Flushed two this morning. Got a crack at one but missed. Callie also got up one woodcock but I don’t shoot those. Got too warm fast and looks to be that way through the week so I’ll probably fish next weekend instead. Looks like we’ll be adding a chicken breast with that one Grouse tonight.
Had 1 flush in 45 minute walk this morn. Sticky warm and lots of nats. Waiting for a good killing frost now but things are starting to die off. It was good to get out and Cash did his job on getting the bird up.
I did a short session Sun evening. Had two grouse flushes but never saw the bird. I also had four woodcock flushes but they don’t open until next weekend.
My dogs 6th birthday just so happened to fall on grouse opener. We hit the woods both Sat and Sun and put on over 17 miles and flushed 23 birds. I should have knocked down a couple more but overall it was a great opening weekend. I was surprised how much foliage already dropped.
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My dogs 6th birthday just so happened to fall on grouse opener. We hit the woods both Sat and Sun and put on over 17 miles and flushed 23 birds. I should have knocked down a couple more but overall it was a great opening weekend. I was surprised how much foliage already dropped.
Awesome! How did your dog do? Nice pic.
Wait, 17 miles!! 
Out of my league.
My dog did great – I was really happy with her performance and mad at myself for not knocking down a few more birds. I was exploring some new trails and I’m trying to get both of us in shape for my Oct and Dec South Dakota (maybe North Dakota based on SD’s conditions and the flooding) trips, so we pushed it. Over 46,000 steps on the weekend for me, probably 3-5X that for my dog. I’ve been interval and distance running with her the last 2 months trying to build up her endurance. We usually put on about 10 miles a day in SD and it’s a lot tougher walking conditions out there
I got the upland hattrick today… ruffed (x2), spruce, and a woodcock.
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Nice looking O/U !
What brand is that?
Thanks! It’s a Franchi Instict SL. Pretty solid O/U for the price
Thanks! It’s a Franchi Instict SL. Pretty solid O/U for the price
Yea that’s what I thought it was. Nice gun Jake.
20G or 12?
I run a 20ga SX3 with 26″ barrel. I like it so much that it sometimes comes in the duck blind too.
A buddy and I will be out north of GR Saturday-Tuesday for a cast and blast long weekend. Hopefully the birds have spread out a bit more by then.
Yea that’s what I thought it was. Nice gun Jake.
20G or 12G
I’ve got the 20 ga. I believe it’s something like 5.5 lbs which makes it a great gun to carry around all day. I’ve really grown to love the O/Us. I used to think there’s nothing better than a good semi auto, which may be true for waterfowl. But I’m more of an upland guy and I think I see another O/U in my not so distant future. I’d like to have both a 12 and a 20
Had a couple nice flushes tonight. The second came right across an opening. 2 shots missed. I’m using #8 shot. I prefer 7. Whats your shot preference and why? I think 8 is a little light.
I have used 7.5 for as long as I can remember. I wouldnt hesitate to use 6.
All I ever use is 7.5 shot for grouse. You don’t need much more than a couple BBs for knocking down a grouse.
Bigpike – I’d start by patterning your choke(s) before changing shot size – I’m guessing you are using too narrow of a choke. I use I/C and Mod in my O/U.
Get a big piece of cardboard, draw a bullseye, mark off 20 or 25 yards and take a couple steady shots at the bullseye. This will give you a visual of what your spread is like. Get a new piece of cardboard when changing chokes and repeat. I think most people are just guessing and don’t actually know how wide their spread is with the chokes and ammo they are using. Different brands of the same shot size can pattern differently too. Some ammo will spread 50/50 and 60/40 (meaning % of BB’s above and below the bullseye you are shooting at).
All I ever use is 7.5 shot for grouse. You don’t need much more than a couple BBs for knocking down a grouse.
Bigpike – I’d start by patterning your choke(s) before changing shot size – I’m guessing you are using too narrow of a choke. I use I/C and Mod in my O/U.
Get a big piece of cardboard, draw a bullseye, mark off 20 or 25 yards and take a couple steady shots at the bullseye. This will give you a visual of what your spread is like. Get a new piece of cardboard when changing chokes and repeat. I think most people are just guessing and don’t actually know how wide their spread is with the chokes and ammo they are using. Different brands of the same shot size can pattern differently too. Some ammo will spread 50/50 and 60/40 (meaning % of BB’s above and below the bullseye you are shooting at).
Agree.
For example, this is what my I/C spread looks like at 25 yards with my usual choice of ammo which is Remington 7.5 shot game loads. As you can see from the spread of this particular choke, you don’t need to be very close to get a couple BBs on the bird. Heck you can be off 2 feet at 25 yards and still get enough lead in the bird to drop it.
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Very nice information. Thank you!
6 shot might be a little more advantageous early in the season like right now when you might be shooting through more foliage and under brush. The bigger BB’s trajectory will be less effected by shooting through foliage than a smaller BB would be.
Once most of the leaves drop, I don’t think a bigger load like 6 shot is necessary. Yes, your individual BB’s have more knock down power, but you have less of them than you would if you were shooting 7.5 shot. A google search revealed the average BB count for 12 ga 2 3/4″ 7.5 shot is 428 BBs whereas a 12 ga 2 3/4″ 6 shot is only 297 BBs…. 7.5 shot gives you 44% more BB’s flying through the air. Like I said before, you only need a couple BBs to knock down a grouse. In the case of grouse hunting, I like quantity over quality.
Did a couple short sessions earlier in the week and a longer session today. A total of 10 grouse flushes for the three walks (no dog). Saw seven different birds today so that was encouraging. A few woodcock but flights aren’t thru yet.
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Nice pic. Makes me one one like it bad!
Got my 7 yr old son out yesterday for his very first hunt. He carried his B.B. Gun. We spent the first hour talking through gun safety and just doing target practice.
We then took two short walks. On the 2nd walk we got into a covey and ended up bagging two birds. My son actually managed to shoulder his gun and get a shot off on one of the birds. He thinks he hit it and I sure wasn’t going to tell him otherwise. I wanted to keep hunting, but kept it short and sweet to make sure it was a good experience.
It was an awesome day. And looking forward to many more with my little hunting buddy.
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Pretty awesome report. Great job dad and son!
Central Minnesota, had six flushes. 1 good covey of four that were very quiet but could just see them for a second so I’m assuming they were young birds, so that’s a good sign. Couple observations, all the flushes came off unused old trails, nothing off the highways in the woods, also, no real deer tracks or sign in the woods but plenty of Wolf scat and tracks in the mud on the trails..should get better with more foliage coming down.
Pretty awesome report. Great job dad and son!
Thanks BigPike!
I should add, this was near Aitkin and the cover was still rather thick. One of the birds was young. Should get good the next two weeks as a few more leaves drop.
How does it get better for you guys when the foliage is down?
I understand you can see better but arent your birds flushing farther away due to lack of cover?
In a nutshell, no, not really.
There are pros and cons though. Early season, hard to see many birds due to heavy cover. The upside is the birds are less wary and more younger (dumber) birds will be around no doubt.
I like it when there is still some leaves up for cover, but maybe 50-75% is down. That usually coincides with no bugs and nice cool temps for covering ground.
I personally like every aspect of the season. From green beginnings to full leaf down. I’m ready for that aspen leaf down smell!!!!!!
My only real complaint is fall is not long enough! Between trying to figure out when to grouse hunt, duck hunt, and pheasant hunt my mind is pulled in so many directions! Not to even mention fishing 
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