I relocated......now what?? Idaho and surrounding upland!!

[Coach]

I packed up the family and moved from ND to Northern Idaho this past summer. Definitely missing being 15 min from primo pheasant ground.

I have a exuberant 2 year old GSP and a wise 11 year old Gordon chomping to get out.





I plan to get back to ND a couple times to chase birds.....but wondering about closer options. MT or Eastern Washington?

I have moved some ruffy's in the woods while mountain biking, but honestly have no idea how to hunt them. Any suggestions?

[reba]

Hunting ruffed grouse is great fun.

I started hunting them with my BIG RUNNING GSP's last year. I was amazed at how they tighten up on the thick aspens. Yep they point, flush and retrieve ruffs. Some times the big boy will spot one up in a tree and stand there and bark. Fun stuff.

Hitting one on the wing is difficult, use open chokes.

BTW they are very tasty.

Idaho also has pheasant, chukar and huns; which I will be hunting for the next few days.

[bustingcover]

You wont be disappointed. Idaho has sharptails, sage grouse, huns, chukar, pheasant, and 3 different species of forest grouse. You are in great bird country. You can also pop over to Montana and chase birds up there as well. I wouldn't waste time with Washington.

[art hubbard]

Don't forget Quail, good hatch this year.

[Coach]

That is good to know. I live in Post Falls. how far do I have to travel to get into good populations?

[greg jacobs]

Here is some reading material. There is a ton more when you Google it.

http://www.idfishnhunt.com/bestbird.htm

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... Gtv7cGMN4P

There are a few here from Idaho that might chime in.

[tekoa]

post Falls is a long way from any Upland Birds except for Grouse which are abundant around Post Falls.

I've been hunting Quail in Idahos Magic Valley west of Twin Falls for 30 years,always been good/great for Quail, fair to good for Pheasant, fair to very good for Sharps, Very Good for Forest Grouse, and despite what the IF&G says I see a lot of Grays (Huns). Been to MT, ND, SD and find ID to be as good or better most years (except for Pheasant, which is always better in SD),and with greater variety for mixed bag in all years.

Post Falls to Snake River in Magic Valley 500 miles 8 hours, about the same to Lewistown, MT, Forest Grouse and some Ruffed Grouse probably in your back yard in Post Falls. Hunting Owyhee County South of Boise is good for Quail and Grays and is about 400 miles 8 hours. Shelby, Mt on the Mt Highline Hwy2 is actually closer at 6-7 hours 360 miles, and has good Sharptail numbers and Pheasant after mild winters.

[Leeza]

Look for valley quail west of where you are. If you haven't had a chance to hunt this bird before they are well worth it and a good match for your pointing dogs. Don't write off eastern WA for quail and chukars especially the Sun Lakes, Columbia River and Snake River country. It is worth licensing in both states. The seasons are long and you can hunt until the end of January.
You probably won't have many options within 15 min of Post Falls other than forest grouse. But a 1 hour-2 hour drive will get you and the dogs into some fast birds.
Good luck!

[gsppurist]

I have had great success in Northern ID for all species of birds. Always get at least a shot off in a few hours of hunting. Eastern WA has some very good hunting.

Pheasant this year is better than prior 10 yrs so I have been told and this is definitely better than the past 2 years. Mixed bags of huns/pheasant/quail. Last week had (but failed) at pheasant and chukar on the same trip.

[fishvik]

I went to college in Moscow and worked for the FS in Orofino. There were many days that I flushed if not bagged, chukars, huns, ruffed, pheasants and Valley Quail in one trip in that area.

[Coach]

Thanks for the input guys. I bought Onxmaps so I could figure out who owns what and will give it a shot!!

[gunguy]

Pheasant and Quail hunting is abundant in Washington. I like about 20 minutes from you in Spokane and have been hunting the area for a few years now. The only caveat is most of the wild birds are held up on the private farm land in SE WA. WDFW has a nice private land access program, that coupled with OnX is what I use. Feel free to PM me if you want some more info on Washington bird hunting near Post Falls.