Best place to live for grouse hunting?

[springerchaser]

Looking to move back to mn. Have hunted a lot as a kid in the NE near grand Marais where a lot of relatives are. Only thing that is a long ways from pheasant hunting. Also did well where we had a cabin on the st croix but that is a state park now. So without giving out honey holes what area could you enjoy good grouse hunting but be a 3 to 4 hour drive to pheasants? Thanks in advance. Springerchaser.

[R. Miller]

Maybe Park Rapids or Wadena or Brainerd area? Can get to some pheasant country fairly quickly from those areas, a lot quicker than GM, etc.

[corncob]

Nevis area should be a consideration....Sounds like an old John Deere tractor trying to start by my home in the country.....LOL

[caseymcq]

From Virginia to Park Rapids and from Bemidji to Walker and anywhere in between.

All those areas have great access to National Forests, State Forests, county forests, so ample public lands.

[CANOPY SAM]

I'd go with Walker. Outdoorsmen's paradise, and 3 hours to decent rooster hunting.

[jjz]

i would go at least to walker area or farther north. around brainerd is spotty hunting and probably the worst part of the state for deer ticks the dieases they carry. I usually get 50 to 100 ticks off my 2 dogs after every hunt, dogs on antibiotics almost every year. I have a cabin north of grand rapids way better hunting much less ticks 5 or less usually. I would rather live in a super grouse area and drive farther for pheasant hunting, than live in average grouse area and have a shorter drive for pheasants.

[caseymcq]

... around brainerd is spotty hunting and probably the worst part of the state for deer ticks the dieases they carry. I usually get 50 to 100 ticks off my 2 dogs after every hunt, dogs on antibiotics almost every year. I have a cabin north of grand rapids way better hunting much less ticks 5 or less usually. ...

It seems like those little sands of beaches are everywhere. I lived it Babbitt, which is the real ice box of Minnesota, and they were plentiful there. I had two dogs get Lyme's disease. But I digress...

[john.wells]

East central MN will get you into some fantastic grouse AND pheasant areas, not to mention great deer, bear, turkey, even wolves.