Grouse hunting

woodyard

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Oct 16, 2005
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3,241
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Dresden,TN
Being as I have lived all my life over here in west TN I have never grouse hunted. I did walk up a couple on the side of a mountain near Asheville a few years ago when I was out looking over my son' s in-laws farm.
Anybody on here do it much? From what I understand they like thick cover, is this correct? I think I might like to try them one time anyways while I can still go.

Any tips?
Any recommendations on any wma or other public land that has potential?
 

cathunter

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Dec 15, 2014
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647
Out of all the hunting I've done to me nothing beats chasing the bron bombers. Of course you have to have a good bird dog as well. Just kidding about the bird dog. But I love hunting behind a good pointer. We just don't have enough grouse to hunt anymore here where I live. Back in the day a guy I hunted with some would kill over 100 grouse a season. I bet there's not 200 grouse in all of east tn right now. There's a big difference in hunting these mountain grouse and the Michigan grouse.
 

woodyard

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Oct 16, 2005
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3,241
Location
Dresden,TN
Any speculation on why numbers are down in grouse?

Could it be like the quail over in our part of the state , that it is just a combination of things.i don't ever see any quail anymore on my farm or while running about 70 miles of mail route everyday.
Sure miss their whistling and getting to hunt them.
 

PickettSFHunter

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Jan 11, 2004
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21,755
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Jamestown, TN
I use to see a lot of them in the Big South Fork. I'm not that old. Now I haven't even seen one since I was in my teens. Timber in the BSF has matured a lot since then. Coyotes were rare then also.


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cathunter

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Dec 15, 2014
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647
woodyard":511nzop4 said:
Any speculation on why numbers are down in grouse?

Could it be like the quail over in our part of the state , that it is just a combination of things.i don't ever see any quail anymore on my farm or while running about 70 miles of mail route everyday.
Sure miss their whistling and getting to hunt them.
I started seeing the decline about the time coyotes and turkeys came back into the ecosystem in abundance. I believe the grouse to be a delicate bird. Pressure from predators and lack of cover is detrimental to them. One of the last grouse I saw was being eaten by a hawk. Turkeys will eat anything grouse eggs and such. Coyotes as well.Talked to a gentleman from eastern Ky about grouse and they are seeing the same thing. He also stated there's a theory that the reintroduced turkeys have lice on them and possibly passed to grouse in which had no way of overcoming. Now this is just a theory. He said said that their quail unlimited chapter was working closely with Ky wildlife people to try and resolve the decline of the grouse. It's been a while since I've talked with him about this matter.i wished something could be done because I seriously think they will be extinct soon.
 

Coldfusion

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Jan 20, 2016
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703
An old timer I talked to said he used to hunt them big time until turkeys came back. He said turkey eat the young. He killed a few turkeys on subsequent years and found grouse baby caucuses inside the turkey. He hates turkeys because of it.

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woodyard

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Oct 16, 2005
Messages
3,241
Location
Dresden,TN
Well crap, I hate that they have declined also. I know farming practices over here have led to a lot of the decline of the quail. The predator thing also plays a big part I think now with the habitat loss and change. We have an abundance of every predator now.
 

MickThompson

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Aug 9, 2006
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5,011
Location
Cookeville, Tennessee
We are on the very southern range of grouse, so we are most likely to see decline. They are very cyclical up north and still in good shape in other states.

Like PSF Hunter said, grouse are birds of young-mid aged forest, and the decline in timber harvest, especially in national forests and other federal lands in east TN, has not helped at all.


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