Ruffed Grouse Hunt Sept 28th 2025 North of Deer River MN

Finally, the Ruffed Grouse season has begun for us! It was warmer than I had hoped for, and the forecast suggests it will stay that way for the next week. Par for the course these days, I guess. We've had to limit ourselves to morning hunts. It was about 60 degrees when we started.

Tasha, the 13-year-old, got the call this morning. We went to her favorite spot, and I was surprised to see no one else parked there. This loop usually takes 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the number of birds we see and how often she roams the woods. A nice breeze was in our faces, and she pointed a grouse within the first five minutes. It flushed low and away, offering no shot. Moments later, a second bird took off from a tree; I shot but was way behind. About ten minutes later, Tasha went on point again. She was only about ten yards off the trail, but the cover is still thick enough that it took a moment to get to her. We had two flushes—the first was a "hear-only," but I saw the second and took a shot, only succeeding in taking out some leaves.

I was already feeling overdressed, even though I was just wearing a thin waffle thermal shirt and a lightweight orange shirt. As we neared the halfway mark, we had a crosswind, and Tasha cast out about 100 yards before going on point. She stayed steady, but I couldn't flush a grouse. On the way back, she stayed mostly within 50 yards of the trail, which seemed fine considering how thick the cover still is. We ended with four more flushes and just one more shot that didn't connect. It was 70 degrees when I got back to the truck.

We drove to the next spot we had planned to hunt, but someone else was already parked there. We bagged the hunt for the day and just drove around, scouting some spots for next time.