2018-2019 NC Ruffed Grouse Season

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Granted they aren’t in abundance lol ...... but there’s a few out there...
Flushed at least a dozen at Sandy Mush last year. They burned me every time and i only got off 2 shots in 4 trips lol. I did kill a nice woodcock though. Seen several of them too, most recently at dawn during turkey season . I don’t have a dog and it’s still a blast. Can’t imagine having that pooch be a part of all of it, sounds awesome

Watching a dog work is the best part of it. Even a bad dog will put a smile on your face.


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Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
This is off topic, but does anyone have a local source for quail or pigeons in wnc? The guy I use to get some birds from no longer has any, and I’m needing so birds for yard work with the new pup.


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nchunter2

Eight Pointer
pick any highway overpass with pigeons roosting on adjacent powerlines. Throw out some corn in the grass nearby with a pigeon trap.....wait a day then visit at night. Collect your training birds. Easy.
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Went after some birds this morning. Didn’t even find a bird. We were up high and it was snowing. Then turned to rain so we packed it up for the day
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Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Had to check on my parents, so I hunted the private land that buts up to them. This is my honey hole for as long as I can remember and today was no different. Walking the road bed for 30 min. We found three birds, had possible shots on two but didn’t pull it together, need to change chokes for some longer range shooting.

14” of snow was tuff for a 12 week old pup I ended up carrying back out to the house. Also the girlfriend wasn’t having the hard walking in the snow.
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Will definitely be back to hunt this again this year... at least once.


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Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Great pictures and I'm sure you had a good time, especially seeing birds. But in all honesty, the puppy was the smartest one in the crowd.

I’ve never hunted there and not put birds in the air. I try to only hunt it a few times a season


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timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
Anybody been up around Pond Mountain? I figure there is plenty of snow on the ground up there but thought about taking a ride up there next week to try my luck.
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Out traveling today but thinking about hunting.
Reading some research the other day. It was saying dogs find 40% of farm raised birds but only about 20% of wild quail. That got me to wondering what do you think the average is for grouse? How far out on a good day can a dog pick up the smell of the bird?


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Ruff Hunter

Four Pointer
I think it depends on how grouse feel during the time they are being hunted. If a grouse is feeling safe and good then he is doing more things that allow his scent to permeate thru the air which allows dogs to smell him better..... and number of birds factor into that as well along with scenting conditions....... I would say wild quail and grouse are about the same......
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Out traveling today but thinking about hunting.
Reading some research the other day. It was saying dogs find 40% of farm raised birds but only about 20% of wild quail. That got me to wondering what do you think the average is for grouse? How far out on a good day can a dog pick up the smell of the bird?

That has to be HIGHLY dependent on the dog, the conditions and the total area, you are hunting. 1000 acres or 10 acres?
 

wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Out traveling today but thinking about hunting.
Reading some research the other day. It was saying dogs find 40% of farm raised birds but only about 20% of wild quail. That got me to wondering what do you think the average is for grouse? How far out on a good day can a dog pick up the smell of the bird?


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I’d say that percentage for farm raised birds is waaaay low.
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
I’m not saying I agree with the data they provided. But I do think dogs don’t find every wild bird in an area.
I also think you hunt differently on preserves than in the wild since you know how many birds are out there


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wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
I’m not saying I agree with the data they provided. But I do think dogs don’t find every wild bird in an area.
I also think you hunt differently on preserves than in the wild since you know how many birds are out there


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Agree with that - I know dogs have missed some birds, due to having one flush next to me after the dog had already passed. Had that happen twice with two different dogs. A lot of factors wind, humidity, temp get factored in to it
 

JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
I’m not saying I agree with the data they provided. But I do think dogs don’t find every wild bird in an area.
I also think you hunt differently on preserves than in the wild since you know how many birds are out there


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It would be interesting to know how they came to the number for pen raised birds...I agree it sounds low. But, just got back from hunting pen raised birds in Wisconsin...meaning they were raised by the DNR, released on public land much the same as stocked catfish are released in ponds. It’s way closer to wild bird hunting than a preserve hunt where you walk up and pay for 10 quail, 4 chukar and 3 pheasant...
 

g3trappernc

Twelve Pointer
It would be interesting to know how they came to the number for pen raised birds...I agree it sounds low. But, just got back from hunting pen raised birds in Wisconsin...meaning they were raised by the DNR, released on public land much the same as stocked catfish are released in ponds. It’s way closer to wild bird hunting than a preserve hunt where you walk up and pay for 10 quail, 4 chukar and 3 pheasant...
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Presenter Spotlight!
Jason Bowman, is the owner of O.G.R.E. (Outdoor gear and Recreation Equipment). His love of bird hunting and the outdoors began at a young age having grown up in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. As an adult, Jason tried out multiple breeds of bird dogs such as Vizslas and English Setters, but after apprenticing with a bird dog trainer in Georgia who used Drahthaars, he took his bird hunting skills to the next level. Today, Jason still hunts with the fist Drahthaar, Quinni, and has completed multiple hunting tests with her (including the coveted VGP, a worldwide recognized field test for versatile hunting dogs). Jason and Quinni travel all over the U.S. chasing quail, ducks, pheasants, and blood tracking deer. But his true love is hunting grouse all up and down the east coast. You can learn more about his company at www.ogreoutdoors.com
At 2:00pm Saturday, Jason will be presenting on Grouse Hunting in WNC along with his Bird Dog Quinni!

From WNC Wildlife Day this coming Saturday at Headwaters Outfitters in Rosman

https://www.facebook.com/events/585...min_plan_mall_activity¬if_id=1546535480636080
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Went out today, almost 12 miles and not a single bird found. I think that is due to the high winds swirling all around. Dog would go birdy then just stop and look around like he lost the scent. I also think this area gets more hunting pressure than i thought. I had found these clear cuts last year and never hunted them, I did today and they had what I thought was good cover, plenty of green briers and wild grapes.
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Thunder 1

Button Buck
I'm wondering how everyone's season is going? Are we seeing more, less, or about the same amount of birds compared to last year?
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
I'm seeing less birds in general. this could be that i'm also trying to find new spots so i'm not hammering the same spots all the time. But the last couple of places i've been looked like they should be holding birds. Saturday morning as we were unloading dogs a mountain biker stopped and talked and said he had three flush from the road when he rode by a couple miles up the road from us. We tried to hunt the area where he said he saw them with no luck, but it was encouraging to hear that there were birds in the area. I've got three more new locations that i'm going to try and hunt before end of season.

i know of one person who has shot 10+ birds this year in WNC but he is retired and probably hunts 3-4 times a week and avg. 5-6 miles every time he goes out.
 

Ruff Hunter

Four Pointer
I was seeing more birds in the early part of the season, but it seems that since the weather has turned bad ( basically since the first of December) that my bird contacts have decreased....... I’ve had a couple of days that were good for the southern Appalachians, but not many.....
 

Thunder 1

Button Buck
I'm seeing a few more than last year myself. The beginning of the season was slow. Made a change in altitude that I would normally hunt and started having more bird contacts. With this mild weather I'm seeing a lot of insects, found two ticks on me Friday. Friend of mine that rides mt bike said they have been seeing snakes on the trails in bent creek this past week.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Moving up to HaYwood County in two weeks (right at the Jackson County line). Worth it for a guy with no dog to tote the shotgun with him before the season ends while he scouts a few places for turkey and deer season? And what size shot in a 12 gauge do you suggest? I’ve ran into a few before while hiking or riding the four wheeler at Brown Mtn of all places but never tried hunting them and figure why not give it a try if it gives me a good excuse to hit the woods.
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
Moving up to HaYwood County in two weeks (right at the Jackson County line). Worth it for a guy with no dog to tote the shotgun with him before the season ends while he scouts a few places for turkey and deer season? And what size shot in a 12 gauge do you suggest? I’ve ran into a few before while hiking or riding the four wheeler at Brown Mtn of all places but never tried hunting them and figure why not give it a try if it gives me a good excuse to hit the woods.

I live in Haywood. Birds are jumpy and most on public land have been hunted pretty hard by this time of year, but you could get lucky and flush one. 7 1/2 is what most people shoot. Jackson county has soon good grouse woods but I haven’t hunted there in a couple years.


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