Even though the ruffed grouse drumming counts last spring showed an average decline of 24 to 60% across Minnesota, I had a pleasant surprise this fall. Based on the number of grouse we flushed during our guided hunts, the broods had good survival rates. This was confirmed by the higher than expected ratio of young-to-old grouse we bagged.
Overall, we averaged 3.8 grouse flushes per hour during our hunts, which was slightly higher than last year. Most of the reports from our clients and fellow hunters also extolled markedly higher flush counts.
The bigger surprise, however, was the number of woodcock. We flushed almost three times as many woodcock as in 2011 and maybe the most we’ve seen in more than five years.
Clients of ours who hunted Michigan and Wisconsin also reported excellent numbers of woodcock.
Minnesota frequently is the nation’s top ruffed grouse producer. On average, 115,000 hunters harvest 545,000 ruffed grouse in Minnesota each year, also making it the state’s most popular game bird. During the peak years of 1971 and 1989, hunters harvested more than 1 million ruffed grouse. Michigan and Wisconsin—states that frequently field more hunters than Minnesota—round out the top three states in ruffed grouse harvest.
Ruffed grouse hunters do have valid reasons for missing a shot. Few hunting environments are more difficult and challenging. Even with leaves down, the grouse woods can be dense. It can be hard to see the dog on point, much less a bird thundering away through an aspen cut. And when grouse fly at 20 miles per hour, a hunter needs to make split-second decisions.
However, there are times when an easy shot—known as a butterball—is presented and missed. It happens to our guiding clients. It happens to me and I’m fairly certain it happens to anyone who hunts grouse.
No matter the circumstances of the missed shot, the excuses usually start flying. Or as one client corrected me this fall: “Reasons for missing grouse were not excuses at all, but merely explanations of the facts.”
With tongue held firmly in cheek, here’s my list for 2012.
• It’s too early in the day and I’m not fully awake.
• It’s too late in the day and I’m tired.
• It’s too dark.
• It’s too bright.
• The sun was in my eyes.
• The bird flushed too far out.
• The bird flushed too close.
• I was too tired after rushing to the point.
• I wasn’t ready for the flush.
• I was off balance when the bird flushed.
• My gun jammed.
• My shell didn’t contain any shot.
• I couldn’t get the safety off.
• I forgot to eject the empty shells.
• I was loading shells into my gun.
• My choke is too tight.
• My choke is too open.
• The brush was so thick I never had a shot. • A tree was blocking my view of the bird.
• My shotgun pattern went into a tree.
• I was falling down.
• I was getting up.
• I saw the bird too late.
• The bird flew too low.
• I thought my partner was going to shoot.
• I was letting my partner shoot.
• The dog was in the way.
• I had my head off the gun stock.
• I got poked in the eye with a branch.
• It was a left-to-right crossing shot; I prefer right to left.
• A tree stopped my swing.
• I shot too quickly.
• I waited too long to shoot.
• I shot behind the bird.
• I shot above the bird.
• I shot below the bird.
• I shot in front of the bird.
• I shot for the dog…twice.
• My boot was untied.
• My foot got caught. • My cell phone was ringing.
• My glasses were fogged.
• My glasses fell off.
• I had the wrong color lenses in my shooting glasses.
• My hat fell over my eyes.
• My legs were weak.
• I was having a sugar low.
• My shells are too slow.
• My gun is too butt heavy.
• My gun is too barrel heavy.
• My gun doesn’t fit me right.
• My gun has an improper balance point.
• The bird was too slow.
• The bird was too fast.
• There was too much air around the bird.
Ken, left, and Jim are long-time friends and clients of Bowen Lodge and Northwoods Bird Dogs.
A guided hunt.
Don’t the words evoke images of camaraderie, hospitality, gorgeous locales and excellent hunting? Whether for pheasants in South Dakota, ducks on Delta Marsh or doves in Argentina, a guided hunt sounds at once fanciful and wonderful.
Anyone can indulge. The back pages of sporting magazines are full of opportunities. Jerry and I recommend the experience highly as we’ve been fortunate to be part of a grouse guiding operation for almost 20 years.
Jerry guides for Bill and Gail Heig, owners of Bowen Lodge on Lake Winnibigoshish, northwest of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Come September, some good fishing remains on the big lake but the family resort side of their business wanes when school begins. All of which makes room for a limited number of guided grouse hunts.
Over the years, the hunters and other guides have become friends and clients. It’s nice to see the same faces each fall but it’s also gratifying to see again all the dogs—whether dogs we trained or puppies purchased from us that have matured into good bird dogs and favorite companions.
Ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting, bird dogs, fine shotguns, great food, and great friendships. These words pretty well sum up the month of October at Bowen Lodge. ~ Bill Heig
Before the morning hunt, Northwoods Chardonnay waits patiently while Jerry puts on her bell and tracking collar.
Guides like to see a recently used drumming log. A Grulla Armas 20-gauge shotgun looks nice, too.
Every guiding day includes a break about mid day. Chairs are unfolded and a cooler full of water and soft drinks is opened. In addition, big, tasty sandwiches, plenty of side dishes and homemade treats are unpacked from the picnic basket.
When hunters stop for lunch, dogs get a rest, too. Jim waters Sam while Roxie, Casey and Morris relax.
Even guides need a break!
Ken and Northwoods Prancer pose with a perfectly retrieved woodcock after a beautiful afternoon in the woods.
A favorite part of the day is cocktail hour when hunters and guides gather in front of the fire at Bowen Lodge.
Gail always sets a beautiful table for dinner in the lodge.
In the lodge, a setter naps in the shadow of a bronze grouse sculpture after another fabulous day in the woods.
Many of the photographs were taken by Ken Taylor. Thank you!
Frankie and Northwoods Blue Ox with sharp-tailed grouse.
North Dakota in early September is for one thing only—sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge hunting. Ian MacTavish and I were fortunate to be included when Frankie Kartch planned a hunting trip at his farm in western North Dakota. Frankie grew up in the area and knows it well.
Frankie brought Ranger, his setter, and Ian had four setters, Pearl, Maggie, Eli and Chet. I never like to be under-dogged so I hauled our dog trailer and brought 12 dogs. In addition to my guiding string (Oscar, Prancer and Lucy ), I brought client dogs Morris, Franny, Harmon, Gale, Tyler, Liz, Jill, Sean, and Grits to train. That country is vast and can eat up dogs in a hurry. We had just the right amount!
As it seems with most sharptail openers, the weather was warm and dry. Making it tolerable for the dogs was the abundance of ponds—that is if they could squeeze between all the ducks. The small grain harvest was almost complete so there was plenty of stubble. We hunted native pastures and alfalfa fields also.
Ian’s salad of greens, asparagus, cashews and grilled sharp-tailed grouse.
We didn’t see as many Huns as we would have liked but the sharptail coveys were large and plentiful. Most of the birds we shot were young; in fact a few of the Huns were very immature.
For three guys, if I must say so myself, we did a fine job in the cooking department. Every night included what became my famous sharptail kebabs, Ian’s delicious sharptail salads and main courses masterminded by Frankie.
A cold beer while preparing dinner and a nightcap of the single malt Laphroaig was all it took to put us to sleep after a long, fun day in the field.
Northwoods Aerosmith with two limits of sharp-tailed grouse.
Blue Shaquille (Houston x Blue Silk, 2004) points a grouse in beautiful cover.
The 2011 grouse hunting and guiding season is over but not forgotten. For everyone at Bowen Lodge on Lake Winnibigoshish northwest of Grand Rapids, Minn., it was a stellar fall. The majority of days were sunny and warm and the woods were very dry. The guides definitely needed to know the location of beaver ponds so the dogs could drink and cool off.
There were fewer grouse than last year but plenty to make for good hunting. The dogs did a tremendous job of finding and pointing them–but some were more difficult because there were more old grouse than young. A high note was the good numbers of woodcock we found–more than most years.
All-in-all, we had a wonderful fall with beautiful days, good friends and fine bird dogs.
Jim DePolo and his veteran Sam (CH Grouse Hollow Gus x Blue Sapphire, 2003).
Northwoods Camembert (Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2010) owned by guide extraordinaire Bill Heig.
Sam and a friend hunt over Northwoods Camembert and Daisy (Blue Chief x Blue Blossom, ).
Beautiful birds and a beautiful gun.
Wayne Grayson and his Northwoods Magic (Dashaway x Goodgoing Moxie). This was a “Purdey” grouse.
Bill Heig and his brace of setters, Northwoods Camembert (Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston’s Belle’s Choice) and Daisy (Blue Chief x Blue Blossom).
Soft-mouthed Northwoods Magic (Dashaway x Goodgoing Moxie) retrieves a grouse.
Hunters Brad and Andrew with Northwoods Blue Ox (CH Peace Dale Duke x Blue Silk, 2007) display their grouse and woodcock.
Wayne Grayson poses with Abby (Gusty Blue x CH Houston’s Belle) while Mike Powers has Northwoods Blue Ox.
Blue Ghost x Blue Riptide puppies, Rosie, Piper and Sage, at five months of age.
An early leaf fall in both Minnesota and Wisconsin seems to have been beneficial to grouse and woodcock hunters. Region-wide reports from everyone—training clients, puppy buyers, dog buyers and friends—are outstanding. All are finding plenty of grouse, and the woodcock numbers are up considerably.
Weather not only has contributed to the early leaf fall but the clear, cool days make for beautiful days in the woods. Remarkably, I’ve found grouse are moving into late season habitat earlier than usual.
My dog report:
• Guide string of CH Houston’s Belle (age 9), Blue Silk (age 10), Blue Shaquille (age 6) and Northwoods Blue Ox (age 3) are tearing up the woods and are as good as grouse dogs get. These dogs go from grouse to grouse and you better have plenty of shells when out with these dogs!
• Three younger dogs are doing well: Northwoods Prancer (Fallset Fate x Dashaway), Northwoods Chardonnay (Houston’s Belle’s Choice x Blue Shaquille) and Synder’s Liz (CH Magic’s Rocky Belleboa x CH Houston’s Belle)
• Seven-month-old dogs out of Ox and Houston’s Belle’s Choice are pointing grouse.
• Six-month-old dogs out of Ox and CH Houston’s Belle are also pointing grouse!
• Three females are part of the same grouse hunting camp and are having a blast.
What a great year to be a grouse dog—young or old—and a grouse hunter.
I was fortunate to be invited by a friend, Frankie, to his “Grouse House” on the western prairie for a few days of sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge hunting. Another friend, Ian, accompanied us.
Here’s the wrap-up.
• dog power: 8 English setters, 3 German shorthaired pointers, 1 pointer.
• sharp-tails were plentiful and lots of young birds.
• early-season, young grouse were easy for dogs to handle.
• numbers similar to what I remember from my last trip 15 years ago.
• conditions were unusually cool with snow on the last day.
Last January, Betsy and I spent time in the country south of Tucson and I fell in love with it. The vast rolling oak savannas, beautiful desert and one million acres of public land with its three species of native quail are a bird hunter’s dream.
A friend, Rolly Reidhead, and I recently returned from a trip to the area both to hunt and to get out of the Minnesota winter. In years past, Rolly hunted there with his father and was excited to go again.
Jeff Hintz is a good friend and Minnesota neighbor and he and his wife, Carol, migrate to Tucson every year. He is a serious dog guy and avid bird hunter and works his experienced pointers on quail several days a week during, before and after the quail season. He provided invaluable help to Rolly and me.
My favorite Arizona quail is the mearns—over gambels and scaled. Compared to last year’s mearns population, the numbers are dramatically lower and we truly hunted for them more than we found them. We had better success with gambels quail when, for several days, we hunted their cover.
Rolly and I brought seven dogs and all performed quite well, considering the conditions. Traveling 1,600 miles from their snowy kennels and freezing temperatures to sunny, warm, dry Arizona was a big change. But it was fun to see young dogs in new country and witness their first contacts with the various quail.
We didn’t find as many birds as we hoped but had a great trip nonetheless. As Arnold Swartzenneger said in The Terminator: “I’ll be back!”
• It’s too early in the day and I’m not fully awake.
• A tree was blocking my view of the bird.
• My cell phone was ringing.
Last January, Betsy and I spent time in the country south of Tucson and I fell in love with it. The vast rolling oak savannas, beautiful desert and one million acres of public land with its three species of native quail are a bird hunter’s dream.