Hunting Mountain Grouse

    In Kootenai Country Montana, there are three types of grouse that fit the mountain grouse category. There are Ruffed Grouse, Blue Grouse, which are also called Dusky Grouse, and Spruce Grouse or sometimes called Franklin Grouse. If you’re thinking about a little Upland Game Bird mountain grouse hunting, here are a few tips!
    You can read up on all of these individual species by checking out the articles on each species included on this website. Since the season usually begins in early September, here is some...

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more information to help you succeed on this fun hunting experience.
    The most sporting and challenging type of hunting for these birds is with pointing and flushing dogs. For flushing, Brittany and Springer Spaniel dogs are great for getting into the thickest patches of low land riparian habitats where ruffed grouse tend to hide in the tangled brush. For Blue Grouse, these dogs will get after it on the Doug-Fir or sub-alpine fir edges of higher elevations where the blues will feed adjacent to the grassy openings and berry producing brush patches. Early season, they may still be feeding on grass hoppers. Excellent pointers for these two species are Irish Setters, trained Pointers, and Labs. While ruffed grouse burst and undulate in flight, blues generally are slower to rise, but strong fliers and pump their wings a few times and then glide down slope. Either species can offer their own brand of tricky shooting. As far as effectiveness goes, just remember that blues are large birds and tough, whereas ruffed grouse are about half the size of a blue, and a few pellets can take them out.
    In our neck of the woods, hunting pressure for mountain grouse is not usually too heavy. We have a lot of room to roam! Hunting without dogs can be tricky at times, but strategy is usually to have a pair of hunters, one who beats the edges and brush for birds and one who stays on the edge looking for a good and safe shot. Oftentimes, hunters will walk forest backroads together side by side, dividing up the shooting lanes. Experienced grouse hunters often go out after a wetting rain and find success. Many hunters also shoot grouse while they are perching in a branch or on the ground. The thinking being if they won’t fly, shoot them on the ground! The method depends on one’s personal take, and a buttermilk soaked breast cooked up with a little cream of mushroom soup sure tastes good either way. Spruce grouse are believed generally to taste a bit like pine needles, but the method of cooking just mentioned remedies that minor problem.     Recommended shotguns would include lightweight semi-auto’s, 12-or-20 gauge, improved or modified chokes, and #6 to #8 shot pellets. Old favorites still include the over and under shotgun barrels, the double barrel shotgun, and .22 rifles. The old Savage Model 24C-DL was a piece of art with a .22 magnum barrel on top, and a modified choke 20-gauge barrel below. They now make a similar model 42, with a .22 mag barrel and a 410 shotgun barrel below. Either way you choose to go, it’s hard to not enjoy a fine crisp, cool fall morning in colorful Kootenai Country Montana bagging mountain grouse and smiling ear to ear.
(Author’s note: Reference - Montana Outdoors, 2011) See fwp.mt.gov for seasons and regulations.