ladine clover also old apple ochards provide excellent hunting. Can't wait 1 month from now we head up to rockwood, me for a week. hopefully the woodcock flight is strong too.

[RUSS0079]

Maine is a whole different animal! I've heard of guys hunting up there and getting 10 to 15 flushes from one covert. The birds are thick up there... I know of two or three abandoned farms in our State Lands that me and Scott hunt. Only one has produced grouse for me. The other only woodcock.. Now, I'm not complaining though.. They are close to the roads so everybody and his mother hunts there... Give me a hemlocks,pines and barberries in the middle and we'll have us a good shoot:thup:

[BarnesX.308]

Give me a hemlocks,pines and barberries in the middle and we'll have us a good shoot:thup:

We have barberries on our land and the association has been trying to erradicate them. They say they are an invasive species with no benefit to wildlife. I say poofah on them. Rabbits hide in them and I've seen turkey and deer eat the berries. I've also flushed turkeys from them. They make excellent cover and we need more of that kind of habitat around our fields or the coyotes will kill all our small game.

[RUSS0079]

During the hard winter months when the snow drifts, you'll find grouse snow roosting in them. Then they don't have far to go to get some food.. Grouse love barberries. Your association don't much about habitate if that's there feelings. On top of that the bird will bring more, when they take a crap in Ganoga Lake!:razz:

[BarnesX.308]

Your association don't much about habitate if that's there feelings

I agree. They won't let us plant food plots in the hay fields either because they think we're trying to lure deer in for the kill.

Actually, I want them just to give the deer better nutrition. They can't live on corn alone. :D

[RUSS0079]

where are they getting corn on that mountain???? Corn Kribs????

[RUSS0079]

you should sneak in among the hay and plant some chickcory.. They have stuff now that you don't have to till or disk...

[BarnesX.308]

where are they getting corn on that mountain???? Corn Kribs????

Quite a few people have corn feeders in their back yards. We've seen everything up there from flying squirrels to 600lb bears. Also turkey and bucks up to 150". Can't find them in the woods the next day, but we see them at night. :D

[massbaster]

T-Berry and wild grape......my male GSP loves running in the briars to point old scent so I have to crawl in and release him lol..... Russ and/or Barnes...you guys seein any woodcock flights up north yet?

[BarnesX.308]

No woodcock yet. We usually see them for about 2 weeks in October. I'll post the next time I see one up there. Usually flush a few in the hayfields in archery.

[RUSS0079]

Tell you a secret. When the migration comes thru, theres a spot in Evansburg that's pretty good. Small though.. Shoot me an email, I'll give it to you.. I don't hunt there because of the yahoo's.

[baccala]

I hunt grouse as often as possible in PA with my wirehaired pointing griffon. By far, the most common food source I find in their crops are the red berries and leaves from multiflora rose. We find them in the nastiest stuff you can imagine. I often come home with blood all over my face from hunting in that stuff.

[Don B]

Russ, Have you ever hunted in Clinton Co. Renova area? For many years starting about 1994 thru 2000 the Grouse were on fire up there.20 flushes a day! Many Many limits .A few times we would see 5-6 roosting in tress.Then about 2002 it quickly died off. It picked up again around 2004/5 but not nearly as good.99% of the birds up there were full of beechnut.
I now hunt Grouse behind our cabin in Huntington Co. Some years good most years so so.I will tell you I shot the biggest Grouse of my life behind the cabin it had to go 4 lbs.I have that bird mounted in my living room.Most Grouse shot have the same feed in them as the Clinton birds except for wild grapes in the early part of the season.We are loaded up with grapes.I am surprised that all the years hunting up at the cabin I never flushed a Grouse from any of the numerouse grape stands.Most of the flushes come out of nowhere basically in no-mans land in the forrest.

[grtwhthunter/fisherman]

consider yourselves lucky to have grouse, down in southjersey youd b hard pressed to even flush one anymore. a grouse was my very first thing i got when i turned old enough to hunt alone what a rush. miss it wwodcock becomin scarse too but still a few.:(lack of habitat, zone 25 65 23 ,

[massbaster]

ahh.......ya gotta get your boots on and werk it werk it.....goooooooooood woodcock numbers and flights in Jersey/South Jersey... :D

Gotta put your time in....:thup: