Grouse Report from the UP

[baccala]

Got back from the UP Sunday afternoon. Hunted 10-4-08 through10-9-08. Grouse numbers were supposed to be high. Woodcock flight birds were not down yet. Had 65 degree weather the whole trip. Leaves were still on the trees. Had a hard time finding the birds until the last 2-3 days. Bird were in the bigger woods, hunckered down in and around the pine trees. Not where we expected to find them. This was classic winter/snow cover, not early season cover. Had a lot of flushes the last 2-3 days. Most birds were just heard and not seen. Even harder to get a shot. Other hunters reported trouble finding birds. We'd see them in the more traditional early season covers, hunting the aspen cutoffs. All in all, we still had a good week and shot more birds than we could eat. I have a gallon size zip lock bag in the freezer full of grouse breasts. Looking forward to PA tomorrow.

[RUSS0079]

Nice report. Barnesx308 reported that the numbers up north were good. Heading out in the next week or two with the pups.

[ACEarcher]

Russ,

I'm getting ready for that grouse trip. Feelin pritty excited. What would you recomend? I was thinking about using either my Mossberg 500 or my Remington 11-87. I will say this though. My 11-87 I baby it. It is in NIB condition. If we're going to be going through some nasty stuff I'll take the ol beat around 500. Now shot size. 4,5,6? What do you recomend? Any specific brand round you recomend?

P.S. I got a monster 8pt yesterday morning. I'll be posting the pics and stats in the lodge or the bowhunting section soon. So I guess the rest of my season is somewhat open now. At least I have doe tags left. Still gives me a reason to be out.

[smed]

Russ,

I'm getting ready for that grouse trip. Feelin pritty excited. What would you recomend? I was thinking about using either my Mossberg 500 or my Remington 11-87. I will say this though. My 11-87 I baby it. It is in NIB condition. If we're going to be going through some nasty stuff I'll take the ol beat around 500. Now shot size. 4,5,6? What do you recomend? Any specific brand round you recomend?

I've got a vintage model 1100 that I use for skeet/trap primarily, however I dont baby it and it's got a lot of mileage on it and the scars to prove it. It's a solid platform and I still can't shoot better with any other gun; it's quick to point, recoil is manageable and it cycles smoothly allowing for quick decisive follow-up shots. Since the 11-87 is made from the same stock, I can appreciate your sentiment for the gun.

I think that #4's and #5's are going to be too big and will detract from the overall pattern. It doesn't take too much to take them down, you could probably get away with an amped up target load like the Nitro 27's HNCP. I prefer the high-brass #6 express loads from Remington, if there's still a lot of undergrowth and no killing frost, they've got enough power to punch through the bramble and find the target, whereas the target loads are going to get soaked up in the bush. If you are lucky enough to get that follow-up shot, the express loads have the velocity to give you the extra range you'll need.
While my 1100 is the gun I shoot best with, I bring my SxS hunting because I have barrel selection, and it's nice to have a choice for when the bird flushes close, or not so close. I usually keep IC in the right barrel and Extra Full in the left. If I need that follow-up shot and I'm lucky enough to get it, the bird is now significantly down range and I want as tight a pattern as possible.

Anyone know of any decent grouse-woods in PA close to Trenton? I'd love to do some grouse hunting this year, but it would have to be close by and I know there aren't really any grouse in NJ.

[RUSS0079]

Adam,
7.5 would be fine, with a follow up of 6's. Improved cylinder is just fine. I've killed plenty of birds with my old 500. It has now been tweeked into my turkey gun, but you usually don't get a second shot, unless we hit a brood of birds, which is a possibility. Last year I hit a brood of 7 birds, I couldn't shove shells in my over and under fast enough. Only got one bird from that brood, but it was a hell of alot of fun. My Ruger Red Label 20 ga, has a few scars, but that's why we got the dogs, so we don't have to get too screwed up.
Russ

[BarnesX.308]

Russ - 75% of the leaves are down on top of the mountain. Flushed one woodcock in a hayfield. Still hearing the grouse drumming a lot.

[RUSS0079]

Claiming there spots for the winter months I guess.... That is common with the broods breaking up.. Staking a claim.. Thanks for the info..

[baccala]

ACE, I use # 8 shot exclusively for grouse. My friends swear by #9. I use a 20 ga over/under with screw in chokes, cylinder and skeet. Use open chokes for grouse. The plastic shot wads in today's shells keep your patterns together tight enough. I also sometimes use a 12 ga or 20 ga side by side. The chokes have been reamed out to skeet 1 and skeet 2. Stay away from the bigger shot for grouse. You can almost scare a grouse to death. Hard to hit though.

[Ruffone]

Claiming there spots for the winter months I guess.... That is common with the broods breaking up.. Staking a claim.. Thanks for the info..
Russ0079, Going up state Wed. Going to hit the sweet spot! I hear thunder and the sky is blue! nice
[If it's flying it's dying!]

[Setterman]

#8's or #9's. If you handload shotshells and can find it, #8 1/2's have always been my favorite for splitting the difference if you think #9's are too light, but I've killed a lot of grouse with #9's. I've seen others use #7 1/2's but shots are usually close thanks to the thick cover they hide in and a grouse doesn't take much to kill. They are in my opinion the best eating upland game bird so I don't like shot up meat. CYL, SKT or IC chokes also seem to make me look like a superb wingshot in the woods when I use them!