How To Miss A Ruffed Grouse Shot - Video

I went 0 for 8 on quality shot opportunities this day.

I was able to recover over the next two days but am still missing some easy ones.  The previous couple of weekends I was hitting some of the tougher shots.

Grand Rapids / Deer River MN area.

Ruffed Grouse Hunt - Lake Winnie Winnibigoshish MN - Deer River MN - 10/25/2013

10/25/2013

The pendulum swung the other way today.  I saw lots of birds but could not hit one.

We ended up going to our second choice.  The same pickup has been in our number one choice the past 3 weekends.  The nice thing is that he usually leaves by 2 o’clock so we can park there for late afternoon hunt.

Within 50 yards of leaving the car I saw a grouse flush wild about 20 yards in the woods.  After a short walk we got to a wide spot in the trail and I was thinking "this is such a good looking spot but I’ve never seen a grouse here"  just then Tasha bumped one and it came flying at me.  I missed a shot while it was flying at me and then one while it was flying away.  If the GoPro was working right I should have a good video of “how to miss a grouse”.   A little farther up the trail I saw a bird flush, as we approached the area Tasha went on point.  I figured she was pointing the one that flew.  Again the phrase “ always trust your dog” proved true.  As I was walking up and thinking that there was nothing there any longer up came another bird and another miss was tallied.

On our 90 minute hunt we moved 7 grouse, 3 of which were pointed by Tasha, none of which did I connect on.

I swapped dogs hoping that Tina could turn the tide.  We hunted for 2.5 hrs and moved 9 grouse and one woodcock.  I shot at 3 of the grouse and the woodcock and missed all of them.  At one spot Tina went on point and I saw something run in front of her.  I was thinking it was a rabbit as she likes to point them and we’ve seen a number of them here.  I walked towards her and a grouse got up low and straight in front of her.  I held off of shooting as I didn’t want to hit her.

On our way out we bumped into a couple of hunters.  One of them was wearing the same hat as I was.  It was a for the kennel, Northwoods Bird Dogs that both of my active dogs are out of.  We chatted a bit and one of them was a guide that works out of the same lodge that Jerry, the trainer / breeder, guides out of.  The grouse woods can be a small place sometimes.

We moved to a different parking spot in the same area and I gave Tasha another run.  She got 2 more points and just to keep everything on the same track I didn’t hit either one.  I did have one take off from about 10 feet up a tree.  This is the second week in a row that this has happened.  Neither time did it seem like it was close to roosting time.

5 hours hunting.  19 birds moved.  18 grouse 1 woodcock.  8 shots taken.  No hits.

I’m switching guns and hats tomorrow.  I mean it couldn’t be me that is the issue...

A First Grouse - Grand Rapids MN Ruffed Grouse Hunt October 19th 2013

The First Grouse That I've Taken Over One Of Tasha's Points ( Fergie looking on )

Saturday October 19th 2013

The MEA weekend curse hit in full force today.  I had to go to a 5th spot to find a place that didn’t already have a vehicle parked at it.  I was at the first spot a 9 am.  It took me an hour to find a spot that we could hunt.  I started out with Tasha and we hunted for about an hour but didn’t move a bird.  The cover looked good but it is a pretty obvious place.

Area #2 looked even better but Tina and I didn’t fair any better.  One of the nice things about this spot was that there were a number of areas around it that had been clear cut in the past year or two so it should only get better.  One of the saddest things in grouse hunting is to have a good area that never gets any maintenance and the cover just gets too old to be productive.

The third spot that we hit didn’t look quite as nice but also didn’t look like it had seen as much use.  We hit this spot for an hour and moved one bird but I didn’t get off a shot.

We returned to the spot that we had hoped to start out at and there wasn’t anyone parked there.  I started with Tasha and about 5 min into the trail she went on point and the bird came up before I was ready... arrgg...  We checked the woodcock area and didn’t move anything and then it was on to the longer trail.  About half way out she locked up.  I missed a left to right shot and then a second grouse got up and I finally was able to take one off of her point.  We finished working the trail out and back and I missed two more grouse by the time we got back to the truck.  I was still excited to have gotten a bird from one of her points.

Tina got the call to finish up the day.  After a short period we started to get some sleet and was thinking of bagging it but I figured we could always take a shortcut back to the vehicle if need be.  We were on our way to an area that Tasha and I had not hit and to get there we went by woodcock hollow ( I decided to name it ).  Sure enough Tina went on point.  I swung out wide to come at her from the other side of the cover.  Two steps in to the cover and the woodcock came straight at me.  The dang bird almost flew right into me.  After dodging it I took a shot and missed but was able to connect on the second shot.  We worked an area with pine trees and Tina made another nice point and I was able to connect on an easy shot.

On our way out we ran into a guy from West Virginia.  He had been hunting in the area for two weeks and commented on how many hunters there were.  I told him that with the National Ruffed Grouse Hunt and then MEA weekend he picked two of the busiest weeks to hit the area.  He was leaving the next day for two weeks in SD pheasant hunting.

I went 1/1 on Woodcock but only 2 out of 7 or 8 on grouse.  Still, getting the first one over Tasha made it all ok.

Sunday

We woke to a steady wet snow falling.  We hunted for two hours and only moved one bird.  I did hear some shooting but I decided to pack up and head home early.

Tasha and Tina With Their 2 Grouse and 1 Woodcock

Grand Rapids MN Ruffed Grouse Hunt October 18th 2013

3 Dogs 3 Grouse

Friday October 18th 2013

I am guessing that like most people I like to hunt the weekdays when possible.  I like the feeling of being alone in the woods.  We hit our first spot at about 1 pm.  I was surprised that no one was already parked at the spot when we got there.

I decided to start with Tasha.  I thought that by giving her the first shot at the area that maybe I could take her first grouse over a point.  I was able to take a woodcock that she  had pointed but had not yet connected on a grouse.  She has had a few flash points but nothing real solid yet.

She started to work the cover right away and seemed to be more serious about her approach.  We hit an area that usually produces a woodcock or two but didn’t move anything.  The second stretch is a longer piece of trail.  In this area she seemed to be working a bit slower and not quite as sure of herself.  We reached a split in the trail and as we got about 25 yards from the split Tasha stopped.  I wasn’t sure if she was pointing or just stopping.  I took another step and the grouse flushed.  I wasn’t quick enough to get off a shot but it was nice to see her respond to the scent.  We continued working the trail to the end but didn’t move any more birds.  Unfortunately this is an out an back trail so you end up rehunting the same area.  As we worked our way back Tasha moved farther out into the side areas and really worked a nice pattern most of the way back.

After getting back to the truck and having a bit of a snack I put Tina on the ground.  With Tina I sometimes go on autopilot and just wait until I quit hearing her bell and then the beeper goes off to signal her point.  Just a few minutes after getting back on the trail she went on point.  I moved in and a bird broke right to left and I took a shot.  I wasn’t sure that I had hit it so I was focused on marking the spot when another bird got up and went the opposite direction.  I took a quick poke but the bird kept flying.  We went into the cover looking to see if I had downed the bird or not.  After a bit of searching Tina found the bird.

We hunted some of the area that Tasha and I hadn’t covered but didn’t move any birds so we decided to recheck our favorite trail.  A short way down the trail Tina locked up and I had an easy straight away shot and was able to connect.  Toward the far end of the trail Tina again had a nice point and as I moved in a double got up from the opposite side of the trail.  I was able to spin around and get one of them.

We worked our way back to the truck, loaded up, and headed to the motel and Friday Night Fish Fry.

I was happy with how the dogs worked though I was still hoping to take a grouse over a Tasha point.

I was 3/4 on grouse and 0/1 on woodcock.  I expected to see a few more birds but has been better than I expected after my first few hunts where we saw so few birds.

Roughing it at the motel after the hunt

Deer River - Grand Rapids MN Grouse and Woodcock Hunt Oct 13 2013

4 Grouse and 1 Woodcock

Sunday October 13th 2013

The dogs and I were back in the Deer River area to try our luck at finding some more grouse.  It had been a long drive the day before to get there.  We had started Saturday by heading up to Willmar, MN to talk with a farm owner about getting access to his land to try some pheasant hunting.  He agreed and we spent just over an hour making a quick pass to see if we could get a rooster.  All the corn was still up and it was starting to rain so we pulled the plug and made the drive to Deer River.

We went to what has become our favorite spot in the area.  There was already an ATV parked in the spot that we like to start out at.  It is a large area so we drove to a secondary parking area.  Tasha got the call to be the first one to hunt.  At 17 months old I am just wanting to get her into birds.  I’m hoping that she will handle them well when she finds them but I won’t get bent out of shape if we get more bumps than points.

After about 5 min she started to get birdy and a grouse broke from the cover.  I fumbled with the safety but didn’t get the shot off.  While I was cursing myself another bird got up and was away before I could get on it... We approached an area that is a bit lower and wetter than the other cover.  Tasha made a nice flash point on a woodcock and I was able to take it on the second shot.  On the way out Tasha bumped another grouse.  I wasn’t upset as we were working with the wind and as soon as she scented it she spun to point and the bird got up.  It was a little bit farther out than I am comfortable shooting so I passed on it.

Our second spot is an area that Marge ( my setter who we put down this spring at 17 1/2 ) had good luck hunting at 16 years old.  It was a shorter trail and she usually was able to get a good point in the first couple of hundred yard or so.  Tina got to hunt this one.  We worked the trail that we normally do but then were able to check out a new cut.  As we hit one spot I was saying to myself “ how can there not be a bird here “ and sure enough Tina locked up and I was able to take it with a single shot.

The third spot is another small area.  This is my third season hunting this area and we have always seen a bird here but have never taken one.  I was hoping that Tasha would break the streak and we could take a bird.  We worked the trail out and then bushwhacked it back.  She moved well through the woods and was working the cover but we didn’t move a bird.

For the last hunt of the day we returned to the first spot and were able to park in the spot that we wanted to start out.  About 20 minutes into the hunt Tina made a nice point a ways into the cover.  As I started to move up towards her the bird came charging out and I made a quick right to left swing and took a shot.  I didn’t see the bird go down but it did look like it maybe bobbed a bit.  We went in and looked around a fair amount and didn’t see anything and as we started to walk out I happened to look down and it was tucked into some brush.  It had gone an amount farther after my shot than I had thought.  As we neared the turnaround on the trail Tina made another nice point and I was able to take it on a straight away shot.

On the way out she made another point and I walked past her a good distance to try to trap the bird between us.  As I walked in Tina held steady but I didn’t move a bird.  As I got right next to her a bird broke a good 25-30 yards behind me.  I hadn’t gone quite far enough up the trail before cutting in.  About 5 minutes later she went on point again so I went even farther up the trail this time hoping to not have a repeat.  I got to within 5 or 6 feet of her and started to think it might be a woodcock holding tight and then right between us was the grouse.  I could have thumped it with my barrel.  I finally got it to flush but didn’t hit it until the second shot.

We ended up taking another grouse on the way out.  It was a nice flush and a easier shot but I’ll take an easy one as I know most are not that way.

For the day we moved 13 grouse and 8 woodcock.  As far as shooting I went 4/6 for grouse but only 1/5 on woodcock.

Another Hunter Beat Us To Some Prime Cover

Two Woodcock Points - Bigfork MN - Video

I was grouse hunting near Bigfork, MN Sept 23, 2011 and was able to capture video of two separate Woodcock points.

It was the Friday before the Woodcock season opened.  It was fun to get a couple of nice solid points on them.

The spot that we hunted has been my best grouse area for the past 15 years but this time we didn’t move a single grouse.  This was the first time that this had happened at this area.

For More Bird Hunting Videos Visit BirdHunterTV.com

Grand Rapids - Deer River MN 2013 Ruffed Grouse Hunt 2nd Weekend

Tasha and Tina with our first grouse of 2013

Friday Sept 20th

The weather forecast was for clearing in the afternoon but driving in rain all the way from Forest Lake, Mn to Grand Rapids, Mn wasn’t too encouraging.  The clouds started to break as I arrived in Deer River and my mood improved.  I met up with my hunting buddy Tony.  

We hit an area that I’ve had good luck at for a few years.  I put my new setter, Tasha, down to give her a chance to get on some wild birds.  Tony went down a different trail to work his two dogs.  We worked the area for about and hour and didn’t move any birds.   Tasha did get birdy a few times and gave me 2 or 3 unproductive points.  Even though we didn’t see anything I was happy with the way she was working the cover.  When we got back to the trucks I asked Tony if he had gotten anything as I heard a couple of shots.  He said that 3 had flushed wild ahead of him on the trail but that he hadn’t gotten them.  As a bonus though one of his dogs did roll in a dead skunk that was on the trail...  I’ll be skipping that area this year.

We continued to work our way around the Winnie area and found lots of good looking areas but no birds.  It started to drizzle as we hunted the last area and as we were walking out I had two grouse flush from under some pine trees.  I didn’t get off any shots but it nice to actually hear something.

Saturday Sept 21st

It was going to be just me and the dogs today as Tony decided to hunt closer to his cabin. 

If the lower bird counts were going to be keeping hunters out of the woods this year you wouldn’t know it by how many vehicles were on the forest roads this morning.

We started on the trail that we left off at the previous evening.  The cover was wet with the previous evening’s rain.  The area had the right cover and we hunted even farther down the trail than the day before.  Unlike the day before we didn’t move any birds.  We continued hunt some of the areas northwest of Lake Winnie but still were not having any luck.  We stopped in Black Duck for a late lunch and decided to head to a different area.

Our next spot was an area the my first dog, Marge, had good luck hunting in her 15th season.  I put Tasha down hoping that somehow Marge would have passed some of her mojo to us and that I’d be able to get Tasha her first bird.  The area looked even better than before as there had been a new trail cut through some birdy looking cover.  Tasha worked the cover well but still we were not able to get a point.

At the last spot I hunted my 11 year old setter, Tina, by herself.  One of the reasons that we added Tasha to the family is so that I wouldn’t have to hunt Tina all day long.  She would do it if I let her but she does better if I don’t run her into the ground.  I also switched guns to my 16ga in the hopes of changing our luck.  This area was where we had started yesterday but I decided to enter it from a different point.  The path we took was a newer cut path and a bit tougher to follow but it still looked good.  About five minutes into the hunt Tina locked up solid.  As I moved forward the grouse got up from right in the middle of the trail.  It was an easy shot that I actually connected on.  It was a young bird.  It felt good to finally harvest one.  As we moved along the trail she went on point ten minutes later.  I could see the bird on the ground about 10 yards into some thick cover.  I moved past the bird and then angled into the woods to get the flush.  It held longer than I thought it would and when it flushed I lucked out as I was in a spot where I could actually get my gun up and get a shot off.  Tina went and stood by the downed bird.  She doesn’t always like to retrieve but will usually go to the bird if she sees it fall.

We got two more flushes but no more shots.  After returning to the truck I started to feel the effects of getting caught in the cool drizzle from the night before.  I fed the dogs back at the motel while I cleaned up and got all of my gear into the truck.  I decided to pull the plug a day early.  It turned out to be a good move as by the time I got back to the Twin Cities I was coming down with the chills.

Additional notes:

When I first started hunting I didn’t like using bells as I don’t care for the extra noise in the woods but this year I’ve been using them a lot more often.  I am finding that with a young dog and the thick cover that it just makes it easier to keep track of them and I end up using the beeper a lot less often.

PreSeason Training Options For BirdDogs - Video

Since I moved into a house with a yard that isn’t fenced it has been a challenge to effectively condition my dogs so that they are ready for the hunting season.

Besides daily walks I added in a couple of other activities to get the dogs in shape.

I bought a sled dog harness @ http://www.kondosoutdoors.com/dog-gear in Ely, MN a couple of summers ago and I use it to run the dogs while I am riding my bike.  I am able to do this in a park behind our house.  This enables me to run the dogs at a faster speed than they will usually run on there own.  I use this to work on their aerobic fitness as well as getting them to stretch out their strides.

We will do a warmup session and then mix speed work with recovery work.

This year I have added Underwater Treadmill workouts to our routine.  I like using these workouts because they can provide a good aerobic workout without the pounding that can accompany regular roadwork.  The treadmill is also useful for getting in workouts when the weather doesn’t lend itself to outdoor training.  I have been going to Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota in Oakdale.  http://aercmn.com/

I still am a firm believer in the classic roading to polish up a dog’s fitness.  In the years where I haven’t been able to consistently work the dogs on my own I have taken them to a trainer where he will road and / or free run the dogs.  An extra advantage to having the trainer do these workouts is that I can also have them layer on any specific skill training that the dogs or I might need some work on.  Tina is heading to http://northwoodsbirddogs.com/ on Monday for a couple weeks of roading and free running.

Why do I go to all of this trouble to get my dogs into shape before the seasons even start?  Because I know that weather / work / family issues will take up a number of the days that I can hunt so I don’t want to miss out on any of the opportunities that I do get to hunt because the dogs aren’t physically prepared to hunt.  Also, included in these trainings is getting the human part of the team into shape.  It seems that each year it gets more difficult to fit into the hunting pants at the start of the season.  I’ve been trying to ride my bike more and to make the dog walks longer so that I can shed some pounds.

Tina and I just returned from the vet and she is 4 lbs lighter than at this time last year.  A 10% decrease for her and I think that she actually has more muscle also.

Webster SD Pheasant Hunt Day One

Tony and Quetico with their best ever pheaasant day

Thursday Nov 1 2012

My buddy Tony and I set out from the Twin Cities for Webster SD.  The reason that we were headed there is that when I looked at the SD map of public places to hunt it looked like it had a lot of options.  We have never hunted this area so it is just a shot in the dark.

We got to town around 2 pm, checked in to the hotel, got my license, and started out to find a place to hunt.  The SD Game and Fish people really seem to have their act together as far as encouraging people to hunt in their state.  I was able to download a set of maps to my Garmin driving GPS  that showed all the public hunting areas as well as an app for you smart phone that dies the same.  We just started driving to a few spots looking for something with good cover.  About 12 miles from town we started at our first spot.

The dogs started to get birdy relatively soon after our start.  They were narrowing in on one area when a rooster decided to try to make its escape.  Tony brought it down with one shot from his 16ga.  The dogs started to work in a manner that suggested that birds were running ahead of us.  We followed them to the thickest cover on the unit.  As we entered the cattails a rooster broke wild from the other side.  We weren’t able to get of a decent shot but Tina and I decided to head in the same direction that the bird flew towards while Tony and Quetico worked the edge of the cattails.  Tina and I hit the fence on the far side and started to work along the harvested cornfield.  As we got about half way down the line Tina locked up hard and I moved in front of her.  About 20 yards up the line I put up a hen.  A few minutes later as I came over a small rise I was able to watch Tony work to the front of Quetico and was able to bring down his second rooster.

We made our way back to the truck without any more contact with birds.  We loaded up and followed the Garmin from spot to spot looking for another area with good looking cover.  After about 10 more miles we hit a group of public hunting areas that covered a fair amount of area.  As we got out of the truck a rooster flushed and flew across the road.  Tony and I split up and I worked another fence line while he worked the grass.  Tina started to point and relocate along the fence and was looking pretty serious about the likelihood of a bird being in the area.  Before we could find a bird though a shot rang out from Tony’s direction and he dropped his third bird.  Shortly afterwards Tina finally pinned our runner and put up another hen.  We made our way around the far side of the field and were on our way back when Tina had a nice solid point on a thick clump of grass and I was able to put up a rooster and took it with an easy shot.  It was a first year bird but I was happy we were able to get one for the game bag, I was getting paranoid that I was about to get skunked while Tony filled out.  After a short water break at the truck we made it across the road to another section of CREP land.

This field had a harvested cornfield along one side that we were working.  Tina and I swung left while Tony and Quetico swung right.  As they made it across a small section of cattails a rooster got up and Tony again dropped it.  Quetico was on it in a flash and make a quick retrieve of it.  After putting the bird in his game vest he took a few more steps and a hen came up followed by another rooster that escaped to a thick area of cattails.  We continued to work our way back to the truck and each put up another hen.

We ended up hunting about 3 hrs on public land and were able to take a total of five birds.  We are both hoping that this is the pattern for the rest of our trip.

Tina and I with our Webster SD Pheasant

Bigfork - Deer River MN Grouse and Woodcock Hunt

10/6/2012

Tony, Quetico and a Bigfork MN Grouse

The weather in the Grand Rapids, Mn area was supposed to be wet snow on Friday so I decided to head up early on Saturday morning.  I met my buddy Tony and his dog Quetico in Deer River and we decided to head up to Bigfork to try an area that we’ve had good luck with in the past.  This area can be entered from two different roads so we thought that we’d try parking one vehicle and then driving to the other side and hunting our way back to the first vehicle.  This way if we got into birds we could always hunt out and back and if the birds were scarce we could bail at the first vehicle, swing back to the second and then head to a new spot.

We put the two dogs on the ground and started down the trail.  It looked to be a good morning for a hunt as there were still spots of snow on the ground.  Within the first 5 minutes we got a wild flush and didn’t get a shot off.  The trail comes to an intersection with two side trails and if you go forward you hit a clear cut that has started to have islands of growth.  It the past few years these islands and the edges of the field have held good numbers of birds.  We worked the area pretty thoroughly and did not move a bird so we headed down one of the side trails towards the parked car.

As we hit the main loop on the lower portion of the trail the dogs started to get more excited.  They started to work an area of newer growth when you could hear them slow their search.  Tony went into the area to check on the search when a grouse got up in front of Quetico ( Tony’s GSP ) and he was able to drop the bird.  We kept moving along the trail to an area that was an awesome hotspot in 2009 and 2010.  There is a large beaver pond along one side and a small pond on the other.  In ’09 and ’10 I’m certain I moved multiple birds in this small area every time that I hit it.  Tina started to get excited first as I’m guessing that she remembered all of the birds that we had seen there in the past.  We were close to the end of this area when the dogs started to tighten up their casts and narrowed their search to some softer ground.  A lone woodcock decided to make its escape and I was able to bring it down and put it into the game bag.

We finished up this trail and decided it wasn’t worth hunting our way back so we loaded up the one vehicle, swung back for Tony’s truck and decided to head to an area close to Deer River that I had excellent hunting a number of times last year.

The dogs worked the cover well but we only moved on woodcock and we didn’t take a shot at it.  I found it odd that we didn’t move any other birds from this area.  As we were leaving I did notice that the cabin across the road had 3 or 4 trucks at it with lots of guys wearing blaze orange and I don’t recall seeing any vehicles at it last year.

Even though we didn’t move a lot of birds it was still a great day to be in the woods with the dogs.

Tina and I with our Bigfork MN Woodcock

Tower MN Ruffed Grouse Hunt - 9/22/2012

Tina With Her First Two Grouse For 2012 - Tower MN

I arrived home from my work trip at 10pm on Friday night and was on the road by 7am Saturday so that I could pick up Tina at the trainer.  She had been at the kennel for a month so that they could road her while I was gone.  Having your dog not get any exercise for three weeks right before the start of the season is not the best way to set yourself up for success.  She was lean and mean.  She had lost four lbs overall.  I’m sure she lost more fat than that and put on some muscle as she was looking ripped.  They shaved her so that helped the look also.

I picked up my dad in Ely and dropped back down to the Tower area.  We have hunted a few spots in this area on and off for 10 years.  We started at a set of trails that has gone from being prime cover to being on the old side of productive.  There has been some new clear cutting in the area so hopefully we will see a rebound in the future.  Tina and I started on a trail that heads downhill to some low areas.  With it being so dry this year I thought that the birds might be lower where there might be some dampness.  About 5 minutes into the trail we came across some blowdowns which isn’t all that unusual in the area except that there usually is a group of deer hunters that have stands at the bottom of the trail and they tend to keep the trails open.  Perhaps they have given up on the area.  I’ve been seeing fewer deer and more wolves each year...  

As we got to the fist set of blowdowns Tina was working off to the left and her bell went silent and the beeper came on.  Once I got an approximate location I turned off the beeper and headed into the woods.  Not much of the cover had come down yet so it was tough to get to her point and the grouse didn’t stick around for me.  Still, getting the first flush 10 min into the hunt isn’t too bad.

We continued down the trail and in just a few minutes Tina went back on point.  She was pointing right in the middle of the trail.  As I approached two birds flushed too low to get off a safe shot and by the time they rose they were headed into the cover.  While I enjoy seeing birds it is nice to be able to reward the dog and myself by getting to take a shot once in a while.  Luckily the next bird wasn’t quite as skilled with its escape.  Tina made a nice point and the grouse held its spot long enough for me to make a decent approach and was able to finish the job with a single shot.  At the shot another grouse got up a bit deeper into the cover but I was unable to get off a shot.

A bit farther down the trail a grouse got me in the classic I’ll wait until he is climbing over the blowdown before I flush maneuver.  Tina held point but the bird was trickier than either of us.

We made it to the end of the trail but didn’t end up seeing any birds in the damper areas like I thought we would.

On the way back to the truck Tina made a wide cast and I was day dreaming when a grouse flushed as I walked past it on the trail.  The flush gave my heart a jump start but I was able to swing around and get off three shots.  This ended up being one of the very few times that I have hit a bird after the second shot.  Usually the third shot just ends up being a wasted shot but this time I think it took me until the third shot to collect myself and actually concentrate on the shot.

In under two hours we saw seven birds and got two.  One advantage to having the blowdowns is that a fair number of hunters used to road hunt that small stretch and now it isn’t getting as much pressure.

We loaded up and headed to another spot.  We hunted this spot right before Christmas last year and about five minutes into our hunt a wolf came right up the trail towards us.  I shouted at it and it left the trail but I thought it best to pull the plug on hunting that spot for that day.

We ended up only getting one point along this trail but a bow hunter that we saw said that he had been seeing grouse in the area so I’m sure we will continue to try it.

2012 MN Grouse Opener Report

Carmel California

The 2012 MN Grouse season opener ended up being a bit different for me than in years past.

I ended up working in California for three weeks and the second weekend was the first weekend of the grouse season in Minnesota.

I did get a chance to see a few birds though.  As we drove the Carmel Valley Road on the way back to San Jose we did see a covey of California Quail.

Even though I enjoy my trips out to the West Coast I was anxious to get home and start to chase some grouse.

Bowstring - Deer River MN Mixed Bag Hunt - Grouse Woodcock Rabbit

Tina and Marge With Grouse, Woodcock, and Rabbit Mixed Bag

10 / 28 / 2011

We headed back up to the walking trails in the Bowstring area and this time I actually remembered my gun...

The first Hunter Walking Trail had a parking spot by a gravel pit so that made it easy to get to.  This area had a fair number of hills and steep climbs.  Tina and I worked our way up one of the bigger hills and she had a few instances where she got birdy but we didn’t move anything.  Instead of walking down the trail the same way that we came up I decided to go cross county to an area of clear cut that I could see from the top of the hill.  As we reached the clear cut I found a nice trail in the area and we worked our way along that trail back toward our original trail.  Tina kept working scent but it didn’t seem like her normal mode of operation.  We went around a steep corner and Tina started to stop and relocate multiple times in one small area.  I started to walk in when I happened to look up and about 20 feet up in the tree was a big porcupine.  Having had a $500 dog porcupine incident a number of years earlier I tapped Tina with the ecollar, got her to my side and we started back to the truck.  We ended up not moving any birds in this area but not having to spend the day removing quills or ending up at the vet like last time made me feel like it was a successful start to the hunt.

Marge got to get out at the Bowstring Hunter Walking Trail.  This trail has a nice range of covers.  The first section was an area that I think would be underwater in most years but was dry this year.  We made our way along that part of the trail for a while until it became clear that the walking was not going to get any easier for Marge so we turned around an started another section of the trail.  The walking here was much easier and about five minutes along the path Marge went on point.  I tried to walk towards the cover but the bird flushed before I had a chance to get into position.  Just 50 yards farther down the trail Marge went on point again.  This time the bird was closer to the trail and I was able to connect on a nice left to right shot.  Marge even went off into the brush to pick up the bird.  Another minute or two down the trail and we had a wild flush that I wasn’t even close to ready for.  Basically in the space of a hundred yards we had two nice points and a wild flush.  Those did end up being the only birds that  we moved on this trail but it ended up being a worthwhile stop on a new trail.

After giving Fergie a bit of a walk down the trail we loaded up and headed to the new honey hole.  Tina got the call as the first hunt ended up being a bit on the short side.  Tina went on point only about 30 yards from the truck.  She was off the trail in an area of small trees that had been blown down.  Even though she was solidly on point I was a bit skeptical as we were so close to the truck.  I should have been more confident in her as the grouse took off not 15 yards from her and I missed an easy straight away shot.  The bird almost flew right over the Trailblazer.  That there was a bird there shouldn’t have surprised me as earlier in the season we got two birds about 10 - 20 yards from where Tina had just pointed the latest bird.  After recovering from being ticked at myself for missing an easy shot we continued to make our way.  I was curious if we would see the same numbers of birds that we had seen jus the day before.  I didn’t have to wait too long to find out as we hit a lower patch of cover and Tina made another nice point and this time it was a woodcock that was being pointed.  I flushed the bird and passed on the shot.  I actually tried to walk in on the bird in a manner that would make the bird flush farther along the trail so that we could get another point on it.  It didn’t work out that way so we just kept on working our way along the trail.

We made it to the turn around at the end of the trail without moving any more grouse.  The turn around is a short loop through an area of fresh cut bordering some older growth.  Tina was working the area in the center of the loop when she went on point.  I started to walk towards her and a grouse got up behind me and was in the cover too quickly for me to take a shot.  While was still standing there another bird flushed and this time I was able to get off a shot but missed and at the sound of the shot the bird that was actually in front of Tina got up and flew to safer cover.  Though with the way I was shooting there was hardly anywhere that could have been safer...

On the return trip Tina was working off to the left and I heard something move on the right side of the trail.  I saw a rabbit slowly moving way from me and took the shot and had the animal in the game bag before Tina made it to the area.  I had seen a few rabbits earlier in the season and had decided that if I had a shot at one when a dog wasn’t around that I would take it as I have been wanting to try some type of a stew with rabbit in it.  As we moved along the trail we got to one of the areas of heavier cover and Tina started to get birdy.  After a short distance she locked up and the bird was kind enough to be holding near the trail and presented me with a shot that even I could connect on.  After taking a woodcock we arrived back at the start of the trail.  We had another big hunt in the Winnie area planned for next day so we decided to head home while it was still light out.

This turned out to be the last hunt of our adventure of staying and working in Grand Rapids as the next day Tina had a slight limp so I decided to pack up the cabin that we had been renting for the month and head back to the Twin Cities.  It had been a good month of hunting.  The start was too hot for optimal hunting but the dogs still put in great hunts and we consistently saw birds.  I also got to spend some time with a number of different friends in the area and got to hunt with a few others that came up to the cabin.

Top Secret MN Grouse Hunting Spot Revealed - Grand Rapids Area

Marge and Tina With Limit Of Grouse From Grand Rapids, MN Public Hunting Area

Thursday 10 / 20 / 11

45 degs and Sunny.

I am lucky enough to have a job where I can occasionally skip out for an afternoon and make up my time in the evening.  I decided that today was one of those days as it was cool and sunny.  It has been gray and windy the past few days and I’ve had good luck a few times when I was able to hunt the first sunny day after a few crappy days.

Tina and I started out at a small area that we have seen birds at each time that we have hunted it this year.  We have never gotten a bird here though.  In fact the last time we hunted this spot, three of us moved 4 birds and didn’t put one in the bag.

When we pulled in I could tell that the area had been hit fairly hard in the days since we had last hunted it.  The grass on the trail was much more beat down by people driving in.  We worked the trail out and bushwhacked through the clearcut on the way back and didn’t move a bird.

Off to the second area.  I marked this area “ Don’t Hunt “ as it is mostly older growth and we have only seen one bird there.  I decided to give it a shot again though as it was on the way to the third area and the trails were easy walking for 15 yr old Marge.  After about going 100 yards down the trail she locked up solid.  I started to look around and just as I looked to the right into some saplings the grouse came up and with the shot the grouse came down.  I’m always excited when one of the dogs has a nice point that produces a bird but I am even more so when one of the old timers can have it happen.  We worked the trail for another 40 minutes but didn’t move another bird.  After putting Marge back into her travel kennel I got out Fergie and we went for a stroll.  Even though she is totally blind she still loves to get out and smell the air.  We did a short walk and then returned to the truck.

Our next spot was a MN Hunter Walking Trail.  These trails are well publicized  by the state so they aren’t any big secret but this one has decent habitat diversity and we have seen birds here before.  The hunt started well with Tina going on point less than 100 yards from the truck and and easy straight away shot put the bird into the bag.  The next bird was luckier as Tina had a good point on a corner and it broke down the side of the trail that I hadn’t gotten to yet and I didn’t even get off a shot.

We had started to hunt an area of the trail system that I hadn’t been able to cover yet and I could hear Tina working off to the side in an area of thick pine trees.  I was starting to get a bit impatient as she didn’t really seem to be working the type of cover that had been producing birds when her beeper collar indicated that she was on point.  I made my way into the pine trees but couldn’t see where she was when I heard a flush and saw just a flicker of the bird.  I still couldn’t see or hear Tina when I heard a second flush and was able to get off a snap shot.  I couldn’t see if I had hit the bird or not but I heard a thud letting me know that I had connected.  A third bird flushed but I passed on the shot as I wanted to make sure I had correctly marked down the bird.  As I made my way to the bird I could see Tina holding her point downwind of where the birds had flushed.

As we made our way back to the truck another wild flush from the opposite side of the trail that Tina was working caught me by surprise and I wasn’t able to get off a shot.  I was feeling pretty good about getting three birds already and was daydreaming a bit...

About 25 yards from the truck is an area where two of the trails come together and create a choke point and Tina started to get really birdy but I figured “ how could there be any this close to the truck “.  I was about to find out as she locked on point and I moved up the trail to cut them off by the edge of the trail intersection.  A flush and a hurried shot saw the bird fly off unharmed but the shot sent another bird up and this one wasn’t as lucky and became bird number four in the bag.

There was still and good 90 minutes of daylight left and Tina was still showing good energy so I decided to take a look at the other trail that starts at the parking area.  It started out by going through an area of younger growth but soon changed to older cover.  The trail split and we took the fork to the right after a short time it hit and area of blow down and Tina started to get birdy again.  She was a decent distance through the blowdown and off to my left when the beeper signaled point.  I wasn’t too excited about making my way through all of the logs to get to where she was but she had been pretty good with her points as of late so I thought it would be worth it.  As I started to approach her I was off her right side and could see that the cover was much thinner past where she was pointing.  As I passed her I could see that it was actually the other fork of the trail and as I stepped onto the trail a bird got up from in front of her and I again missed and again I was lucky enough to have a second bird get up and even luckier when I was able to connect and drop it just a little distance up the trail to make for an easy retrieve for Tina.

All five of our birds came from public land and four out of the five came from a well marked Hunter Walking Trail in the Grand Rapids, Mn area.

The Garmin Astro said that Tina covered 7.9 miles in 2 hrs and 17 minutes

Lake Winnibigoshish ( Winnie ) MN Grouse Hunt

Saturday October 3  2011

Tony and Quetico with Lake Winnie Grouse and Woodcock

We had been having decent luck with the Hunter Walking Trails so we decided to try a larger one just a little ways from Lake Winnibigoshish ( Winnie ).  I thought that since this area is even a little bit farther from the Mpls area that we would see even fewer hunters.  After seeing trucks at the first two areas that we had planned to hunt it was clear that I wasn’t even close to being right.  

We decided to just drive while the Garmin pointed us to where it said that there were some clear cuts to hunt.  (  I purchased the maps and data files from http://www.northwindenterprises.us/habitat-maps-listing.html ).  The first spot Tony decided to hunt it with his two dogs.  He wanted them to get a chance to focus on birds and not other hunters and dogs.  He ended up taking two birds from this spot.  The first trail that Mark and I tried ended at a beaver pond so we made a quick trip farther up the road to another trail.  After about 5 minutes on this trail Tina got birdy.  Two birds got up from the left side of the trails.  Mark shot left and I shot right.  Neither one of us connected.  We worked the trail a bit longer and then made our way back to meet up with Tony.

The next area Mark went with Tony as he had had some luck and we had hunted together earlier in the week before Tony arrived.  Marge and I went down another trail that looked promising.  We made it all the way through and area of good looking cover without any action.  I was starting to daydream as we went through and area of older habitat when Marge locked up in the middle of the trail.  I started to scan the area for the most likely location and settled on some scruffy looking cover to the right when out of the more open older area to the left a bird came up.  I was able to connect on a straight up shot and as I fired a second bird launched and I was able to bring that bird down also.  A third bird also flushed but I was making sure I had the first two marked so I didn’t take another shot.  We continued on the trail and didn’t see any other birds.  When I connected with Mark and Tony I found out that they had not any any more success.

The third area we decided to work it together.  A short distance down the trail Quetico went on point and Tony connected on a woodcock.  Quetico had to chase down the bird as it wasn’t too well hit.  He made short work of the chase and soon the bird was in Tony’s game bag.  This woodcock proved to be the trickiest woodcock we’d ever come across as he got out Tony’s game bag two times before Tony decided to finish it off.

A short while later the dogs started to get birdy as we approached a grassy area.  Two birds took off.  The first went up the trail and then banked left no one connected on this bird.  The second bird went to the right and back towards us.  Tony and I both emptied our guns and I saw the bird go down after my third shot.  We marked the bird down and made our way towards it.  I called Tina over and Tony brought Quetico and Stone over.  We looked for a good period of time and I couldn’t find it but Quetico kept working the area and finally found it buried underneath some brush.  Tony said the bird was hard to pull from the brush as it was biting on a stick at the bottom of the pile.  We decided that it was Quetico’s bird since we wouldn’t have recovered it without him.  We worked our way back to the truck without any more action.

Once back at the cabin I prepared a shore lunch style dinner of crappies and walleye that my dad had caught earlier this summer.

15 yr old Marge and I With Her Winnie Grouse Double

Grouse Hunting With The Boys Bigfork and Deer River MN

Friday October 7th 2011

Tina With Deer River, Mn Grouse and Woodcock

We got a bit of a late start as we decided to make breakfast and eat at the cabin.  We decided to start with an area near Bigfork, MN.  When we arrived at the location there was a pop-up camper parked by the forest road.  This area receives a fair number of hunters but has been decent in the past even when there were other hunters.  Tony unloaded his two GSPs.  Quetico was starting his second hunting season and Stone is now 12 years old.  I started out with Tina.  As we worked down the trail a little Brit came shooting out of the woods.  It’s owner wasn’t too far down the trail, in shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  We guessed he wasn’t doing too much off trail hunting...  He told us that his buddy was by a beaver pond working a one year old GSP.  We later heard a dog yelping quite loudly.  It sounded like the owner had just figured out how to work an ecollar.  From the dog’s response he was creating a future client for an actual dog trainer...

We hit the turnaround with only moving one bird.  This same weekend last year we were moving 20+ birds in the same amount of time on the same trail.  We started to hear some rumbling off in the distance.  We picked up the pace on the way back to the trucks and didn’t move any birds.  We made it to the vehicles just as the rain started.  After lunch and rest at a bar/grill in Bigfork we started to work to the west and south.

We ended up just north of Deer River at an area that I had tried a few times in the past.  With three hunters and three dogs it was clear that we weren’t going to sneak up on any birds.  A short way down the trail Tina started to get birdy and locked up.  I swung up the trail and moved in towards her.  She stayed staunch.  I could see her eyes looking just off to her left and I moved that way.  Up came a woodcock and I decided to try take it as a reward for her hard work.  I missed, but saw where it landed and released Tina and made our way in that direction.  She made another nice point and I didn’t miss this time.

We made it to an area with some younger pine trees and Tina started to work off the trail so I decided to bushwhack it a bit.  Tina was working to the trail and then off to my side.  She started to slow and was getting ready to point when I heard a flush at the same time Mark called out.  The grouse came my way and I was able to connect on a going away shot.  Tina made a nice retrieve.

We ended up back at the truck without moving any more birds.  We decided a totally new area ( new to us anyway ) was in order for the following day.

On the way back Tina either bit her tongue or it got poked by a stick and was bleeding all over her front.  She looked a mess but I think was mostly tired.

Tina All Bloody

After riding home and getting washed up in the lake she was all set for her dinner and some sleep before the next day.

Pheasant Opener Hutchinson MN

I've started the last few pheasant seasons by hunting in the Hutchinson, MN area and have had good luck so I decided to go with what had been working.

Our friend Greg and is GSP, Tank, joined us on the hunt.  Our first stop was a farm just west of Hutchinson.  The corn was still up along two sides of the field.  We started out by following the edges of the field in hopes of cutting off any birds that might be trying to make it to the corn.  The dogs did get birdy along and in the corn but we didn't move any birds.  Next we moved towards some trees on the way to the drainage ditch that cuts through the unit.  The dogs didn't get too excited in any of these areas.

We decided to change it up and cut across the field and the dogs started to get more interested.  Tina pointed and relocated a few times before locking up solidly.  I moved in and the birds came up.  Six hens ended up flushing.  They looked really small so I am guessing late hatch or a renest.  we continued to work the field back to truck and didn't move any other birds.

We then moved to another farm.  This farm is just south of Hutchinson.  We started by working the edge of the cattails.  The dogs were worked all the way to the other side of the wetland and started the point and go, point and go that signals a bird nearby.  I took a step to the right and a rooster got up.  I totally blew the opportunity.  I was hunting with my Browning Over / Under and flipped the selective trigger to the side instead of forwards to release the safety.  By the time I recovered the bird was out of range.  I was pissed at myself.  I have been mostly hunting with my Beretta semi-autos this fall and wasn't able to make the adjustment.  arrgg.

After recovering from being ticked at myself we made a swing towards the south edge of the field.  As we pushed through the trees that line the border of the field the dogs started to get more active.  Tina went on a solid point.  I hoped to redeem myself and moved ready for the bird.  Up came a huge Tom Turkey.  It was a shot that I'm sure that even I could have connected on.  Not having a turkey tag and using dogs on turkeys being illegal I passed on the shot.  At the edge of the field we made a move towards some thicker cover.  As we approached the cover we had a rooster bust out well past gun range.

The dogs continued to work well but it was warming up to the mid 50's and the wind was picking up as well.  We decided to call it a day.  With moving so few birds the easy missed opportunity stings all the more.