Grouse

[boatpaddle]

I'd like you folks to meet a new friend of mine...
His name is Gus...

Really tame for a wild grouse...

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[Spring Creek Calls]

Welcome to the forum Gus! They are a magnificent bird.

[Tom007]

Very cool, thanks for sharing. Great bird, tough to hit. They disappeared in New Jersey. I sure wish they would rebound. In the late 70's/80's we had a hunt-able population.

[Will]

Fascinating birds. I'll never forget the first time I ever hunted was for squirrels and the first few steps I took in the woods I flushed one. That was the first time I cussed in front of my father. Hopefully it sticks around for a while. I wish they'd rebound in Maryland too.     

[paboxcall]

Hey Gus!
 

[Sir-diealot]

Neat birds. I had never SEEN one in person before, I had heard them drumming but hadn't seen them until I guess it was three years ago while out coyote hunting with the Mennonite, his son and I were going down the road and there were three of them scurrying into the woods, the way their heads were shaped are what caught my attention because I know I had never seen that before. I have not seen one since but would sure like to photograph a few. You're a lucky man.

[Yoder409]

Cool bird !!!

Used to have TONS of them here when I was in high school/college.  Our state bird.  Haven't seen one in close 20 years.  Call them "extinct" in this vicinity.

Very sad.

[joey46]

Hunted them often in Ohio in the 70s and 80s.  When the woods reverted to big timber they seemed to vanish.  Too bad.

[sbbow]

Zumer you always did have a way with birds and welcome Gus


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[squidd]

Hopefully for you he has lots of friends!!

[Happy]

My uncle used to have a tame one when I was a kid. Cool birds. He also had an alcoholic squirell....

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[YoungGobbler]

It'a funny how 99% of grouses will flush way away from you in the woods... But one in every what so many birds will just come right to you and stick around and come back somehow and sometimes become just like a pet for a long period of times...
We had one like that at our hunting camp for a year or two.

[Badger]

Like Yoder, when I was a growing up there was grouse all over where I use to live.  I am lucky if I see one grouse a year.

[JeffC]

Hope he hangs around for you, thanks for sharing. Probably shot my last one sometime in the 70's out in the Pine barrens of South Jersey. Honestly went thru boxes of shells for a handful of kills. While hunting this spring up in Vermont got to hear a few drumming, lucky to share with my son.

[eggshell]

I was a grouse hunter before I was a turkey hunter. Long time member of the Ruffed Grouse society, back in the day. It was seeing turkeys while grouse hunting that sparked my interest in turkey hunting. A normal day was 25 to 30 flushes and we had a three bird limit. Limits weren't common, but weren't rare either. I used to hang fans on a wall at home and covered an entire wall with them, as if it was wallpapered. I miss hunting them a lot. Grouse was a stple food when I first got married. I usually killed enough we could forgo buying chicken at the store. We probably ate grouse three meals a week during season. We actively managed for them with habitat cuttings and plantings. I know some of my old grouse buddies think turkeys were the demise of grouse, bringing in disease and competition for forage. I don't know about that. I have not had a grouse hunt in at least 30 years, I'd love one more day in the grouse woods before I am too old and feeble or I die. I have to say when I was young I had some pretty good reaction times on my gun shouldering abilities. I would probably be so far behind them now it would be funny. I learned to ignore the trees and brush and just swing through as if it was open field. Shot would get through and grouse were not hard to bring down, a couple shot in them and they were down. I loved hunting them in the snow.