An upland hunter reflects on his last day of the season. Saturday Morning, February 29, began with a crisp, cool, but sunny morning. It was also the last day of the upland gunning season and a day that brings bittersweet thoughts to my mind each year. It is with regret that I know that it hearkens an end my days afield with my canine companions. Yet I also know that my body needs a rest from endless treks across the mountains, my wife would like to see me around a wee bit more, and spring chores await. And gardening season is...
upland bird
Winter Grouse Hunting Strategies – RGS
Things to consider before your next winter grouse hunt.
Here in Wisconsin, the snow is deep, and the winds are howling, and we have settled in for the winter. However, winter grouse hunting is possible and there are still areas that have not seen as much snow or cold temperatures as certain areas of the ruffed grouse range.
If I am considering going to a new area this time of year, I first do some research. Here are some of the things that I consider before heading out:
[Read more…] about Winter Grouse Hunting Strategies – RGSNew Hunters Graduate From Mentored Hunt Training Presented by The Ruffed Grouse Society
New hunter mentor program allows new hunters of any age, young or old, to learn about upland bird hunting from mentors. Kane Pa.: The Allegheny Chapter (Kane) of the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) has completed their new hunter training for 2019. The New Hunter Mentor Program (NHMP) allows new hunters of any age, young or old, to learn about upland bird hunting from mentors. During a day in the spring and a day in the fall, all attendees learn about shooting, habitat and GPS, bird dog care, and then graduate to an actual hunt for birds with dogs. Experienced grouse and woodcock hunters...
A Weekend at Grouse Camp with Ruffed Grouse Society – RGS
The day a German immigrant became an adult-onset hunter at RGS Grouse Camp in Wisconsin Most grouse and woodcock hunters know this situation: standing in young Aspen cover with a shotgun in your hand. All you hear is the tone of the e-collar that tells you a dog is on point maybe 50 yards away from you. Slowly, but with determination, you make your way through the thick cover of late September, just to end up about 15 yards in front of the dog still strongly on point. Just six month ago I would never have thought I’d find myself in the...
Ruffed Grouse Habitat | Cost Share Planting for Private Landowners
How You Can Improve Grouse Habitat on Your Property I’ve always loved the idea of leaving a legacy. Not for fame or glory, by any means, but for something simpler. Being a biologist and a hunter, I fell in love with the idea of bringing my in-law’s property to its maximum wildlife potential. Over the years, we’ve cleared some wildlife openings, built brush piles, planted trails and food plots, and pruned dozens of apple trees. But I wanted to take it further by shaping it into a carefully planned grouse paradise, with the hope that my kids would someday enjoy it. ...
What We Can Learn from Grouse Drumming Surveys
Photo Credit | Steve Oehlenschlager What exactly does a drumming survey tell us…or not tell us? There’s something special about that feeling you get in the grouse woods in springtime – that moment when you pause and can’t quite hear anything, but actually feel something thumping in your chest (besides your heart). Finally it becomes clear that it’s actually a grouse drumming from a hundred yards away. Drumming is done by male grouse as they beat their wings from an elevated log, stump, rock, or other platform. Contrary to what many people believe, they’re not hitting their wings against their breast –...
