Photo courtesty of www.gnatoutdoors.com.

The ruffed grouse has long been the Holy Grail of upland bird hunters. To say they are a challenge to hunt is an understatement: Successful hunters must have the vigilance of the Templar knights on a crusade to find that coveted chalice.

Adding to the bird’s mystique is its ability to elude hunters. Even when you can find a grouse, the bird’s startling flush and erratic flight pattern can humble the most seasoned sharpshooter.

Despite the difficulties, the grouse remains one of the most prized and revered of all game birds. They’re never easy to hunt and you’ll earn every bird brought to bag, but grouse hunters know that!

Grouse hunting season in the Northeast usually begins in September or early October. Start counting your flushes as you try these proven grouse-hunting tactics.

HUNT HABITAT
Grouse hunters have two distinct challenges to face in the early season -- thick, leafy cover and wide-ranging birds. Generally, the leaves do not fall off the trees until mid- to late October. The leafy cover allows the birds to easily avoid hunters and their dogs. Leaves also deflect shotgun pellets, so open chokes and heavier shot (No. 6s) are recommended.

The forests of early autumn offer a cornucopia of grouse forage. Acorns and beechnuts litter the forest floor. Plant seeds and fruits are plentiful, and insects are still available. With such easy pickings, early-season grouse will be scattered.

Except when the occasional family flock is encountered (an event you won’t easily forget), hunters rarely find more than one bird at a time during the early season. Thus, the fall hunter can expect to cover plenty of ground for each bird flushed.

You can limit your long-distance hiking by being more selective in the areas that you plan to hunt. Grouse are edge-cover birds. The ideal habitat has a good mix of deciduous and conifer trees in various stages of growth. Leafed trees provide the birds with nuts, seeds and edible buds. Oak, beech, aspen and birch trees play important roles in the grouse’s life cycle. Evergreen trees offer cover from rain and snow while protecting the birds from predatory hawks and owls.

Hunters will find ideal grouse habitat in the high mountains, or in areas where active lumbering operations occur.

Mountains have distinct forest transition zones, and that is where you should look for grouse. View any high mountain from the roadway. The top of the mountain is either bare or covered with low-growing evergreen trees, often referred to as “elfin wood” because of the diminutive tree size. Deciduous trees dominate the base of the mountain because of warmer temperatures and the increased water supply from mountain runoff. Between the bottom and top of the mountain the two forest types merge. This mid-mountain zone is the best place to start your early-season grouse search.

What the mountains do naturally, the lumber companies do through “resource management.” Most lumber companies re-seed forests that have been clear cut. The companies plant a variety of trees for future harvests depending on the area, climate and expected resource demands. These plantings can create unique grouse forest habitat, especially when the newly planted areas abut mature, un-cut forests.

While grouse are forest dwellers, they will seek out small clearings and transition edges between forests and fields. Examples of edges are clear-cut strip forests from lumber operations, abandoned farm or orchard fields, forest wetlands and bogs and logging roads. These habitat edges are rich with seeds, nuts and green growth.

EARLY-SEASON TACTICS
Early-season hunters will encounter young-of-the-year and older, mature birds. In fall, the adolescent, young-of-the-year birds are often forced to seek food and cover without parental protection. They often disperse into unfamiliar areas and tend to sit rather than fly when startled. Older grouse are more hunter-wise. They have learned that quick flight is paramount to survival. These mature birds will flush quickly and without warning, sometimes well out of range.