Minnesota Grouse hunting

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 3:28 pm

Hey Minnesota guys! How'd you fare this weekend? I couldn't get out, but I heard the drummer counts were up and I was wondering if anyone noticed this on the ground?

MNTonester · Post by **MNTonester** » Tue Sep 16, 2014 9:48 am

took Chaz for a walk Saturday afternoon. Cover still thick. No shooting but we moved between 2-6 birds - unsure if some were the same bird. I have great hopes for the season judging by what I'm reading on other forums and that I actually moved birds in the covert I was walking. It's a place near Duluth and I'm sure there must have been any number of people through there previous to me. When my springer was a pup and I happened to be laid off at the same time, we spent a lot of time in that place during the week and took a lot of birds out of it. Over the last few years the bird concentration there had been sparse so I was encouraged by what I saw/heard. When the leaves start to drop, (and if we don't get an early winter) it should be a great year

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:24 am

I figured there was still a lot of foliage left, but it's good to hear the birds are rebounding!

laxhcky4 · Post by **laxhcky4** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:15 pm

I hunt a half hour north of Duluth and saw good numbers. I only put three in the bag over the weekend but moved over thirty. The three birds I took were all juvenile birds so I'm thinking the hatch was a success. I'm pretty excited about the season!

IronRangeECS · Post by **IronRangeECS** » Sat Oct 04, 2014 7:05 pm

Any updates?! I'm looking to get out sometime this week in the floodwood area.

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:02 pm

Still too much foliage to see the birds after the flush, but they're definitely out there.

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:55 am

I hunted the Crosby area this morning it what appeared to be good habitat, but only put up one bird which I never actually saw. The underbrush is still pretty thick at this point.

cjhills · Post by **cjhills** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:13 pm

Do you think the turkeys hurt the grouse population. They seem to be really down in my area..................Cj

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:27 pm

They eat similar stuff but Turkeys seem to be more opportunistic. It seems that they prefer more open space though compared to grouse.

Grange · Post by **Grange** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:45 am

cjhills wrote:Do you think the turkeys hurt the grouse population. They seem to be really down in my area..................Cj

I've heard that argument several times and I don't buy it. I've talked to multiple Wildlife Biologists and they all agree there is no evidence there is a relationship. They generally don't prefer the same habitat. The turkey population around where I hunt has exploded in the last 10 years and I still find plenty of grouse when hunting or training.

IronRangeECS · Post by **IronRangeECS** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:52 pm

Update. Hunted the floodwood area lots of leaves still up but I was able to knock down 3 grouse and 2 woodcock in about 3 hours of walking.

Minneguy · Post by **Minneguy** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 11:22 am

I don't know about you guys but I've been seeing a ton of grouse and having a ball. Hitting them when they flush is a different story though. Although my dog got his first retrieve on a grouse the other day, so I'm pretty jacked about that. My total so far is 7, and 2 of those came while Bowhunting. It's been a ball learning more about grouse here in Bemidji.

MNTonester · Post by **MNTonester** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:26 pm

Have not hit it too hard yet; that will be coming up in a week and a half. My one and only opportunity so far this season? See "What are the odds?"

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:32 pm

Any updates here?

MNTonester · Post by **MNTonester** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:58 am

got out last Thursday and Friday. Finally got A bird on Thursday but we (my brothers and I) flushed a lot of birds - just couldn't get any shooting at 'em. Thursday between the three of us we got 4 birds. nothing on Friday. My oldest brother from out of state is still up the shore but I don't know if he has hunted in the interim. He and I are heading out again on Thursday. Hopefully we'll get a bit more shooting in.

Gun Dog Forum