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Grouse hunters -- who hope for good weather for the opener of the season this Saturday -- have forever been looked upon as the elite among small game hunters.
And why not? Most consider grouse as the king of game birds. The flavor of grouse is exquisite, as is the sight of those purists who hunt grouse exclusively. I know a few of this type and they belong with the fly-fishing purists.
The finest shotguns grace their cabinets and their pressed canvas trousers, vests and other regalia signify that they haunt briars and thickets in search of Pennsylvania's state bird. Like fly-fishermen, there is just an aura about them that speaks of their love of the sport and its accouterments.
There is some concern, however, about this year's seeming lack of abundance of the birds. Reports are that for some reason the number of available birds has diminished.
But hunting grouse behind a well-trained dog is the ultimate bird-hunting adventure, although few, except for the aforementioned elite, keep dogs for grouse hunting anymore. As for me, with or without a dog, grouse hunting simply frustrates me.
Grouse flush with a loud whirr of wings that always -- even though I know it is coming -- startles me so that in the first 2 crucial seconds, I flinch instead of shouldering the shotgun and getting off the shot. I am hopeless as a wing shot. I much prefer stalking and ambushing than jumping things up and getting off a quick shot. Oh well. Obviously I have no membership in the elite grouse hunter club.
I do know good grouse habitat when I see it. They hang out in briar tangles, grapevines, thick aspens and dogwoods and second growth bushes and trees that provide them the buds they love to feed on. I've often watched grouse hop from limb to limb picking off buds in the treetops while I was on an archery stand. A hunter's radar alerts him when he is near a grouse haunt.
Like all birds, grouse love insects and worms, and they spend a lot of their time on the forest floor looking for them. One thing you will notice if you are ever lucky enough to go grouse hunting with one of the purists: he knows where the good places are and he seldom spends time looking for grouse anywhere else. He hikes quickly from one spot after he has hunted it thoroughly to the next, wasting no time in the "barren" woods between spots.
The hunter zig zags through "grousey" spots slowly, stopping to wait and watch since grouse, like other game birds, will hold tight and let a hunter go by. If a hunter pauses, however, the bird gets nervous and flushes. But my luck is that a grouse always flushes just as I am trying to get my short legs over a fallen log. When I am completely off balance in this effort, the bird zips out with that loud swish of wings, and I am befuddled again. Perhaps more practice would help.
Those who hunt Pennsylvania's state bird are are more secretive about their favorite haunts than turkey hunters, and that is saying something. One thing I've learned though is that flushed grouse don't fly far, so if you can see a bird's flight path and head in that direction, you will almost always jump it up again.
If you can hunt grouse with a trained dog you are in high cotton. One thing that will help you in that direction is to join with those of like persuasion that work tirelessly for their favorite game bird, the Ruffed Grouse Society. The society works with habitat improvement projects,
Here is how the Ruffed Grouse Society describes its purpose. "Established in 1961, the Society is North America's foremost conservation organization dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife. RGS works with landowners and government agencies to develop critical habitat utilizing scientific management practices."
It's probably true that half of our state's population has ever seen a grouse in the woods. They don't hang around cities.
Here's a recipe for grouse that I found in an old-time Remington cookbook.
1-3 grouse cut in pieces
1 tbs butter for each bird
1 tsp salt for each bird
1 can of cream of chicken, celery or mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped mild onion
Pan fry the seasoned grouse pieces in butter until golden brown (about 10 minutes on each side).
Place in a casserole dish with other ingredients. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Serve with brown rice.
Superb! Simple and delicious -- those are my favorite recipes.