Grouse season officially ended yesterday but in reality it was over before it began. Last spring was the 3rd coldest and wettest in history and the chick mortality was nearly 100%. There were no babies and not many adult carry over birds. I looked back through nearly thirty years of my journal and other than the year I had shoulder surgery and the year I got shot opening day, my worst year until now was 164 flushes. I noticed many years with over 600 birds and there was 1997 with 988 flushes during the season. I noted a day I flushed 70 birds in one day and 60 the next. There was the morning Norm Sorby, Ted and I, put "Aspen" on the ground at 9:30 a.m. and before noon we flushed 50 birds and had 9 in the game bags. Aspen had 17 solid points. What A morning!!!
This year I spent many hunts without seeing a dog even get "birdy" There were no birds in covers that in years before had produced 30. Blackie and Mickey had a few points and I could have pulled a trigger, but if I had accidentally killed a bird, I would have felt terrible. Ready for a final flush count for this season?............31. That's right....... Thirty One. 1/5th of my worst year ever! ..........What happens if next spring is like the last?
Posted by DWT
If the numbers are so low, why did they even have a season this year, I am sure you aren't the only ones to notice.
ReplyDeleteThat’s terrible. Do they look at limiting the hunting when this happens? Is this happening across the country do you think? So sad and I hope they are able to rebound this spring.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon And Amy. Montana Fish & Game ceased drumming counts many years ago. Grouse are at the bottom of the list as far as regulations go. They are considered "camp meat" for deer and elk hunters. They are the only game bird in Montana that can be legally killed with a rifle or handgun. There are very few real grouse hunters in Mt. and 90% of the grouse shot are killed in the middle of the road with a .22 cal. rifle.
ReplyDeleteAll the game birds in the northwest were hammered by the rain. Grouse north of Spokane were non-existent. There are no quail to the south and farmers are asking my friends to not shoot pheasants. The Spokane newspaper had an article about the situation and I know my bird huntin' buddies limited their shooting. We bird hunters are more into the bird dogs performance, than shooting birds anyway. It's hard to say how long it will take for numbers to rebound. Depends mostly on the weather the next few springs.
I'm glad you don't shoot them if they're having a tough time populating. I hope they will have a better year for you next year and reward you for giving them a year off! :)
ReplyDeleteGary
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine years with a couple of hundred flushes. Here in my Allegheny Mountains days without a flush are sadly too common. The worst part of it all is the dog working her heart out for a bird that just isn't there. If these dogs didn't have their great instinctive hunting desire they would just walk beside me.
As much as I enjoy hunting Grouse I chose not to this year due to the low numbers I was seeing. I heard a LOT of drumming this spring but it was very wet and cold. I saw no broods on my property this year, very disappointing as I manage the property for habitat providing thermal cover, water, drumming logs and forage.
ReplyDeleteLike Grayphase stated, grouse numbers in the east are much lower than in the north and west so I expect to work hard to put up some birds. Nevertheless, I enjoy working with my dog, planning the trip and spending some time in the woods. Grouse numbers can be cyclical, rising and falling with the conditions nature throws at them. Hopefully, with a favorably spring those numbers will turn around and come back to more respectable level next year. Don't give up, nature has a way of rebounding when life throws them a curve.
ReplyDelete31. Wow that's a drastic difference. Hope the numbers pick up next year.
ReplyDeleteI know the bird population can rebound rapidly if conditions are right. It's so complicated. Hens need good feed before they nest in order to produce good numbers of fertile eggs. The chicks that hatch need bugs and dry weather to survive. We left all we found for seed. I know that in the past 30 years I have experienced grouse hunting at its very best. Numbers of Ruffed Grouse, people can't believe. Now I have experienced the worst. The dogs and my friends always enjoy a day in the woods anyway. I have had 2 grouse hunting goals. One is to flush 100 birds in a day and the other is 1000 flushes in a season. Had a chance in '97. Maybe in a few years I'll have another great year. Thanks for not shooting any Mo. Art & Gary. You guys should get out west. Montana is a bird hunters paradise (most years) and ruffed grouse are basically not hunted. I'd love to show all you guys my favorite haunts!!!! Dan
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm thinking that the past few years in Colorado really have been great. We all known that the grouse numbers can drop from one year to the next.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Matt. Glad to hear someone had a good season. The bass player in our band had a good hunt in Minnesota but most of the country suffered spring floods and a horrible winter. This has not just been a bad year for the northwest. Every species of game bird lost the hatch. Things will come back, but I am so afraid of another spring like last year.
ReplyDelete