The Grouse Camp Thirty Three Years and Counting by Charles Few
This past October, 2024, was our thirty-third annual “Grouse Camp” at our family cabin in Central Pennsylvania. One of our guys even refers to it with Roman Numerals – GC XXXIII. If it wasn’t for a three year hiatus during the COVID epidemic, 2024 would have been our thirty-sixth camp. We’ve always had wonderful times.
As can happen with gatherings that originally start as a casual get-together of family and friends, our camp has become a long running, yearly tradition. Originally, most of us were in our middle ages along with our sons who had reached legal hunting age. But that was then and “then” was a long time ago. These days some of us are septuagenarians and octogenarians and the young fellows have become the mid-lifers and are now husbands, fathers and responsible, productive members of society. Last year, for the first time, a grandson was there. Sadly, some the gang have passed away and are no longer with us.
I have been asked that since this all happens in Pennsylvania, how and why is it a Grouse Camp and not a Deer Camp? After all, every fall hunters gather at camps all across the state to hunt white tailed deer. They are a traditional mainstay of the Pennsylvania hunting season and have been around for multiple decades. How did a Grouse Camp get started anyway?
For that story, we have to go back to the late 1920’s. My maternal grandfather had a cabin built along the Allegheny River. At his passing many years ago, he left the cabin to my brother and me. We were his only grandchildren and it was he who taught us both how to hunt, fish and love the outdoors.
As much as we loved and used that old place in the milder months of the year, it was never insulated or winterized. But, back in those years that wasn’t too important. Both my brother and I lived in the Midwest and never used the place in the late fall or in the winter. It was a long drive for both of us and weather during the Pennsylvania deer season can sometimes get nasty. Plus, even with a space heater, when outside temperatures dropped, the cabin could get pretty cold inside Every fall we had to drain the water lines and make sure there wasn’t anything inside that could freeze over the winter months. It was an annual chore and never much fun working in the limited crawl space under the cabin.
Then, in the late 1970’s, I accepted a job from a company that moved me to central Pennsylvania. It was a good opportunity with a good company and I landed in the middle of some excellent hunting areas. Unfortunately, the old cabin was still a long drive from where I settled. Regardless, I started thinking about starting a deer camp. That was something I had always wanted to do. Reality, however, was that the guys I wanted to invite would be coming from several different states and non-resident deer hunting licenses were expensive for only a few days of hunting. In a cabin that wasn’t winterized, deer season could often bring cold, wet and unpredictable weather. That could also make for some dangerous driving, especially for the guys coming from other states. Hmmmm?
Since the idea was to get together and hunt with family and friends, why not hunt grouse if deer hunting wasn’t going to work? That seemed to be an idea worth trying and so we picked a date to gather in late October of 1989. With the exception of three years during the COVID epidemic, we’ve been meeting every autumn since.
Eventually, I sold my share of the old cabin to my brother and had a cabin built much closer to my home. My wife and I, and our kids and grandkids, all frequently enjoy it through most of the year and Grouse Camp continues every fall.
We have a lot of great times at camp and eat like kings while we are there. There are some excellent cooks at camp and we’d like to think we could rival any five-star restaurant anywhere. Zingers fly back and forth and fun and laughter is pretty much continuous. Friendships are renewed and someone always has a new gun or two to show off. Tale tales and true abound during conversations.
Initially, most of us were pheasant hunters when it came to upland game. Grouse was a whole new experience. Hunting for them the same way and in the same type of terrain like we hunted for pheasants didn’t work so well. But, over time and with some practical experience, we gradually got better at it. However, those little devils always seemed to have a way of exploding into flight right near you. They could be gone before you could even get your shotgun shouldered. No, the Pennsylvania grouse population was never in any real danger of decline because of our shooting abilities.
As the years have passed, however, there have been a few noticeable changes at camp. Age has a way of slowing down even the most active hunter. Arthritis is a common problem among many of us these days, to the point that some of the gang don’t even buy hunting licenses anymore. But, license or not, they still make the annual trek to camp. Visiting area gun shops and finding local mom and pop diners serving good breakfasts and lunches is a must for some during the long weekend. Target shooting at a nearby gravel pit is on the schedule sometimes, too. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is at the end of every camp there is a requirement to gather for the “Obligatory Photograph.” That is usually my responsibility and over the winter I send out an 8X10 photo to everyone who was there. One copy is always framed and mounted on a cabin wall with photographs from all the former camps. What a history in pictures!
How much longer our camp will continue, I cannot say. Times change. Lives and interests change and sometimes traditions will simply run their course and are no more. Hopefully, though, there will still be lots more years that we gather and the great times will continue.
One current concern, though, is that grouse flushes have been dwindling at an alarming rate. Every year we keep a running total of how many flushes we get each time we go out. From a hunting standpoint, that is how we judge if we had a successful camp or not. Heaven knows we have way more misses than we down birds, but a lot of flushes is always considered great hunting and a great camp.
None of us are game biologists, but we’ve learned there seem to be different reasons for the decline in the grouse population. First, some years ago, Pennsylvania experienced the “white nose syndrome” that infected our bats. Estimates indicate that the state has lost up to 99% of it’s bat population. Bats eat mosquitoes. Millions and millions of them. Mosquitoes can carry the West Nile virus. With no bats eating mosquitoes, those mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have increased exponentially and have had a devastating effect on the survival rates of not only grouse, but also other species of birds, as well.
There is also an ever growing coyote population in the state. Years ago, they seemed to be a rarity.
Today, we have them not only in the outdoors, but in populated areas and cities, too. I actually saw one recently in the front yard of one of my neighbors in the busy suburb in which I live. Seeing them in the woods has become all too common. Coyotes rank right up there among nature’s most efficient game predators. As the coyote populations increase, their predation on birds and small mammals grows.
Then there is the problem of bonasa’s need for suitable habitat. Some articles I’ve read maintain that grouse seem to thrive best in mixed forest growth. Apparently a mixture of clear cut, medium growth and mature forest areas are all important to the Ruffed Grouse, ole Bonasa Umbellus, Pennsylvania’s wonderful state bird.
There may be other reasons for the decline in our grouse population that we are not aware of, too. But, the above reasons certainly point to the ongoing need for active game and habitat management if we want to continue Pennsylvania’s long hunting tradition and the health of this amazing gamebird.
In the meantime, the important work of the Ruffed Grouse Society and Pennsylvania Game Commission goes on. Hopefullly, the tradition of our Grouse Camp continues, as well.
