by Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Author Workman with blue grouse and his favored Franchi 20-ga. over-under.
For millions of sportsmen and women, September signals the start of fall hunting seasons, for small game including grouse and mourning doves especially.
Other seasons kick in as pages drop off the calendar. In some places, grouse hunting starts early – Aug. 30 in Idaho and Sept. 1 in Washington and Oregon, and at mid-month in Michigan (Sept. 15) and Wisconsin (Sept. 16, Zone A) – while wingshooters hold off on ruffed grouse until Oct. 1 in places like New Hampshire and Maine.
Later on, quail, pheasant, chukar (depending upon your region), or woodcock may also be on the agenda, so now is the time to be reading the regulations. Find out season dates, bag limits that may have changed, and burn that into your memory.
That said time’s a-wasting for anyone planning to get in on the action. If you’re heading afield for fun and good eating, there are several things that must be done now. This comes from years of experience, not all of it good, in the game woods.
Your first item of business should be to get your shotgun out of the gun safe, closet or case and give it a thorough cleaning. If your smoothbore has been sitting idle since the end of last season, you could be in trouble without even knowing it, even if you cleaned it before storing it away.
Wipe everything down and add a drop or two of oil to anything that moves. If you’ve got interchangeable choke tubes, pull them, clean them thoroughly and add a single drop of oil to the threads, then screw the tube(s) back in.
I have an over/under 20-gauge Franchi that has become one of my favorite grouse guns. It is rivaled by my vintage Beretta 12-gauge side-by-side with dual triggers and fixed modified and full chokes. Both guns will get a vigorous wipe with a cloth and Hoppe’s No. 9, then wiped dry and finally given a dash of gun oil in the actions.
My next suggestion is equally important. Watch your local newspaper for pre-season sales. This is when I stock up on shotgun shells, and I like No. 6 or even 7½ for grouse, with a preference for the larger size shot. That’s because I hunt blue grouse primarily as opposed to the far more widespread ruffed grouse. Blues – these days identified as “dusky” or “sooty” grouse – are big grouse and they just might require a little more horsepower at times.
I prefer Modified or Improved Cylinder chokes for virtually all of my bird hunting, and have one of each installed on my O/U gun. The Beretta’s chokes are Modified and Full, however.
For doves, the prevailing wisdom is to go with 7½ or 8 shot, and I’ve even encountered guys using skeet loads for these swift-winged devils. Nature gave us doves to remind hunters that we’re a bunch of frustrated losers. I suspect quail are also part of this conspiracy, and I’m not too sure about ruffed grouse and chukar. They have all given me fits over the years.
I have, however, shot blue grouse with a .22 pistol or rifle (I can hear the gasps from the purists) because there are times when these birds seem so mind numbingly stupid as to earn their nickname “fool hen.” At other times, they explode from cover with a nerve-shattering launch that leaves the wingshooter simply at a loss.
If they head into the brush, your shot charge needs to follow and those heavier pellets will be less likely deterred by leaves or small branches.
Out west we think head-shooting a grouse is not only challenging, it is a way to preserve all the meat without filling it full of lead.
This leads to my next recommendation: Get to the gun range with your rimfire rifle and/or pistol and make sure they are zeroed. I own a couple of Champion reactive targets made from DuraSeal, a self-sealing rubber-like product that can take hundreds of hits. My favorite is a crow facsimile and I make nothing but head shots on this thing.
Another target that is indispensable is a golf ball. Every time you hit one of these, it is going to move, and force you to follow it. If you can hit one repeatedly as it changes position, your skills as a grouse shooter will be razor sharp come hunting season.
Keep in mind that shooting game in or along or across a road is verboten in just about every place I’ve ever been. It’s not just against the law, it’s kind of foolish.
Since rimfire ammunition is more available these days, it’s a good idea to stock up. A couple of 100-round boxes should leave the store with you if you’re a head-shooter, and they come in handy later on when rabbits make great sport, after the first good frost of the year.
Stick a pair of binoculars in your hunting rig. I’ve got a couple of favorite areas to hunt and prior to the season opener, I find an excuse to be there early and late in the day to see whether the thunder chickens can be spotted along old logging road edges picking up pea gravel.
While blue grouse live in the higher elevations, ruffed grouse will be found in woodlots, in the lower hills, along river and creek bottoms; anywhere there is cover and forage.
If you’re hunting new territory, take note of small creeks and especially culverts where there might be plenty of green growth that hides birds. I’ve sometimes found fairly large bunches of grouse at such places mornings and evenings, and pursuing them into the surrounding woods can fill a game bag.
Set aside an afternoon to practice your wingshooting skills. Take a hunting buddy, buy a case of clays and break out the thrower, and find a place where you can both polish up rusty reflexes.
This kind of practice is priceless, especially for people who hunt ruffed grouse that fly typically in the direction you least expect. It’s good for quail shooters as well, and for those folks who hunt pheasant or chukar, you also need this therapy.
And here’s something else: Pick up the broken chunks of clay targets and set them against a bank, berm or stump, get back 20 yards or so and practice your rimfire skills. It can be a humbling experience!
Get a good outdoor cookbook with recipes for grouse and other upland game. There are all kinds of ways to prepare and enjoy your game, so being stuck with wrapping breasts in strips of bacon is hardly the only option. Ever try grouse parmesan? How about smoked quail? Of course roast pheasant can be superb, and chukar or grouse with rice and seasonings can be awesome.
But before you enjoy the eating, you’ve got to find the birds and bag ‘em!
