Photo by Ron Sinfelt

by Mike Gnatkowski

If bobwhite quail are the gentlemen's bird, then ruffed grouse must be the banker's bird. At least, they seem to keep banker's hours. Ruffed grouse aren't early risers, and that suits me just fine. They don't sound off at the first hint of daylight like turkeys, and you don't need to get up at some ungodly hour to be ready when the first flights arrive, like you do for ducks. I like hunting ruffed grouse, and if the best time to start hunting them is sometime during midmorning, that's great. I don't like getting up early, either.

Filling their crops is about all grouse think about from the time they hit the ground in early morning until they head back to their roost in early evening. They seem to be especially happy if they can stuff themselves with juicy fruits and berries.

One requirement fruit-bearing trees, shrubs, briars, vines and bushes need to prosper is sunlight. The other is moisture. You're not going to find soft-mast-producing plants in the deep woods where there's little light. Consequently, you're not likely to find many October grouse there, either. This type of fruit-producing vegetation does best near sunlit edges. Look for soft-mast crops near the fringes of clearings and clearcuts, along old logging roads and fire trails, around abandoned homesteads and along rivers, streams and creeks. The penetrating sunlight allows these plants to flourish, providing grouse with not only one of their favorite delicacies but also with thick security cover where they can elude hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes and other predators while foraging and resting.

During dry years, the moist soils along rivers may be the only places where soft-mast crops can be found. If so, the edges of rivers and streams can be a bonanza for grouse when they are actively feeding and resting from midday through the afternoon.

I was taking a shortcut from one covert to the next across an open field at midmorning one October day a few years ago. The terrain looked more like pheasant cover than grouse habitat, so I was hustling along, headed for the next clearcut. A few crabapple trees were scattered across the field, and as I neared one whose branches nearly drooped to the ground, my Lab got birdy. I tensed, fingering the trigger guard on the double barrel, expecting a big cock pheasant to come busting out. Instead, a rust-colored ruff exploded from under the tree. It's amazing how easy grouse are to hit when they aren't zigzagging though wrist-thick aspens!

The bird's crop was stuffed with bright red marble-sized crabapples.

The spike in grouse activity might be relatively short, lasting only an hour or two, depending on the availability of forage. Hunters should take advantage of this increase in grouse activity. Birds that are actively foraging leave plenty of scent on the ground, and morning dew and moisture make for ideal scenting conditions for dogs.

Once satisfied, grouse usually retreat into nearby cover to rest, digest, dust and take a midday siesta. In early afternoon, grouse will head out in search of dinner. This second outing is usually of longer duration and may take Mr. Grouse even farther from his preferred roosting site.

For early risers, a good plan is to hunt prime roosting or security cover as birds make their way to the edges to feed. Conifers fringing thick cutovers are prime locations. Slashings and clearcuts adjacent to roads where birds might move out to feed are good bets, too. Later, from midmorning through late afternoon, skirt the edges. The birds won't be far. A dog can be a great help for rousting them from their midday haunts. Often, foraging grouse caught by surprise will simply slink back into a tangle of brambles or vines until the danger passes.

Grouse purists will disagree, but I like a close-working flushing dog, like a Lab or springer that isn't afraid of getting into the really nasty stuff so I don't have to when grouse are holed up at midday. My job then is to position myself for the best shooting opportunity. I don't want to be the one who has to battle the thorns and stickers to put birds in the air. When I knock a bird down, I don't want to have to go in there and find it. Let the dog do his thing; you do yours. Often enough, it works.

Weather has a bearing on where you're likely to find grouse at midday. On those glorious Indian summer days, grouse will be out and about taking advantage of the fall sunshine, just like you. In fact, grouse can often be found some distance from their traditional haunts prospecting for grasshoppers or greens when conditions are fair. Conversely, on cool, blustery days, grouse might not move far from their roosting areas, especially in the morning. By midafternoon, they are hungry enough to make a food run to stock up for the cold night ahead.

With a thick canopy of leaves overhead in early October, grouse still feel relatively secure and can be found throughout the day foraging in what most hunters would consider atypical grouse cover. The dispersal of young grouse in autumn, called the fall shuffle, often results in grouse being in cover where you wouldn't normally expect them. I've shot October grouse in hedgerows far from cover, in jack pine forests where you'd never think a grouse would be and in fields better suited to pheasants or quail.

Once the leaves drop, grouse begin congregating in what's left of the best and thickest cover. Birds that get caught in marginal habitat are quickly culled from the population by predators and hunters. Only the strong and smart survive.

Hunters must learn to recognize the best habitat in their region, especially when grouse numbers are low, and then hunt it during prime time (from midday through late afternoon). Such places can be productive if there is a favorite food source close by.

You don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to kill grouse. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast, even a second cup of coffee, but you'd better make hay while the sun shines. It's October, and the grouse are waiting!