In my opinion, one of the most challenging game species to hunt is the ruffed grouse. In all my years hunting grouse, I never once got a limit. If you don’t know, the Pennsylvania limit is just two birds. That’s never once happened for me.
In my early years of hunting, I hunted grouse more than just about anything. I always had a knack for finding them, killing them was a different story.
Grouse live in some of the nastiest types of cover there is. This is one of the main reasons why they are so tough to hunt. It’s usually not a problem flushing birds, but getting a shot, or hitting them can be nearly impossible at times. I’d be lying if I said I have never run out of shells while grouse hunting. That has actually happened on multiple occasions.
My favorite type of habitat to hunt grouse is in thorn apple thickets. I’ve flushed more grouse around thorn apples than anywhere else. I learned that the thicker the orchard, the more grouse it usually holds. However, thorn apple orchards can be nearly impenetrable to walk through. I know of thickets that are loaded with grouse but you can’t hardly get to them. I remember one time while grouse hunting I was busting through the thorn bushes and a thorn went through my hunting boot and deep into my ankle. Needless to say I’ve come out of many thorn apple thickets looking like I got attacked by a mountain lion. Just like deer, grouse know that thick cover is the way to escape from predators, especially hunters.
I never used dogs, but I had a lot of luck jump-flushing birds. One thing I learned is that you have to move slowly while grouse hunting. My best days were always those drizzly, overcast days when the leaves were wet and birds couldn’t hear me coming as easily. Noise and movement are what grouse detect better than anything. There’s always a huge difference in the intelligence levels between young grouse and older grouse. Most of the grouse I have harvested were younger birds. They tend to hold tighter before flushing and sometimes choose cover that is more open than older birds. I believe once a grouse survives a year or two, it is more likely to die of natural causes than being harvested by a hunter.
Back in the early 2000s, I did a lot of grouse guiding. I guided grouse hunters from all over the country. Some clients told me that their grouse hunting experience here was better than anywhere they’ve ever hunted when it comes to flush numbers. Up to 30 flushes per day was not uncommon. We even had a few days in the 50s. Nonetheless, one thing most of my clients always told me was that our grouse were as smart and tough as any grouse in the world.
The majority of my clients would use dogs, but very few dogs would ever get a good point without the grouse flushing too far out. By the time the dogs picked up the scent, the birds would usually take off. I never really understood why our grouse were so elusive compared to grouse in other states and throughout North America. Not saying that grouse are easy to hunt elsewhere, but from what my clients kept telling me, northern Pennsylvania grouse are not your typical ruffed grouse. My only guess was that all of our hunting was on public land and hunting pressure was likely a factor as to why our grouse were so smart and spooky.
Between guiding grouse hunters and hunting them myself, I’ve learned that to have success you have to be ready at all times. A grouse can flush and get away in the blink of an eye. Grouse can fly up to 30 mph, but their takeoff is thunderous and powerful. Anyone who has spent a great deal of time in the woods surely has been startled by a flushing grouse. Many times, I’ve had my heart skip a few beats during a surprise grouse flush. Due to their explosive takeoff, a grouse hunter has to be in shooting position at all times. Both hands have to be on the gun and be prepared for a shot at any second. Grouse flushes are usually unexpected and sometimes your only shot opportunity is within a split second.
You’d think a bird smaller than a chicken would be easy to kill. That’s not the case for the ruffed grouse. Even though their brain is roughly the size of a pea, the challenge of grouse hunting is about as big as it gets in the sport of hunting.
