East TN Grouse?

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mikeycwhoitbe

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May 27, 2025
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City & State/Province
knoxville
I've worn through a brand new pair of boots this season walking all around trying to find some ruffed grouse this past season and have nothing to show for it. I knew quail were hard to find but I've been able to bag a few this year, compared to not even seeing/hearing a grouse that wasn't in the SMNP. I've tried WMAs, public and private land. Anyone else had this experience in recent years, or am I just plain stupid?
 
I haven't hunted for grouse in years but I do a lot fly fishing in some backcountry areas and I still see them occasionally. I wouldn't call it common to see them but it's also not uncommon. I only see them in the higher elevations and probably more on the North Carolina side than the Tennessee side. CNF and NNF south of the park.
 
CATCHDAWG said:
I haven't hunted for grouse in years but I do a lot fly fishing in some backcountry areas and I still see them occasionally. I wouldn't call it common to see them but it's also not uncommon. I only see them in the higher elevations and probably more on the North Carolina side than the Tennessee side. CNF and NNF south of the park.
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Maybe I can tag along next fall with my fly rod for "bird scouting purposes" XD
 
20ish years ago I would see a few at Royal Blue (North Cumberland), but it has been a long time now. Saw a couple at Catoosa back in the early 90's.
 
Billboy said:
20ish years ago I would see a few at Royal Blue (North Cumberland), but it has been a long time now. Saw a couple at Catoosa back in the early 90's.
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I haven't seen/heard a grouse in a decade or two. I've heard that Royal Blue is the place to find them.
Used to have a good population on our lake property in Grainger...but again, not seen anything in a long time.
 
Last one I saw was nearly 3 decades ago up the mountain behind indian boundary campground. I've not been back since but would see them regularly back then.
 
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Like CatchDawg,I see them periodically when I'm fly fishing in the higher elevations here in upper East Tn. My step dad and I used to hunt them a lot but the numbers had dwindled down so far it was fruitless. The past 3/4 years it's been a steady increase but nothing like I remember back in the 90's and early 00's.
 
Tenntrapper said:
I haven't seen/heard a grouse in a decade or two. I've heard that Royal Blue is the place to find them.
Used to have a good population on our lake property in Grainger...but again, not seen anything in a long time.
Click to expand...
Seems like a recurring pattern in my hobbies. A day late and a dollar short. It's a shame, really. I loved chasing after blue grouse in the San Francisco peaks in Arizona and figured I'd give it a go with their smaller, smarter and faster cousins we have out here.
 
Billboy said:
20ish years ago I would see a few at Royal Blue (North Cumberland), but it has been a long time now. Saw a couple at Catoosa back in the early 90's.
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Well thanks to y'all, I have plenty of spots to hike around and research this spring. It gives me more of an excuse to hang my hammock in the middle of nowhere for a few days.
 
In my opinion it was the Nile virus that put a real hurting on them..

One thing you can do is call the Forest Service and find out where they've cut in the past years.. Clear cuts 6-15 years old produce the right habitat..
 
It was something I'd wanted to do since I was 20 yo but have waited too late. The birds are gone and I'm too old to run the hills even if they weren't.
 
Iglow said:
It was something I'd wanted to do since I was 20 yo but have waited too late. The birds are gone and I'm too old to run the hills even if they weren't.
mikeycwhoitbe said:
I've worn through a brand new pair of boots this season walking all around trying to find some ruffed grouse this past season and have nothing to show for it. I knew quail were hard to find but I've been able to bag a few this year, compared to not even seeing/hearing a grouse that wasn't in the SMNP. I've tried WMAs, public and private land. Anyone else had this experience in recent years, or am I just plain stupid?
Click to expand...
Just curious, are you hunting with a dog or trying to walk them up?
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I hunted grouse in E TN back in 1980. We didn't get enough up back then to make it worthwhile. It was rare to take a bird.
 
Kevin, I'm walking them. I'm trying to hunt them like blue grouse, you walk and stop for a few seconds so they think you noticed them and they'll usually start running or flying at that point.
 
7mm08 said:
Avoid any place hunting for PATS/grouse in TN where you can ride an ATV and carry a .410 H&R Topper.

Good luck.
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Years ago "I knew" these two kids that would ride around on the forest service roads on drizzly days. The grouse would be out in the road graveling. The kids would take turns, one driving, one in the back with a single shot.410. It was pretty easy to get a limit which if I'm remembering correctly was only two birds a person.
 
CATCHDAWG said:
Years ago "I knew" these two kids that would ride around on the forest service roads on drizzly days. The grouse would be out in the road graveling. The kids would take turns, one driving, one in the back with a single shot.410. It was pretty easy to get a limit which if I'm remembering correctly was only two birds a person.
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"I knew" two kids who did that with a .22 when their coon dogs didn't come back until morning. Seeing a grouse in the 70's wasn't uncommon, but they still scared the crap outta me when they flushed!
 
CATCHDAWG said:
I haven't hunted for grouse in years but I do a lot fly fishing in some backcountry areas and I still see them occasionally. I wouldn't call it common to see them but it's also not uncommon. I only see them in the higher elevations and probably more on the North Carolina side than the Tennessee side. CNF and NNF south of the park.
Click to expand...
I tend to agree with this, I've seen more on the NC side but do hear several drumming every year turkey hunting.
 
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Pic is a couple years old but the do exist!
 
mikeycwhoitbe said:
Kevin, I'm walking them. I'm trying to hunt them like blue grouse, you walk and stop for a few seconds so they think you noticed them and they'll usually start running or flying at that point.
Click to expand...
They definitely are not like blue grouse, you need thick cover like a clear cut, or in the mountains the grapes and honeysuckle vines.
 
I had a beagle when I lived in upstate NY whose tail would go in circles if she whiffed on a grouse. I got quite a few that way. I miss that little mutt.
 
Up until 5 or so years ago we had a pretty decent population around here. In the snap of a finger we went from flushing 6-8 birds per hunt on average to maybe one, and now it's dang near impossible to find one. I've basically quit hunting them as it's just a lot of work for nothing but briar scratches and exhaustion. I feel guilty as my bird dog is now just a pet, but it's just not worth the time. I used to hear a lot of birds drumming during turkey season but it's been years since I've heard one.

I have no idea what happened to them but it is definitely not habitat
 
Most don't agree but I believe the invasion of coyotes into the state had a direct impact.

When I grew up in the 70's and 80's, my uncle had a huge herd of ducks that ran free on the creek. In the late 80's, he was set to retire and wanted to thin them as he could not longer afford the corn to feed them. I sold off over 100 ducks for him.

Fast forward to 2022. I moved to his place. I raised 10 ducks to maturity and turned them loose on the creek. They stayed on a sand bar near their feeder. I have trail camera pics of coyotes carrying them off. They lasted 7 days.
 
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