Colorado Grouse

mudpuppy1299 · Post by **mudpuppy1299** » Mon May 16, 2011 10:45 am

September 3rd I have to go to a wedding in Crested Butte, CO. Sooo, like any dedicated hunter, I began scheming how I can turn this "wedding trip" into a trip worth driving 1500 miles for: a hunting trip! I will be in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area and should be able to hunt blue and sage grouse. Can any of you guys and gals recommend any good state land in the area. I've done some research and it looks like there is plenty of WMA in the area, but was hoping someone could give me an idea of which areas are the best. Thanks a ton!

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Mon May 16, 2011 12:45 pm

Contact Bob Hix - PF regional rep for Colorado. And KUDOS to you for making this a wedding/hunting trip. DH and I did similar a few years back, grouse and mountain quail in Washington area. It made the trip much more fun.

Quill Gordon · Post by **Quill Gordon** » Mon May 16, 2011 7:52 pm

Eh amigo ju know what dey say when ju play with fire

Ju gonna get burned

fishvik · Post by **fishvik** » Wed May 18, 2011 6:44 am

mudpuppy1299 wrote:I will be in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area and should be able to hunt blue and sage grouse.

You may have the opportunity to hunt blue grouse but the sage grouse in that area, the Gunnison sage grouse is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. I doubt they will be having a season on them.

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:18 am

Isn't Gunnison a good area for Elk? When does the season start? Double decker hunt.

mudpuppy1299 · Post by **mudpuppy1299** » Sat May 21, 2011 9:41 am

Ruffshooter wrote:Isn't Gunnison a good area for Elk? When does the season start? Double decker hunt.

That's a good idea, but I bet it's almost impossible to draw a tag there. Hopefully I'll be heading back north of there the middle of October for the 2nd rifle season. Keeping my fingers crossed!

nj gsp · Post by **nj gsp** » Sat May 21, 2011 3:00 pm

I lived there for a few years. Not much point in bird hunting around there, but the fishing was great.

PrairieGoat · Post by **PrairieGoat** » Sat May 21, 2011 9:31 pm

fishvik wrote:
mudpuppy1299 wrote:I will be in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area and should be able to hunt blue and sage grouse.
You may have the opportunity to hunt blue grouse but the sage grouse in that area, the Gunnison sage grouse is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. I doubt they will be having a season on them.

This is correct, you will be in Gunnison Sage Grouse area and it is all closed to sage grouse hunting (has been since about 2000).

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Mon May 23, 2011 5:12 am

I think you can get an over the counter tag. I think Gunninson is has over the couters. If I remember right. Looked into it years ago, never made it. I may be wrong.

gittrdonebritts · Post by **gittrdonebritts** » Mon May 23, 2011 8:15 pm

Ruffshooter wrote:I think you can get an over the counter tag. I think Gunninson is has over the couters. If I remember right. Looked into it years ago, never made it. I may be wrong.

They may have over flow tags available for Cows but if i remember correctly most hunting areas are Draw only and the chance of over flow tags, when I lived in NM we would go to Colorado if there was over flow tags cause NM is all Draw except for small game/waterfowl/ Turkey and Varmints

isonychia · Post by **isonychia** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:15 am

So how is one supposed to know the difference when flushing grouse what species it is... my only experience is with ruffed and your lucky if you get to see them before you shoot.

GSPdude · Post by **GSPdude** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:24 am

You would know the difference between a Ruffed and Sage grouse just on the size alone....Sage grouse are HUGE.

fishvik · Post by **fishvik** » Thu May 26, 2011 8:04 am

So how is one supposed to know the difference when flushing grouse what species it is... my only experience is with ruffed and your lucky if you get to see them before you shoot.[/quote]

GSPdude wrote:You would know the difference between a Ruffed and Sage grouse just on the size alone....Sage grouse are HUGE.

The size, the way they fly and the habitat. Sage grouse are bigger, when the take off they climb and then glide, then climb again and they are found in sagebrush steppe habitat. Blues are smaller(but bigger than a ruff), fly up into a tree or usually down slope and they live on the edge of trees and riparian vegetation.

Escopeton · Post by **Escopeton** » Sat May 28, 2011 12:34 pm

Mudpuppy,

There is a lot of national forest areas around the area you will be going to. You may even have a chance for ptarmingan, too. Look at the Colorado game/fish site and you can get information on that. Sage Grouse is open only in a couple of areas but don't the procedure on getting a permit. Google search it and you can find some information.

Blue Grouse hunting is one of my favorite types of hunting and gets the season started out well. And, there good table fare, too.

mudpuppy1299 · Post by **mudpuppy1299** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:34 pm

Thanks for the info guys. I'm really looking forward to this trip; it will be my pups first true hunt (other than planted birds).

Escopeton · Post by **Escopeton** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:29 am

Not to hijack your thread...

Here is a photo of my older lab, Reina, on her first hunt ever. She worked like a veteran and our first hunt together took about one hour and ten minutes (three bird limit).

Remember;

Start at 8,500 feet altitude. Walk up to and hunt down - check thermal conditions. Look for Aspen/Douglas fir interface, even better if you can find that with some sage understory with a lot forbs. Hunt hard, my friend.

nj gsp · Post by **nj gsp** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 8:11 pm

If you get a chance to eat at Donita's Cantina, I remember that place as having the best Mexican food anywhere - especially the shredded chicken or beef chimichanga with a pitcher of frozen strawberry margaritas...

Of course, that was more than 20 years ago - so if you go, I expect a full report!

I use to carry a couple of blunts in my quiver when out bowhunting to shoot birds. They are good eating, sometimes we would find a few near the roads on the way out from deer/elk hunting. They tend to sit pretty still and didn't flush or run like Ruffs do. Popped a few in the head with the .22 while out bunny hunting too. I didn't have a dog then, strictly meat hunting.

mudpuppy1299 · Post by **mudpuppy1299** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 3:34 pm

Well it looks as though I didn't draw an Elk tag this year. Suprisingly, I'm not that dissapointed. This is my first time owning a bird dog and I want to spend as much time hunting her as I can. Sooo, hopefully I can talk my husband into staying longer in Colorado in September! What areas seem to be the best? I'm going to start out in the Gunnison area (it's where the wedding is at) but hopefully will be open to traveling afterward. I really appreciate all your advice. Thanks!

nikegundog · Post by **nikegundog** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 3:38 pm

I'm not completely sure, but I don't expect you'll find many bird seasons open by then. Have you checked yet? What do you want to hunt?

nj gsp · Post by **nj gsp** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:34 am

mudpuppy1299 wrote:Well it looks as though I didn't draw an Elk tag this year. Suprisingly, I'm not that dissapointed. This is my first time owning a bird dog and I want to spend as much time hunting her as I can. Sooo, hopefully I can talk my husband into staying longer in Colorado in September! What areas seem to be the best? I'm going to start out in the Gunnison area (it's where the wedding is at) but hopefully will be open to traveling afterward. I really appreciate all your advice. Thanks!

Maybe things have changed. It's been a long time since I was there...

Pretty much everything around that area is BLM land, national forest land, or wilderness areas, so you can hunt just about anywhere. We always used to run into blues pretty high up. Spruce/fir edges with aspens were usually the most likely areas. Unlike Ruffs, Blues are social critters so when you run into one expect to run into a bunch. They sit pretty still and don't like to move, which is why we could hit 'em with an arrow. When they do flush 9 times out of 10 they'll head downhill. Bow season for deer, elk, and antelope always started the last week in August, with small game opening a few days later on the first of September. Seeing as you're only going to be there a short time, your best bet would be to find a guide for a day, and then you'll have an idea of where you should be hunting and what sort of cover to look for. Expect it to be very warm and even hot during the day, cold at night, and rain showers - especially around Gunnison - in the afternoons. That said, be aware that during that time of year it can get very cold very fast, and snow and snow hard at any time up in the high country. The weather changes quickly, so be prepared and make sure someone knows where you're going and when you expect to be back. You might want to consider renting a satellite phone too. Hope this helps!

fishvik · Post by **fishvik** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:42 am

My suggestion is drive Forest Service roads in the mornings and look for blues picking up grit. That will give an idea of what habitat type they are using. Blue grouse early in the year are still eating alot of insects and starting to work on berries. They can be found in areas with brush and on bare ridges or slopes near riparian areas chasing grasshoppers. You may find them on the edge of the timber but they really don't move into thick forest until later in the fall. Aspen patches are another habitat they like early in the fall. Good luck and have fun.

Escopeton · Post by **Escopeton** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:48 am

Hello Mudpuppy,

I looked through some of my old maps - information that I gleaned from the web. Just up the road from the town of Gunnison is Crested Butt Trails area that is supposed to have Duskys. I haven't hunted it so it is just what I got off some posting. Also, the Collegic Peaks area is supposed to have Ptarmingans.

Let us know how you do.

Gun Dog Forum

Colorado Grouse

Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse

Re: Colorado Grouse