Whatcha huntin? I haven't hunted small game in probably 25+yrs. Heading out to do a little squirrel hunting in the AM, though. Should be fun (and it's definitely gonna be cold). Over/under?....lol (2 of us hunting)
Should be fun. Last year I slayed'm, could of killed 20 in a 10 acre patch. I was shooting my 22 mag, it was fun. Furtherest one I shot was right around 44 steps.
Right now? No. But! My favorite week of the year is Grouse Camp. Nothing beats tent camping in the middle of a Wilderness area with millions of acres of continuous acres around you. Grab your shotgun and just start walking to hunt. Love it. I use my trusty Benelli 20 gauge O/U with a I/C choke and either 6 or 7-1/2 shot.
The grouse is cool. Good luck. I've pheasant hunted a few times, but never been after grouse. Brandon....any time, just come on over. God knows I see plenty of 'em while deer hunting.
Jeff, as someone like yourself that values a challenge, the Ruffed Grouse delivers and more. That is why Grouse hunters typically don't gauge the hunt on the number of birds down but rather the number of flushes. They are the king of game birds and they will humble you beyond belief. The great thing about a Grouse is everyone you are lucky enough to harvest is a true trophy. You fight in many battles and win very few of them.
Wow, my experiences are exactly the opposite. We've got Rough Grouse up In northern Mn. Their about as dumb as they get. I've thrown rocks at them and got them. Their not too tough of a bird either. By far the best tasting game out there though, by far!!!
Bruce: I stuck a little 4X32mm Bushnell scope on the Henry lever 22. I got it dialed in, today (MUCH harder to dial this scope in than the ML or the 30-30). I dialed-in at 25yds and figured that'll be about right for squirrels. GFY.....3????.....lol I'm hoping we each get at least that many. I actually need to check the regs.. ** We can kill 8/ea./day.
I use a 4x15 scope set at 30 yards on both the .22's. One of the .22's was my grandfathers, it has to be 45 years old, still shoots great. Sunday we'll put 3 squirrels in the Tangine with some creole sauce(sausage, tomatos, vegetables, great spices) we have canned, cook them with low heat for a couple hours in the oven and have them on rice.
Good luck with the tree rats. Season opened back up at the public land near me but I'm truckless or I'd be out there. I have been sniping them the out of the yard and field. It's not bowhunting but head shots at 50 yards still make me smile.
What I do for squirrels is find an oak flat, there's plenty around back, sit down and wait until they get comfy and start running around then pop one. Don't move, the rest will start moving around in about 15 - 20 minutes. Yesterday I sat in one spot and shot 3 off of the same spot on the same log in about an hour. The were laying so close they were touching.
First off Steve, we don't shoot them on the ground or in a tree. It is a airborn only (our rules). But as you know. They go from nothing to 30 mph in about .08 seconds in thick cover and they will make you look silly. Their natural last line of defense is to flush. So if they are still on the ground they don't think they have been spotted. If you have birds that are holding tight like you describe you walk up on them, they flush and you shoot (and miss more than you hit). You are right though, they are the tastiest thing wild I've ever had. Talk about Chicken that melts in your mouth. Yummmmmmm Jeff, Yes we typically use flusher dogs being either labs or springer spaniels. I've hunted over pointers and that is great as well.
You can call me Brad anytime Jeff. But anyways just trying to set the bar low for ya so your hunt is a success.
When I used to deer hunt in N WI, the grouse were neurotic things that flushed either 80 yards away or right from under your feet and scared the *bleep* out of you. As soon as they thought you saw them, they flushed. In North Dakota, you could just about catch 'em by hand. As Schultzy said... dumb. It was really hard to get them to fly, and if they did, they often only flew a little ways and landed. I ate a lot of 'em. :D
