Many of you reading this story knew Arthur personally, or you may have known about Arthurs grouse hunting days. For snipe, the best places to look are probably in the southern Hannahatchee, Chickasawhatchee, Elmodel, Horse Creek, and Flint River. Two grouse flushed coming straight at me, down the mountainside. In Pennsylvania, the ruffed grouse flush rate last hunting season was stable compared to the 2020 flush rate, both of which were higher than the tough years of 2018 and 2019 in which severe West Nile Virus outbreaks impacted the population, says Reina Tyl, Pennsylvania Game Commission. Sorry state our NF's are in. All things considered, you only need a shotgun, a pair of boots, some durable clothing, and blaze orange. Anyone under the age of 16 is not required to complete a hunter education course, but must be under the direct supervision of an adult. Would it explode or was it a dud? Dot would bark a yep, yep, when a grouse flushed wild. The best thing to do is find the cuts, said Monte. In the mid 80s he averaged 35 to 40 birds per season. I, being tired and hot for the day, declined. Arthur taught me to always go to a dogs pointsno matter what! At the end of her story she said, Well, if you have done some things that were true, you should be allowed to brag a little, if you choose. Referring back to that ladys quote, I will say, I, too, have a little bragging I want to do! No one knows exactly what has caused the population decline, but Monte said logging restrictions on pub- lic lands during the past two decades have seriously limited grouse habitat. While we reserve the right to remove or modify comments at our sole discretion, the Sportsman's Guide does not bear any responsibility for user comments. This year, I read a story in the local Gainesville newspaper about a prominent, elderly, 93-year-old lady who had passed-away. Youll find swamps down there, too, most notably Okefenokee Swamp. Grouse on the decline. Positioning yourself for the clearest shot is key. The state also offers a hunting apprentice license which is based on a daily rate. My dog Star and I had become a good hunting team by the mid 70s, the same way as Dot and Arthur were during their grouse hunting days. There are four approved websiteswhere you can complete a hunter education course without a field day, all with varying fees. Our turn to decide who lives and who dies. Today, that average has dropped to about 3/4 of a flush per hour. Most weeks they hunted six days a week. 2023 Georgia Outdoor News. Monte suggested using a logging map to plan the days hunt. The American woodcock is a federally regulated bird and, like all states, requires a free HIP number. This controversial film highlighted the issues that black bird dog handlers have faced in the field trial world; these issues ultimately led to the creation of the Georgia-Florida Shooting Dog Handlers Association. 2023 Georgia Outdoor News. They need those coveys to survive. Biologists have concluded that ruffed grouse taken in the early part of the season do not affect the overall survival numbers, but those taken in winter will. As temperatures drop below freezing, birds move down from the ridges in search of water and succulent plants. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, there are, but I doubt there's many. Ruffed grouse in Georgia? In other words, Fats shot at a spot out in front of were a crossing grouse would be. This project was curated by Durrell Smith, host of the Gun Dog Notebook Podcast and founder of the Minority Outdoor Alliance. Do you have any documentation to back up your claim in number 10 that birds taken in winter affect survival; you said it is proven? Arthurs last dog, named Dot, even started making low barking yelps when a wild flush grouse did occur. Most WMA's have too many trees and not enough sunlight but Russell has a vey open forest and has been burned. It is certainly true Labs, gsps, brittanys all can make wonder hunting parters. Georgia is famous for its warm climate and many locations to hunt game with over 58,000 square miles. Deep snow can prove to be a real hazard to turkeys, whether food is present or not. He was not a follow-through type shooter like todays gun-range shooters are. On my better days I would flush 15 to 20 grouse. Its the north side of that mountain range. I missed every way there was like missing the first grouse and doubling the last two. As a response, the state of Georgia set up the Bobwhite Quail Initiative. Learn these patterns to hunt more efficiently. Based on the hunter survey of birds flushed, Pennsylvania in the Northeast and Michigan/Minnesota in the Midwest are the hot spots for the 2003-04 season. See them everywhere on the dirt roads grittin. Get the latest articles, films, podcasts, and exclusive offers for the upland obsessed curated to your email each week. Obviously the author has never hunted over a good flushing dog for grouse just as I have never hunted with a good pointing dog for grouse. Dropping his snout, he quartered a wedge of scent back and forth around a dank blowdown of brambles and old slash. Here's my list of the 10 most important rules of grouse hunting. Start mounting the gun at the first indication of a bird, make visual contact as it flushes, swing ahead and shoot. Turkeys and trout were helped, too, by these abundant span-worms. Grouse: Saturday-October 15, 2022: Monday-February 28, 2022: Statewide: Limit of 3 each day: Quail: Saturday-November 12, 2022: Monday-February 28, 2022: Statewide: Limit of 12 each . Since then, most of the young forest habitat that ruffed grouse prefer in north Georgia has grown too mature for them. If you walk five hours a day, a pound will feel much more than that, said Monte. Reproduction in whole or in part without the express permission of Project Upland is strictly prohibited. The perimeter of a 10- to 12-year-old hardwood clearcut that harbors patches of evergreen vegetation and a few mature trees to produce hard mast is an ideal north Georgia grouse haven. Bonasa umbellus. Arthur had a theory that a grouse would sit tighter to any kind of disturbance on the very coldest of days, rather than when it was hot, or even just warm. A big challenge for wingshooters is catching up with a grouse after it flushes, and long shots of 30 yards or more are rare. They really get worked hard in the mountains here. In 1975 I purchased a brand-new CJ 5 Jeep to travel in the mountains for a hunting vehicle. Theres just some- thing about watching a good bird dog do what it was born to do that makes the imagination kick into gear. I only found a fresh shed deer antler for my time being spent there. You can go in one end and come out the other. It was late November, and we were hunting national-forest lands near Lake Burton WMA in Rabun County. Despite Louisiana and east Texas being the meccas of Southern woodcock hunting, parts of Georgia still get a solid flight of birds. But as Broderick moved slowly toward the brush it became apparent that the grouse family had already made its escape. In vast expanses of north Georgias public mountain lands, find cover, food and water, and youll find birds hunkered down for the winter. The ruffed grouse is a medium sized bird, smaller than a chicken, measuring approximately 12-18 inches long. Now answer the lies. When the dogs had finished retrieving all the birds, the count was 21 dead birds., Arthur said, I only killed one bird. Arthur, as I have been telling, was in a class above all other shooters that I ever observed shooting grouse. Just go to where theres some cover. In Montana, cottonwood-quaking aspen woodlands, stream channels, and ponderosa pine woodlands offer the best habitat for ruffed grouse. Before going to the over-and-under, I shot a Remington Model 1100 in 12 gauge and had all kind of chances to make a triple. If you learn them, you can find grouse and scout for deer and turkeys. Grouse hunting was a special part of my hunting life. This bird hunt took place in the early 1940s in Jackson County at a big bottom near the North Oconee River, also known as Peckerwood. http://www.zerotohunt.com/try-ruffed-grouse-hunting/. Looking for Georgia hunting seasons? Fats switched from bird hunting to grouse hunting in 1947. Ideal winter grouse cover will provide flowing water, sufficient green vegetation and protection from predators such as hawks, owls and coyotes. Arthur once revealed to me he had killed 12 grouse without missing a shot. Ive noticed they have a tendency to flush toward the sun. I had to break my side by side down and put it in my game bag to climb with both hands up the side of that mountain. Georgia upland bird hunting information, season limits, bag limits, species overviews and quick links to Georgia DNR and hunting licenses. Another happening at this same time was a span-worm infestation, which lasted three or four years. Grouse populations are limited by elevation, and they typically dont exist at less than 1,000 feet, so only Georgias most northern counties hold birds. 2014-2023 Project Upland Media Group, LLC. Star, being of field-champion stock, was a big traveling grouse dog. Most of northern Georgia is mountainous. Not really sure how may Grouse are actually in this are but. Thanks! Buck was stretching into a point now, staring intently at the tangle of brush. Mixed oak-pine forests and eastern red cedar-hardwood forests are important habitats in this region. They went out into the bottom and locked on point. Eastern populations of American woodcock have also declined quite a bit in recent years. Woodcock come here to winter and to find places with unfrozen ground where they can probe for worms. Arthur and I continued to hunt wild turkeys and deer together for many more years, but his glorious days of grouse hunting were over. All grouse had to do to have their craws filled with these 1-inch worms was to look down and pick one up. of No. Then I covered the other grouse just before it was about to enter a larger wall of more rhododendrons, and I shot it, too. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. grouse populations over the past 25 years with a general decrease in numbers since 1996. In his best grouse-hunting years during the mid 1980s, Monte recorded nearly 1.5 flushes per hour. Learn more about our use of cookies:cookie policy. Early stage hardwood forest mixed with some mature mast trees provides ideal habitat. Edges of older clearcuts are still prime habitat during January and February, but try to find areas of dense growth combining mountain laurel, rhododendron, ferns and water. Last season, Monte averaged .75 flushes per hour of hunting effort. Check everything you need to know to plan your next hunting trip. Buying direct from reloading manufactures let me load boxes of 12 gauge shot shells with 1 1/8-oz. This was the caliber of hunters and shooters the Trueloves of Hall County were. He told me about killing 12 grouse straight, without missing a shot, in one season. Grouse Hunting Management in Wisconsin County Forests. However, I noticed a man splitting wood down below the truck. Most of the grouse I see here in western NC are above 2500'. These guns weighed in at more than 8 pounds. Being tired from a hard days hunt, I declined. The complete 2022-23 Georgia Hunting Season Dates and Bag Limits will soon be available at license vendors and online. It would be fun to take the author out on a hunting trip and show him what he has been missing hunting with pointers. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 2023 The Sportsmans Guide, Inc.1-800-882-2962|, Forward-Facing Sonar is Changing Much of Fishing. Another factor that Monte and some other hunters feel is contributing to the population decline in grouse isthe increase in wild turkey populations and the resulting competition for habitat, which is exacerbated by the loss of habitat diversity caused by logging restrictions. You can spend a whole season hunting in there and not cover it all, Broderick said. In Idaho, riparian areas and mixed conifers like Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, and quaking aspen woodlands are the most productive. But they still seek thick cover for security and food, too. I would doubt seriously if there are many, if any grouse that far south. Man-o-man! If youve got rhododendron or laurel, therell be some birds there. One of Fats favorite beats, or hunts, was down Board-town Creek, off Duncan Ridge Road in todays Coopers Creek WMA. Maps of the Chattahoochee National Forest showing where clearcuts are located can be obtained from the USFS. Avoid those two mistakes by . Georgia Outdoor News is your best source for timely news about hunting, fishing and everything outdoors in the state of Georgia. Bang, bang, bang went Arthurs old model 11, and the three grouse went tumbling down. A pair of Georgia grouse and the shed from a nice ridge-runner buck sit atop Herb McClures jeep in this 1979 photo taken in the snow-covered mountains. I just saw a blur and couldnt shoot, theyd say. On the edges of the stands grow mountain laurel and rhododendron, crucial ever- green shrubbery providing grouse with essential food and cover. In 2018, Project Upland Magazine traveled to Georgia to shoot the film Hard Day Riding. 7 1/2 or 8 shot to throw a wide pattern. After lunch, Star and I went to High Shoals Creek nearby for another hunt. Since ruffed grouse can and do survive across Canada, the northern half of our country, and even down into Georgia along the Appalachian Mountains, the habitats vary greatly. We are using a mixture of techniques to survey Ruffed Grouse, including the use of Automated Recording Units (ARUs) and standard roadside drumming surveys. Her name was Star, too. For 10 years I was just a causal skeet shooter as a part of my outdoor nature. Its a pretty unique and beautiful area.. Moreover, before the flush the bird is acutely aware of the dog AS WELL AS the hunter. A breeding survey cited in 2007 by the University of Georgias Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources showed that during the mid- 1980s, 1 1/2 flushes per hour was a good day of hunting. Having your own dog will cause you to hunt more than anything else. $500 Per Person For All Inclusive Hunts. I would like to know to. There is no small game license in the state, but the base hunting license does not account for big game hunting which requires an additional license. Numbers 11, 12 and 13 without a missed shot. Dot was Fats favorite grouse dog. One particular area at around 3500 ft I'll see a few every time I'm in there. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. There is no question that lack of timber harvesting and regeneration type harvesting not thinning or selection in particular is the primary factor in declining populations, said Monte. This was my undoing of hunting on everythingexcept turkey hunting. . What could be better? Timberdoodle Quest Georgia Woodcock Hunting, Smoke-Phase Gobbler Killed In Murray County, Grouse Hunting Film Event Coming To Thomasville. This uncanny timing sparked a range of controversy and emotion across the Project Upland platforms that eventually helped inspire Durrells founding of the Minority Outdoor Alliance. . Last Day to Receive the Spring Issue FREE Thankfully, I killed the only grouse I had a shot at, which was a wild flush. Back at the jeep, the wood-splitting mountain man came over to where I was parked, muttering in his mountain dialect. 2014-2023 Project Upland Media Group, LLC. Go Public For Late-Season Mountain Grouse. This drastic decline in population levels is partially the result of changes in habitat. Like other commenters, I take some issue with the authors strong preference for a pointing dog. The Summer 2020 Issue of Project Upland Magazine cover story featured Durrell Smith and his research into the history of African-American bird dog trainers in the South, primarily in Georgia. Arthur knew that grouse tend to feed during the day upon the hillsides for grapes, acorns and whatever else they could eat. The Pacific Northwest has several very different habitats for grouse. Away went Arthur climbing up that steep mountainside to where Dot was on point. The ruffed grouse, however, is an enigma in the world of birds when it comes to winter survival. Read the Full Article: Ruffed Grouse in the Winter Time, Ruffed Grouse Society.
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