Jim, I frequent your desired area grouse hunting with my Vizsla. Its tough to find good numbers within 2 hours of BC. Partridge Run WMA is an excellent starting point. If you hunt up by the swamp you will do well. Just know this is also a pheasant release site and can get busy.
Once you hunt there you will begin to understand the cover you're looking for. I suggest purchasing a subscription to Scout N' Hunt maps. This will show you where in the state of NY all the cutting is going on. It helps if you have OnX too. Hunt an area, if it looks good or you have bird contacts, drop a pin. My next step is research. I find similar aged cuts on SnH and pin them on OnX for future reference. Sometimes google maps can be used as well. Obviously it is less detailed and sometimes the satellite imagery is old but it helps.
Expect to walk a lot. ALOT. 5 miles per bird is certainly no exaggeration. Usually I mix in some of the pheasant release sites to help break up the day. Most sites you will find pheasant, woodcock and MAYBE if you trudge far enough away from the road you will find some grouse.
Dog work is something to consider. This season will be my deciding year whether I want to shoot birds or improve my dog. Grouse will not hold like subsidized quail/pheasant or woodcock. We had over 30 contacts on grouse last year with none in the bag. The dog will bump them. Be ready.
If you're anxious, try Cranberry Mountain WMA. You will find it much closer to BC. There's a swamp up over the hill that holds woodcock. Its also a pheasant release site.
