# technique?



## huntin' dog

Hi! New to the forum and basically new to grouse hunting...

My dad and I visit a friend near Medina ND to hunt ducks each year. We have seen some sharptails around their land, and they have others who successfully hunt grouse there. So, I know there's some birds to be had! We've set out after them once or twice, but never had any luck. We basically have hunted for them just like we hunt for pheasants. We have one lab (really a duck dog) and we find some decent looking cover around the areas we have been advised to try, and we just spread out a bit and walk slowly. Not finding many birds, and when we do, these grouse are flushing well out of shooting range!

How should we hunt these sharptail? There's two of us and one lab. I'd love some advice on how you experts locate them (and get close enough to shoot). Maybe there are no secrets?


----------



## drjongy

If you're trying to hunt them later in the year it gets much more difficult because they really flush early...not much you can do other than trying to be real quiet in the field and hope that helps. If the wind is up it makes it even more difficult. If you can find a nice sunny day, try working some bushes and shrubs rather than grassland...they should hold tigher in there.


----------



## always_outdoors

Some of what you are doing is right on the mark. Grouse hunting is about walking, then walking some more, then after a short break, you walk even more.

You are hunting in the right area. Let me see if I can help you out a little.

1. I hunt grouse usually after 9am. Seems like they are fairly jittery in the morning and I like to let them eat breakfast, get their tummys full, and then let them get relaxed in the native prairie.

2. Hunting them early in the year. The longer into the season, the more jittery they get. Sometimes taking flight even when you are 500 yards away.

3. Key in on certain areas depending on weather. On windy days, grouse will tend to be on the opposite side of the hill to get out of the wind. On hot, sunny days, they seem to be in heavier cover looking for shade to cool themselves.

Hope this helps. Key in on the chokecherry, juneberry, and western snowberry patches.

It will come! Be patient, have a good pair of walking boots, and plenty of water.


----------



## huntin' dog

Thanks for this information. I think we are getting after them when they are "quite flighty"... hunting in late October. But, will look for those ...berries. And also going to focus on being a little quieter. We tend to do a lot of talking to our lab as we walk, sending her from side to side, or into certain cover. Of course, if we have seen birds we are trying to approach, we get quieter. I wonder... since we do need to give some directions to the dog, is it better to use voice or whistle? She will work with either.


----------



## Horsager

A whistle isn't nearly as alarming to a bird as voices are. There is a good possibility you are hunting cover that is too heavy as well. Grouse are found out on native prairie grass, pasture land, and the edges of alfalfa fields. If there is some sort of crop surrounded by pasture I'd hunt the edges of that field concentrating on hilltops and berry patches.


----------



## Remmi_&amp;_I

live2hunt said:


> 3. Key in on certain areas depending on weather. On windy days, grouse will tend to be on the opposite side of the hill to get out of the wind. .


I think that is BS! I am convinced that on windy days, they dig holes and hide undergroud  I never find them on windy days, even on the side hills :evil: :evil: :evil:


----------



## always_outdoors

Just curious, but why are you giving the dog directions? A dog's nose is 1000 times more sensitive than yours. I don't have a set plan when I walk an area. I let the dog(s) work back and forth and if they lean one direction, that is where we go. Other than a "stop" or "whoa" command or a "come" command, you shouldn't be saying anything to the dogs.

Only time I am giving my dog direction is if I shot a bird and she didn't see it go down.

This might help a little.


----------



## always_outdoors

Remmi_&_I: I hear what you are saying man!!! :beer: :beer:

Sometimes it sure seems that way.


----------



## huntin' dog

About the directions...

We spread out a bit, maybe 20 yards between us. Then send the dog from side to side to make sure she is covering the range to the left, right, and between us. Of course, if she is birdy, we let her decide where to head. But, if nothing happening, we just keep her moving well and also not leaving spots where she hasn't checked for birds.

We just have one dog, who is a flusher (lab), not a pointer... so it takes some directions to make sure that all the territory gets covered and she doesn't work out of shooting range.

Suggestions?


----------



## goosebusters

Interesting stuff I've always wondered what you guys talk about on these forums. Yesterday I had twenty grouse come in to the goose spread to feed. You guys could try adding a couple full bodies to your tactics.


----------



## always_outdoors

I would relax on the calling or directing of the dog. My brittany works much different than my lab does. My brittany will work between and in front of myself and my Dad, but my lab primarily only hunts in front of me. If I shoot my limit first, then I move closer to Dad so he can follow the dogs a little closer.

Unless you have a bird down and you are sending on a blind retreive, I wouldn't be directing the dog. I think you will find that she will start working the cover on her own.

It will come. Be patient.


----------



## Waterspaniel

As already said, earlier is better. Those young coveys always hold better. If they blow out in Oct, dont give up. There is almost always one or two left sitting tight. Head to where thjey flushed and pick up the singles.

Pointing dogs are the key! A big running pointer or setter can slam those devils and hold em. You have a lab, and it will be darn tough to hunt them in the later season with a flushing dog. Concentate on short to medium grass near picked crops. We find em in stuff that looks like pasture, but thats pointing dog cover. With the lab, look for that short CRP with buffalo berries. Also, hillsides with trees and deep ravines seem to draw the birds. You can sometimes work em with a flushing dog in those types of cover.

WHEAT STUBBLE!!!! They love the stuff. If your area has rock piles in wheat stubble fields, you might try those areas. They may loaf there during the mid day and they are possible to ambush in that.

Check out those wheat fileds as you drive by. Often you can see the little round heads sticking up from quite a distance.


----------



## mburgess

Hilly pasture land, bean field edges, alfalfa edges, ankle to knee high grass, buffalo berry bushes, leeward hillsides, and wheat stubble. If it looks like pheasant habitat avoid it, is my golden rule. The later in the year the tougher it is, even with big pointing dogs. After the first of Oct. if your goal is to get a limit of sharptails get used to getting within 100 yards and watching them flyoff another mile away just to tempt you again, and again. If they happen to land in some heavier cover you will then have a chance, but they like thinner cover and covey up into big numbers later in the year and there are just too many eyes scanning for trouble. The only sharps I get after pheasant opener are ones I stumble across accidently. :lol:


----------



## Waterspaniel

The last run of the day! As it starts to get dark, they seem to hold a bit better. Of course you need to stay legal, but we have good luck on dreary days, towards dusk.


----------



## tgoldade

Grouse dont like stuff thats really thick. On hot days (70 and above) a lot of times you can find them in brush or bushes, otherwise pastures that have been lightly grazed or alfalfa fields, soybeans, sunflower (especially), and just stuff with medium cover, your pretty much never going to find grouse in cattails like you would pheasants so dont bother with cattails. Once an area grows in to thick the grouse move out of it, lots of spots I used to hit grew in and dont hold grouse anymore.


----------



## huntin' dog

Thanks to all for the advice and comments. I think this information will help us.

But, it also helps to have others perspective to realize that these birds (sharptails) are hard to bag! We may not be doing it just right yet, but the bottom line is... it's not that easy! Especially since we will be hunting during the last week of October... I think they are pretty flighty by then.


----------



## gjw

:lol: Hi all! My boy and I were up around Robinson, saw quite a few grouse, but they are starting to get spooky, got 2 but they were singles and held well. The bigger coveys were getting up quite aways from the dog when she went on point, they just didn't want to hold. Lots of CRP that wasn't posted. As someone said, they were on the edge of the alfalfa by the CRP.

Hope this helps some of you out.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!

Greg


----------



## tgoldade

Grouse are starting to get real spooky, its closing in on time to give up on them for this year unless you like taking 100 yard shots at grouse. (put in the turkey choke.....yeah right!)


----------



## Goon

I picked up two sharpies today, there were on the edge of a sow bean field, I have found they like soy beans and wheat stuble. The birds I shot basically were on the edge of a stubble field just on the edge of the crp field, the cover isn't all that thick but enough to hold them, there were a lot of birds and they were jumpy but I had some also fly right at me, I have had this happen a few times. I have found if you want to hunt sharpies you have to count on not getting many all that often. They are very unpredictable and not as easy to hunt as pheasants.

Out west in Medora they like the stragly bushes I call thickets.
I was hunting mule deer when I came up on one of these thickets and about 30 of them flushed, a few at a time. I thought bushes were going to explode, too bad I had my rifle.


----------



## dakotashooter2

A couple of guys have touched on it here an I will repeat it. I am not a hardcore grouse hunter but I up my odds by hunting "structure". By structure I mean I concentrate on breakline areas such as field/trees..tall cover/ short cover .... I tend to avoid tall CRP unless it has a lot of pockets of short, ankle high grass intermixed. Or I migh work the first 100 or so feet in if there is harvested cropland adjacent. I also try to use changes in elevation to keep me from being too visible to birds, an example being to skirt hills instead of walking over the top to keep from skylining myself. If you are working jumpy birds having the sun at your back can also be helpfull. Everbody seems to think you just have to stomp in there an "bust them" but I am not above belly crawing to get closer to birds I have seen set down in a spot.


----------

