Anyone else think Grouse are WAY DOWN?

[uplander]

Sonds like you guys need to head south!! Stay out of that region.I've been hunting east and south of that area and doing better than average.....Sometimes on fourth down you have to punt...expand your territory...If a coyote was hunting for 200 hrs and not finding any food he would simply move on to a place where food was more plentiful....or die...keep after em..good luck ...uplander

[Tim_Anderson]

Funny story about "the grouse that could".

I was hunting yesterday with a friend. We split up to walk some remote trails and do some "brush-busting". I shot a grouse in very thick cover, and when it fell to the ground, it was flopping around beating it's wings like a chicken with it's head cut off. I made my way over there to get the bird, and saw it walking/running away. I shot it again, and it tipped over and started flopping again. As I got close, the bird was laying on the ground with it's wings outstretched. It picked up it's head to look at me, and when I reached down to pick it up, it flushed right in my face and flew away! Now, on any other day that would have been an awesome close flush, but in this case, I was just not expecting it. My gun was in the crook of my arm, and I was lucky to get a snap shot off before he disappeared. 20 minutes of searching and I came up with nothing.

So beware guys. "Supergrouse" is out there, he's got his BB-proof vest on, and his sole intent is to mock us!

We flushed about a dozen grouse, got 2, and obviously should have had a few more. I've hunted the Blackduck area, the Remer area, and the Emily area. From what I've experienced, the numbers seem to be up, but they sure are spooky...especially up in Chippewa Ntl. Forest. I've found that even the birds out in the woods well off the trails have been tough to get close to. Putting on lots of miles walking and always enjoy it tho, no matter what.

[Scott M]

I shouldn't jump to any conclusions but my weekend sure was slow. I hear the numbers are going up for 3 years and haven't seen any difference in the northern part of Chippewa Nat'l Forest that I hunt. Probably because everybody and their dog hunts it every day. Those Forest Service Trails never get a rest. It will only be worse next weekend (MEA).

Even when I got off the trail and busted some brush I didn't see much, and we worked a dog the whole time. At least I found some amazing deer rubs and scrapes by getting off the beaten trail....

[brittman]

I would suspect weather has not helped. Friday was just perfect and I spent the afternoon with my son and older dog in the grouse woods.

We moved 22 grouse in 3 hours. Took home 4. I suspect could have shot more, but did not fire my gun until my son shot. He shot his first bird!

No woodcock. Typically we would see a dozen or more in this area in mid-October.

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

Obviously this varies with area. I and many others have found what is considered premium locations do not have the bird numbers we expect.

[brittman]

I hunt ruffed grouse is 6 different areas of the state. Only been to two so far and have been satisfied with numbers seen.

The severe drought over the summer may have altered the location of grouse broods or possibly worse - reduced brood size because of the lack of insects.

Heat, wind and rainy weather have not helped hunting success. How many nice fall days have we seen since grouse season opened? Especially on the weekends?

Typically spring/summers that are drier are better for upland birds ....

Last two weeks of October will be the tell tale ..........

[uplander]

Out fillen the sky with lead today....Plenty of birds seen one woodcock in the bag. lots of dog work though so it was a success...For once could it just not rain on the day I plan to go hunting....just once. The birds were still out there though no one gave them the memo to stay inside today. Would be nice to stay dry, but you gotta go when you can go I guess.......Shoot the birds not the trees..Thats my advice to myself.....uplander

[Ranger Rick]

I feel sorry for some of you guys in MN. This past weekend we flushed 150-200 grouse. Shot 15 and 15 woodcock with 5-7 guys hunting.

Grouse populations DO fluctuate on a roughly 10 year cycle. Science hasn't explained all of it. They need Aspen in various age classes as others have said here. Large clearuts aren't the best, but clearcutting it the ONLY way to regenerate Aspen. This past weekend we flushed a lot of grouse in older [30-40] year old, very large stands that contained a lot of fir in the understory. Despite the upswing in population some of you may be experiencing poor success because of poor nesting and rearing conditions. A lot of cold rain when the new chicks are running around will result in very sparse population. I also agree with a couple other posters here that those of you who never get off the trail are missing the boat. Grouse will be found along roads and trails where they are getting grit, but we flush a lot of birds way off the trail, too. And sometimes those trails have been pounded by someone before you.

[uplander]

OK Ranger Rick where in Wisc. do we need to go for that kind of action.......Sounds like a trip I need to take with rifle season aproaching.....North, Central, East.....give us a hint please..........uplander

[Shack]

The day took a turn for the better! I am going try it this afternoon and see what is going on around my area. I will bring the boys and dogs!

[Warzord8]

I haven't been out near Pennington this year but have been out several times up 89 north of Bemidji and it has been very poor. "heard" two birds and that's it so far...Last year was pretty solid...this year not so good so far...

[Bullwinkle]

I went for 5 days last week. Started out by Brainerd and moved North towards Ely as the week progressed. I found that the further North I went the less birds I found. Total flushes for the trip was 39 got a total of 9. The best luck was just north of Brainerd and like alot of posters have said they were off the main paths. Beat some brush and you'll do fine.

[Scott M]

From Glen Schmitt, St. Cloud Times

COOK — Leading up to the 2007 grouse season, everything pointed to a banner year. Spring drumming counts conducted by the Department of Natural Resources indicated a 30 percent increase over last year and the highest level recorded in seven years.

It appeared as though the grouse population was finally on the upward swing after several years of decline, which occurs during the grouse's natural 10-year population swings.

Hunter enthusiasm was high and every indication from Central Minnesota to the heart of the state's grouse range in the northeast part of the state was that the grouse was back and this year would be a good one.

But when the season started in mid-September, those preseason predictions and population assessments appeared to fall short of most hunter's expectations.

Grouse were tough to come by, especially young birds, which left a lot of hunters asking questions.

Was it just a lot of hype, was the DNR just trying to sell licenses, did something happen to those young birds after they hatched, or did the weather have an effect on hunter success? These were just some of the questions being asked.

Mark Barnett is the owner of Lake Vermilion Trading Company in Cook, one of the state's premier grouse hunting areas.

While anticipation was high before the season, it didn't take long for most hunters in this area to realize grouse numbers weren't as high as reported.

"We shot some grouse up here, but with as much as population numbers were hyped, I'd say it's been a poor year," Barnett said. "It's about the same as last year and last year wasn't that good."

Near Tower, DNR Area Wildlife Manager, Tom Rusch says it's hard to draw a conclusion on the season at this point.

In his work area, there seems to be pockets of birds, but he's talked with some hunters who simply aren't seeing as many grouse as expected.

Anything that points to a less-than-reported grouse population would be pure speculation in his estimation. But Rusch says the weather could have played a role in hunter success because it was an extremely warm and windy fall.

In addition, the Tower area went from extreme drought conditions to receiving monsoon rains while young grouse were vulnerable to inclement weather.

There's also the possibility of several unknowns such as diseases that could impact grouse numbers, which is one area DNR officials would like to look at in future years.

In short, Rusch said it's been a "tweener season", which simply means some groups have shot birds and others have struggled. It's too early to put a pulse on the grouse season and relying on anecdotal reports isn't the best way to assess it.

"I know guys say we're trying to sell licenses but that isn't the case," Rusch said. "We have population trends, drumming counts, and hunter surveys and that's what we work with when estimating grouse numbers."

Rusch also believes that late season hunting success would be a good judge of the season as a whole. He's seen quite a few grouse while deer hunting in recent weeks and has talked with other hunters that have as well.

Bob Kirsch is the DNR area wildlife manager in Two Harbors. He, too, has noticed a lot of grouse as the deer season has progressed. But he admits that while there are birds to be had, grouse hunters have indicated spotty results up to this point.

Kirsch said it's important for hunters not to rely so heavily on spring drumming counts each year. While it's an effective tool to gauge grouse populations there are other variables that play into a hunting season.

"Across the board, the impression is that there are fewer birds than we anticipated," Kirsch said. "It just seems, from what I've been hearing, is that grouse numbers may not reflect what we saw in the spring drumming counts."

According to Kirsch, the annual hunter survey that's conducted after each hunting season and next spring's drumming counts will provide a clearer picture on what's taken place this year.

Until then, Kirsch said there's still plenty of good grouse hunting to experience.

"It may not be as good as many people expected it to be," he added. "But I'd say, at least in this area, grouse hunting has been better than last year."