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The grouse hunting season has started and most numbers indicate the population is on the rise!

I was lucky enough to be a part of the 2004 grouse opener and am happy to say the numbers are true, we saw and got plenty of birds.

My hunting partner and I took some time and talked with other hunters to see if they were also having luck. Most of the hunters that we spoke to all had the same thought - cover land fast by looking for birds along the trails and roads. We saw most folks riding their 4 wheelers down trails looking into the woods for any movement. In fact on one trail we saw 5 different groups go past us driving 4 wheelers. We got two birds off this trail with all the other hunters driving up and down looking and reporting to us that there are no birds here.

So what was our secret? Well - I follow some simple rules when hunting for grouse and have had good success during good and bad population numbers.

First, I am a hunter who spends allot of time planning , this includes starting with a map. For example, a plat book will provide you with all the information you need to make your hunt productive. I look for area’s with the smallest amount of development near them. Then look for roads, trails or any form of access into these area’s. I will often not hunt an area that has lots of private land near it as some of this private land is not marked well and I feel it is my responsibility as a hunter - not to cross into anyone's land. One thing I do like to do at this point is to come up with a few area’s that are close together and have different surroundings. For example, one area may have a large swamp running into it, another will have a lake near by and maybe yet another will be all flat forest land.

Second, after gathering information about the area , I plan the trip to and from the hunting spot. Most people drive as fast as they can to the spot they are going to hunt, hunt and drive home. Me - I enjoy the experience! I look for places of interest along the way. For example, on this hunting trip, we stopped and talked with a bait store owner about a lake we plan on fishing soon. because this is a slower time of the year for this person, we got some wonderful information on this lake and a couple of spots close by to grouse hunt ( will plan a trip here soon!) The point I am trying to stress here is a successful hunt does NOT mean you got more birds than you could eat. A successful hunt is one were you and others learned more, see more and experience more of the wonderful things the great outdoors have to show you.

Third, you hunt! - Now I am not going to say it is impossible to get grouse by driving roads and trails looking for any movement - but - for me - this is getting birds not experiencing grouse hunting. I spend most of my hunting time walking and listening. In fact, every grouse my partner and I got this opener was 50 to 80 yards off the trail and we found them by walking in the woods looking and listening. My most productive plan for getting grouse is walk 30 to 50 yards off a trail or road stopping every 75 yards or so then look and listen. Having done this for a long time - I have seen some wonderful things and have always got more grouse than anyone in my hunting group.

This all seems very simple - get a map - mark down were you are going to hunt and a couple of places to stop along the way - then walk. The simple fact is - grouse hunting is as complicated as the hunter allows it to be.

Until next time - enjoy the experience,

Randy "RandyMan" Johnson
JustNorth Outdoors Columnist