Minnesota hunters can encounter grouse anywhere from the hardwood forests in the state’s southeast quadrant to the northwest quadrant. Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

Grouse hunting is a good test of wing-shooting abilities no matter which of Minnesota’s three species of grouse one is pursuing. Each of the three species — ruffed grouse, spruce grouse and sharptail grouse — prefers unique habitats and provides hunters with different hunting experiences.

Hunters are well aware of the grand slam of turkey hunting, but perhaps some attention should be given to completing a triple play in grouse hunting — harvesting one of each species in a season.

It’s an accomplishment very attainable in Minnesota, one of the premier grouse-hunting locations in the country. “It’s something that we in Minnesota almost take for granted, but people from Indiana, Georgia and the Appalachians come up here to see the numbers of grouse we take for granted,” said Dan Dessecker, biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society.

Grouse can be found from the hardwood forests of Minnesota’s southeastern corner all the way up to the northwestern quadrant. The ruffed grouse in the southeast are a bit more sporadic but still offer plenty of opportunities in select locations. The northwest region is characterized primarily by sharptails, with some ruffed grouse mixed in. Move anywhere northeast of that diagonal line across the state, and you are in the heart of Minnesota’s grouse country for all three species.

Veteran grouse-hunters are eager to head into the woods this fall because they know that this year or next will be the peak of the grouse’s miraculous 10-year population cycle. That means at least two more years of first-quality grouse hunting. Potential grouse-hunting rookies might want to consider taking up the sport this year, because there’s nothing more fun than taking up a new hunting pursuit during the peak of a population.

Picking up a new hunt during a down cycle can lead to a lot of frustration and makes it tough to learn the intricacies of the species. When there is more game to chase, there are more opportunities and it helps a hunter get through those natural downswings in the population cycle — something grouse tend to have more than many other species.

Not only that, but veteran grouse hunters enjoy population peaks because it means more opportunities for the birds to make mistakes and more opportunities for finding birds in nontraditional areas. There are areas where you’ll always find grouse, and there are areas where you only find them when they’ve been given the boot by more dominant birds. Either way, hunting is always more fun when the woods are full of birds.

“We should be nearing the top end of the peak of the 10-year population cycle, and this should be our fourth year of increases from the low end of the cycle in 2005,” said Michael Larson, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grouse research biologist out of the Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group in Grand Rapids.

Dessecker also believes that 2009 will be an excellent year for Minnesota grouse hunters and that this year or next should be the peak. “I’d suggest that we’ll hang on for another year, but picking the precise year of the peak is a crapshoot,” he said.

Larson holds grouse hunting near and dear to his heart as a native Minnesotan from Pine County, one of the state’s top grousing locations. “When I was old enough to hunt, I was out there grouse hunting on our land and state forests nearby like Nemadji,” he said.

You can bet he’ll be in the field come Sept. 19 when the grouse season opens. Some might call it “field research,” but for Larson it’s a hunt he wouldn’t miss for the world.

Larson’s first career took him out of state for a decade, but he returned the first chance he could and became the grouse research and survey guru for the MDNR in 2004. Coming back to Minnesota was his goal, and the allure of a grouse flushing on an early fall morning was one of the big attractions. “I always make it a point to get out in the fall as much as I can to do some grouse hunting both in the area around my home here in Grand Rapids and my old hunting grounds in Pine County,” he said.

RUFFED GROUSE REPORT
The ruffed grouse is the most popular game bird in the state, and each year hunters take around half a million birds. In peak years, that number goes well over a million, and in low years, it can hover around 150,000.

Dessecker said there are 15,000 members of the Ruffed Grouse Society in Minnesota, but that there is plenty of room for more. Those interested in joining can call 1-888-JOIN-RGS, or go to the Web site at www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

Each spring, the MDNR conducts drumming counts for ruffed grouse to obtain a rough population estimate. Throughout the spring, male grouse will stand on a stump or log, puff themselves up, and rapidly beat their wings to attract a mate. This sound resembles a distant ATV or chainsaw motor but also sounds like somebody beating on a drum, hence the term. Grouse are much easier to hear than see in the spring, which is why the MDNR relies on their ears for spring counts.

Last year’s drumming count showed the third year of increases, and reports from 2009 suggest a continuation of that trend. This is consistent with the 10-year cycle biologists have found in the grouse population. Drumming counts are broken up by region of the state, including the northwest, central hardwoods and southeast.

The highest number of drumming counts was in the northwest, while the central hardwoods showed the largest gain over the last two years. Drum counts in all portions of the state increased in 2008, which is good news for hunters.

RUFFED GROUSE LOCATIONS
Grouse can be found throughout public and private lands. State forests and forestland owned by any of the big paper companies are some of the top locations for grouse. A good public hunting land map is the best tool, and there are a wide variety of resources available to hunters.

The MDNR publishes Public Resource Information Maps, which can be purchased online or at a number of retail outlets. There is also the “Recreation Compass,” which be found on the MDNR Web site and utilized for free. On the MDNR Web site, there are also detailed maps of public lands, including a downloadable link to Google Earth complete with the outlines of all wildlife management areas — a useful tool for any hunter who relies on public lands.

Tony Roach is a hardcore fishing guide who runs Roach’s Guide Service on Lake Mille Lacs and spends most every day of the year on the water or on the ice. In the fall, he always takes time off the water to hit the woods and do some grouse hunting. “My Lab will wake me up early in the morning during the fall to get me into the woods for some grouse hunting, and after a few hours I’m back on the lake.”

Downing a grouse or two is secondary, he said, to watching his dog work. That sentiment is shared by most anybody who has ever grouse-hunted over a dog. While it is not necessary for a successful outing, once a hunter has hunted grouse with a dog, it’s difficult to go back.

Part of the reason for that is grouse are very ground-oriented, making them resistant to flushing simply from human proximity. Without a dog, it’s amazing how many times a grouse will flush behind you just inches from where you stepped.