Find out about dusky grouse conduct, habitat, and searching methods to optimize your possibilities for a profitable dusky hunt
Most know the dusky grouse as a naïve resident of the trailside, accompanying backpacking journeys and supplementing camp meals throughout large sport pursuits. Others, like myself, search a extra thorough understanding of those “foolbirds.”
To me, this blue grouse is the mountain’s quintessential feathered sport—a catalyst for journey. Whereas they will merely be taken alongside any given backcountry path or logging street, a real dusky grouse hunt possesses all of the qualities of essentially the most rigorous upland pursuits.
In This Article:
Dusky Grouse Habitat and Habits
Searching Methods
Searching Duskies With Canines
Licenses, Seasons, And Bag Limits
Shotgun Chokes and Shot Measurement Choice
Dusky Grouse Habitat and Habits
As hunters, our greatest avenue to understanding a chicken is to know its habitat. I reduce my enamel within the uplands chasing ruffed grouse and American woodcock. These two birds have comparatively slender preferences for canopy and relatively small residence ranges. I grew accustomed to this, in a position to focus solely on the coverts being utilized for the day, and even the season.
Dusky grouse are completely different. You can not put a neat bow on the quilt they inhabit. Out west, ruffed and spruce grouse habitat may be discovered someplace on the mountain. Dusky grouse habitat is the mountain. However there are methods to slender down the seek for duskies and persistently discover motion. It might simply require some boot leather-based.
Early within the season, duskies may be discovered wherever from the foothills to the alpine meadows. Those that have hung out within the mountains know that this encompasses an unlimited space. Discovering a spot to start out may be daunting.
Start by looking for open areas. These could also be current burns, fields of bunchgrass, or alpine meadows. Satellite tv for pc imagery could be a useful gizmo for finding locations to hunt. Once I discover meadows dappled with inexperienced timber, I be certain that to drop a waypoint to mark the spot for when it comes time to hit the sector.
At daybreak, duskies will likely be primarily feeding in open areas and can typically linger there all through the day, transferring to shady edges to flee the midday warmth. Nonetheless, there are exceptions, and I’ve seen coveys make lengthy flights between foraging and loafing areas.
When dusky grouse will not be feeding, they’re loafing. Elements for loafing cowl embody bushes, woody cowl close to the bottom, and comparatively open environment. Throughout the warmth of the day, birds focus the place they will discover refuge from the solar. Something from a pair decadent ponderosas to a scrubby island of firs can harbor a chicken. Stands which were thinned by logging or hearth may even entice birds presently of day.
Nonetheless, distinct patches of subalpine fir or Douglas fir with branches right down to their bases have develop into my favourite coverts to hunt. These typically kind round a rotten log, which gives an appropriate microhabitat for fir seedlings to ascertain. Birds appear to pick these areas for his or her mixture of safety, visibility, and available needles to feed on.
Floor-level visibility is essential, and is a continuing wherever duskies are discovered. Because the season progresses, they may start to retreat from the foothills and occupy greater elevations the place clumps of firs may be discovered. Finally, they are going to be spending most of their time in these patches and feeding nearly completely on needles.
Dusky Grouse Searching Methods
I commit most of my hunts to finding these fir clumps, for they may maintain birds all through the season. Nonetheless, preferrred habitat isn’t all the time straightforward to acknowledge.
Mountain climbing ridges is a wonderful method to discover occupied cowl. Ridges create transitions between opposing facets, leading to edges alongside various cowl sorts. Observe ridges lengthy sufficient, and you’ll invariably stumble into some grouse. Do that sufficient, and you’ll start to key-in on patterns and consistencies.
I’ve discovered that dusky grouse keep away from north-facing facets with dense or unbroken timber, particularly late within the season. Reasonably, they like southerly facets the place woody crops kind clumps in a matrix of meadows. In addition they keep away from dense, uniform stands of shrubs and as a substitute make the most of smaller clumps.
Like different grouse, duskies will rely closely on their cryptic plumage. That is very true if a hunter is downhill from a chicken, blocking their escape route. By which case the chicken is extra prone to maintain tight. But when a hunter is positioned uphill of a dusky, it’s extra apt to flush. That is one other benefit to mountain climbing ridges, the place one is normally positioned above any cowl.
Searching Dusky Grouse With Canines
The habits of dusky grouse make them comparatively accessible to dogless hunters. Nonetheless, a great chicken canine could make a profitable hunt all of the extra satisfying.
Canines may help refine your search by finding tight-holding birds or pinning down scorching coverts. Keep in mind, nevertheless, {that a} dusky grouse hunt covers large nation, so I like to recommend leashing your companion in the course of the climb to make sure they don’t put on out earlier than reaching satisfactory cowl. When you attain cowl resembling what I described above, flip your canine unfastened and begin searching.
Duskies are additionally apt to take refuge in a tree, particularly upon seeing a canine. Working birds up could also be a little bit of a studying curve for each the canine and the hunter. A seasoned dusky grouse canine will know to work uphill of the hunter, sending birds down the mountain in the direction of the shooter.
Licenses, Seasons, And Bag Limits
Dusky grouse may be discovered and hunted in ten western states, from Arizona and New Mexico as much as Washington and Montana. They inhabit drier, inside mountain ranges whereas their shut relative, the sooty grouse, occupies the coastal ranges.
Most states solely require a small sport license to pursue these birds, and sometimes enable a each day bag restrict of three or 4. Possession limits are sometimes twice or 3 times the each day restrict. You should definitely rigorously evaluation the rules for the state you intend to hunt. Many states enable an mixture restrict of grouse. For instance, in Montana a hunter might shoot three “mountain grouse” each day. This consists of spruce grouse, ruffed grouse, and dusky grouse, of which a hunter might shoot a mixture not exceeding a complete of three.
Most grouse seasons within the west run from September to December, offering ample alternative for hunters to pursue them.
Shotgun Chokes and Shot Measurement Choice for Dusky Grouse Searching
Dusky grouse, particularly younger ones, have a behavior of flushing to the closest massive tree and stubbornly refusing to desert their perch. Capturing a sitting chicken isn’t very sporting, so be fast on the shot and don’t allow them to land to start with.
In contrast to different forest grouse, these are large and hard birds, very similar to a pheasant. One time, I despatched an arrow tipped with a Judo level by a dusky grouse and watched, dumbfounded, because it flew 300 yards earlier than falling useless. Now, I take advantage of bigger shot sizes. Metal No. 4 shot has develop into my go-to. Additionally, lugging a heavy gun up and down the mountains is not any enjoyable, so I tote a 20 gauge to save lots of on weight.
Dusky Grouse Searching is an Journey
Like a lot of our feather-minded pursuits, a lot of the expertise resides within the journey, not within the harvest. Dusky grouse supply each alternative to hunt rugged terrain over many arduous miles. One can simply discover their limits in dusky grouse nation—and never essentially bag limits.
On the identical time, hunters who hike alongside trails or in areas accessible by automobiles might discover less complicated taking pictures alternatives. Nonetheless, that is what has led to a considerably diminished notion of dusky grouse. Nonetheless, exceptionally motivated people might begin their hunt on the base of the mountain, working their method to preferrred cowl on foot. These of us will shortly earn a deeper appreciation for dusky grouse.
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