Ruffed Up

I can recall every 500-foot drop on my flight back from Detroit, Mich. into Duluth International Airport last October as the DC-9 attempted to make its way through a ketchup blob of a storm on the Doppler radar. My fingerprints were pressed permanently into the armrests of the seat and the emergency manual was committed to memory. After being rerouted to Minneapolis and not arriving at my final destination until the storm had passed, round about 2 a.m., I thought the next morning’s hunt for ruffed grouse would be a struggle. But I was rewarded for battling through my fear of flying on the worst flight of my life with my first ruffie about 15 minutes into the next day’s walk.

Count on ‘em
This fall, I won’t be taking any airplane trips during hunting season, and the thunderous flush of a ruffed grouse might even come a bit easier with numbers estimated near 40-year highs. That’s not to say that actually hitting one of them on the wing will be any less challenging. However, the recently released spring drumming count numbers give grouse hunters hope that the fall will produce one of those million-bird seasons in Minnesota.

This year’s counts show a significant increase in the number of male birds heard making their mating call – a wing-beat pattern that sounds an awful lot like my fussy outboard motor which, coincidentally, is in the shop. Statewide, the drumming count was up to an average of two drums per stop on counting routes, in comparison to an average of 1.4 last spring. In northeastern Minnesota, an area touted to have the best grouse hunting in the country, an average of 2.4 drums were heard per stop. In addition, significant increases were noted in northwestern Minnesota (1.9 drums per stop, up from .9 last year) and the Central Hardwoods region (1.1 drums per stop, up from .5 last year) meaning that opportunities for a good bird dog to roust a ruffie exist in all grouse areas of the state. For more information on the 2009 ruffed grouse survey, visit www.dnr.state.mn.us

Get ready for Ruffies
Getting a shot at a ruffed grouse is often a challenge. Their thunderous flush eclipses pheasants in terms of excitement, and their ability to weave through hundreds of aspen trees while on an escape flight can humble even the best shot. The prime opportunity to take a grouse on the wing comes when the birds happen to cross into an open stretch, either on the trail in front of you or in a small clearing. He who hesitates is lost, as the birds won’t stay in the open for long. Instinctive snapshooting is about the only option, but there are ways to prepare for the opportunity.

Many sporting clay ranges have window shots simulating a grouse flushing out over a 10-yard corridor where the hunter must take a quick shot at the moving clay. This shot can be simulated by those do-it-yourselfers by assembling a frame of two-by-fours about six feet in width and using it to limit the shooting angle on each pull of a trap thrower at home. Whether it is in this simulation, or just standard shooting, time at the practice range this summer is necessary to prepare for grouse season.

While any model of shotgun will do, shorter and lighter versions will help hunters speed up their shots when a grouse flushes. The 20-gauge is a great size, but I don’t like to leave anything to chance and most often tote my 12-guage into the woods, despite it being a couple of pounds heavier. Shot in sizes 7.5 or 6 are ruffed grouse standards, as it doesn’t take much to bring these birds down if you can hit them. A more open choke, like Skeet or Improved Cylinder will spread the pattern out for these birds, which tend to flush close. Carrying your shotgun in a two-handed or ready position will also aid in getting the shot off quickly.

Finally, it is important that hunters walking the grouse trails be physically fit and prepared for the effort even one bird requires. As the adage goes, “ruffed grouse hunting burns more calories than it produces.” Take walks with your family and your faithful hunting dog this summer and add in some moderate weight training to strengthen your legs before the season begins. Some of the best trails I walked last year were three miles off the main forest road and the less-pressured birds deep in the woods made the trip worth the effort.

If pheasant counts in your area of the upper Midwest are down, and you’re looking for a change of pace this fall, plan an exciting hunt in ruffed grouse country during this peak year. With the fallen golden leaves of the aspen forest as a carpet, the blue of the October sky as a ceiling, and the thrill of a bird dog behind the booming wingbeats of a flushing ruffed grouse, it’s hard to picture a more perfect way to spend an autumn day…in our outdoors.