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Anyone hunt grouse or woodcock on this site?

Setters4life
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bubba Newbie

bubba

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I hunt pheasnat ad groue after deer season. I got out yesterday for the frst time this season.  It is tough for me right now as my hunting buddy Emmitt my lab had to be put own in October.  I had a hard time getting out without him. I know he was there in spirit.  I am going to start looking for a dog in the spring much against the protest of everyone in the house. There is a local gun dog club that has started in my area. I thnk I will join up and see where it goes.

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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This thread makes me hungry...

Gotta go.. I have a quart of woodcock gizzards on the stove as we speak.. :) ....

SERIOUSLY though, in my prior ( married) life I had 3 springers and used to have lots of fun with grouse and woodcock... My second springer was 6 months old when I shot the first limit of woodcock ( which was 5 birds at that time) over him... One bird dropped 20 yards out over a beaver pond and he made the retrieve.. Wish I had a camera THAT day..

The last few years, I am lucky to shoot a grouse or two a year when hunting rabbits with my buddie's beagles..

BTW... The owner of a lodge in Maine where I have hunted a few times tells me that there is a difference between grouse and partridge...

If you shoot them on the wing they are GROUSE...

If you shoot them on the ground or off a limb they are PARTRIDGE... :D ...

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Doewhacker Newbie

Doewhacker

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I hunt pheasnat ad groue after deer season. I got out yesterday for the frst time this season.  It is tough for me right now as my hunting buddy Emmitt my lab had to be put own in October.  I had a hard time getting out without him. I know he was there in spirit.  I am going to start looking for a dog in the spring much against the protest of everyone in the house. There is a local gun dog club that has started in my area. I thnk I will join up and see where it goes.

Bubba, what type of dog are you going to look for?

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  • 2 weeks later...
G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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I hunt grouse without a dog and ran into a problem i would never have expected this year, they wouldn't fly 10-12 birds just running around on the ground like a flock of chickens... didn't seem sporting to shoot them on the ground...tryed running at them and throwing sticks but they would just run one way or another...wierd...

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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

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Grouse are one of the most elusive game birds. They are truly a challenge and a worthwhile trophy. Some grouse tails I've saved over the years. Displayed to denote the different color variations found (gray, brown, or sometimes referred to as red or a combination of both):

Colorations and locales they were taken:

MaineandNJandNY-1.jpg

Not that I think there are trophy grouse out there, but this was the largest grouse tail I've ever measured in forty years:

Mainegrouse2003.jpg

Most (nearly all) Grouse around here (northern St. Lawrence Co.) are brown phase.  A few years back there was a gray phase bird around but unfortunately, I found his remains after a hawk got him.

They are really striking in appearance when all you've seen are brown phase birds.

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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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I hunt grouse without a dog and ran into a problem i would never have expected this year, they wouldn't fly 10-12 birds just running around on the ground like a flock of chickens... didn't seem sporting to shoot them on the ground...tryed running at them and throwing sticks but they would just run one way or another...wierd...

I wish you had a video of that probably funny as can be.

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max3 Newbie

max3

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Not intending to sound like a wiseguy "but" are you sure they weren't state stocked pheasent's? That wouldn't fly and were running around ?

Now to answer the original question I love to hunt woodcock & grouse. I am new to this website and this is the first I have seen of this thread. An interesting read.

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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no they were grouse, got a nice little honey hole that always has a good number of birds, the owner planted winterberry,highbush cranberry,and apple on the edge of a spruce stand 30 years ago they are now 25'tall and 15' in diameter grouse just go back and forth between them, nice for a guy that hunts without a dog!

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Tio1 Newbie

Tio1

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Love to hunt both. Got a 7 mth GSP that is ready to go. Got some nice spots in PA but haven't found the great grouse populations in WNY. Been trying to locate some spots in WNY that hold grouse/woodcock to save on my gas $$$. Love me spots in PA but hard on my wallet!!!

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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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Love to hunt both. Got a 7 mth GSP that is ready to go. Got some nice spots in PA but haven't found the great grouse populations in WNY. Been trying to locate some spots in WNY that hold grouse/woodcock to save on my gas $$$. Love me spots in PA but hard on my wallet!!!

Grouse in WNY is very sparse. I used to kick up acouple everytime rabbit hunting now nothing.

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max3 Newbie

max3

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I also love to hunt ruffed grouse & woodcock with my GSP. Living in the Oneonta area I don't go to far from home and have no trouble finding birds. I can't imagine the western part of the state not being just as good. If you like to hunt grouse & woodcock I think you might want to consider becoming a member of the ruffed grouse society. They list a lot of very good information. Places to hunt and such plus your contributions benefit the habitat.

http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/

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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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I also love to hunt ruffed grouse & woodcock with my GSP. Living in the Oneonta area I don't go to far from home and have no trouble finding birds. I can't imagine the western part of the state not being just as good. If you like to hunt grouse & woodcock I think you might want to consider becoming a member of the ruffed grouse society. They list a lot of very good information. Places to hunt and such plus your contributions benefit the habitat.

http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/

Nice thanks for the info.

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  • 4 weeks later...
max3 Newbie

max3

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Where about's are you thinking of going ? Here in the Oneonta area the snow is still to deep to have a good time. Tuff getting around for man & dog . I was working a little east and south of here last week and they had way more snow. The past couple years we were able to hunt  straight through until the last day. Not this year.

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Setters4life Newbie

Setters4life

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I was thinking up heading up around the area of Roscoe or possibly south and west of Albany. Don't want to kill myself walking though. I just hate that snow that teases you with a crust you think you can walk on then.......you find yourself skating or crashing through. I don't want to feel like ice-climbing. And that ice is tough on a dog's pads too.  >;)

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