Most people realize that “partridge” is a misnomer for the ruffed grouse, but I, for one, call it a partridge anyway.  Actually, ol’ ruff isn’t a partridge at all but is related to the spruce grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, and prarie chicken.  The reason our ruffed grouse are called partridge goes back to early settlers that thought the grouse looked like the European partridge. Since then the name has stuck.

No other game bird represents American upland bird shooting like the ruffed grouse.   Early colonists quickly recognized the superior eating quality of grouse.  I’ll bet there was probably more grouse than turkey eaten at the first Thanksgiving.
Early sportsmen found the prized birds to a challenging target when taken on the wing.  Though the grouse only flies about half as fast as a duck or goose, they zig-zag around trees and brush so fast they appear to be dodging your shots.

So now that season is almost open, what can one do to put more grouse in the bag?  That may be the toughest question posed by a hunter because there are few pat answers.  Some of the most successful grouse hunters don’t hunt with dogs, others wouldn’t dream of going without one.  Some experts claim you need to take careful aim and lead the bird, some rely on the snapshooting technique to bag a few.

The only thing I know for sure that will put more grouse in the game pouch is to see more birds.  That may sound overly simple, but too many hunters randomly stroll through woods that are terrible grouse cover.

Concentrate your efforts by hunting in spots that offer food and cover for grouse.  In our part of the country that usually means hunting in mature stands of aspen.  But other spots that harbor grouse are thickly grown over spots with apple trees or wild grapes near by.  Fruits like these are usually found in the vicinity of abandoned farms or homesteads.  These spots are even better if there is a few clearings and conifer groves mixed in.

Every time you come across a good spot, mark it in a plat book or on a county or topographical map.  When you’ve laid out a string of them, you’ve developed a “grouse circuit” so you can quickly move from one hot spot to the next.  Just make sure you have permission before venturing across private property.

Good grouse spots usually remain good as long as you don’t get greedy and shoot too many birds.  Once you’ve taken a bird or two from a small spot, look for new areas to add to your circuit.  In the long run you’ll have better hunting for partridge…. or grouse.  Whatever you want to call them.

Every year a group of my old college buds get together for the rifle opener in MN. We all show up Friday afternoon at camp and usually spend the night catching up. This past year we decided to not go to sleep at all Friday night, that way we would be wide awake and out in the stands early enough to catch the deer still in the field at dawn.

During the day we set up stands out of straw bales on the various fields we hunted. The hay field, a 1000yard long, 400 yard wide field would usually support 2 stands, with another 2 in the woods to the north and south of the field. To try something new, we put a stand right on the wood line looking west, across the shorter length of the field. It was positioned so that there would be a shot straight out as well as to the north or south. We also figured that at dawn, it would offer an advantage, as the sun would come up behind us, giving us the best perspective to look out on the field, while also covering the hunter in the stand.

Well, as it turns out, being “wide awake” was negotiable… I bet I lasted a full 20 minutes in the stand before falling sound asleep. With the combination of the cold, lack of sleep and the plentiful beverages from the night before, I didn’t stand a chance. I don’t know how long I was asleep, but shortly after the sun poked out above the woods, i was jostled awake. It took a second to get my bearings, I realized I was in the bales with gun in hand. I sat up, and nearly fell back over. Looking at me wide eyed about 3 feet out from my bales is a large doe. I froze, forgot I had the gun in my hand. At the same moment, the tail goes up and the deer snorts. I was close enough to get the mist in the face…

Whats worse, the deer snorted and immediately ran to the side and into the woods, I didn’t even get the safety off on the gun. Not only did I catch hell back at camp for falling asleep and letting the deer wake me up, I didn’t even get a shot off when it was at barrel length away. Needless to say, I’ll be staying awake in the stand from here on out.

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This post was submitted by JJ.