2012 grouse report

[EJSG19]

Numbers are looking better here than the last two miserable years we had.

Our grouse bear a STRIKING resemblance to the ring-necked pheasant however

[grousemaster]

Numbers are looking better here than the last two miserable years we had.

Our grouse bear a STRIKING resemblance to the ring-necked pheasant however

I had 32 flushes last Sunday, held back on the shooting to save birds for paying clients. Going back up this weekend....I'll be in the woods most of October.

[EJSG19]

Numbers are looking better here than the last two miserable years we had.

Our grouse bear a STRIKING resemblance to the ring-necked pheasant however

I had 32 flushes last Sunday, held back on the shooting to save birds for paying clients. Going back up this weekend....I'll be in the woods most of October.

I have to work the platbook/phonebook this month for permission. Wasnt worth it the past couple years. Got about 15 acres of my own but that doesnt equal much hunting day after day.

Sounds great where you go.

[grousemaster]

Numbers are looking better here than the last two miserable years we had.

Our grouse bear a STRIKING resemblance to the ring-necked pheasant however

I had 32 flushes last Sunday, held back on the shooting to save birds for paying clients. Going back up this weekend....I'll be in the woods most of October.

I have to work the platbook/phonebook this month for permission. Wasnt worth it the past couple years. Got about 15 acres of my own but that doesnt equal much hunting day after day.

Sounds great where you go.

I hunt all county and state land in Aitkin, Crow Wing, and Itasca counties....

[Anokamnman]

I am not a grouse hunter. But I saw a lot of them this past weekend in the chengwatana state forest. Took my dog for a walk to explore the area. he scared up quite a few. Who says a bulldog can't be a hunting dog. Lol

[BemidjiDweller]

I had one flush on Star Island on Cass Lake. Happend during the trail walking part of the hunt, none while going through the brush and no dogs.

[grousemaster]

I had one flush on Star Island on Cass Lake. Happend during the trail walking part of the hunt, none while going through the brush and no dogs.

Were you literally hunting on an island? Must be a big one. The birds need a lane of timber to get on/off the island otherwise.

[BemidjiDweller]

I had one flush on Star Island on Cass Lake. Happend during the trail walking part of the hunt, none while going through the brush and no dogs.

Were you literally hunting on an island? Must be a big one. The birds need a lane of timber to get on/off the island otherwise.

Yup, hunting on the island. I don't know how the size stacks up with others in MN, but there is a lake in the middle of the island, so it is at least a decent size. I don't think the grouse here do much coming or going, unless they fly across the Narrows. The Narrows is a point here that is pretty close to a point on the mainland, it is where our power lines come across.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/chippewa/flyer/ ... island.pdf

The fact that they are pretty isolated from other grouse is probably why there isn't much of them here.

[acerpower]

I'm not a grouse hunter but I flush a few every day I walk to my tree stand and trail cams on my property.
Had one hanging around my stand a few days. Was thinking about flinging an arrow at him so I wouldn't go back to the house empty handed, but I only had broadheads with me.

[photogpat]

I have to work the platbook/phonebook this month for permission. Wasnt worth it the past couple years. Got about 15 acres of my own but that doesnt equal much hunting day after day.

Sounds great where you go.

I tried that for this fall after the land I hunted birds on changed hands and the new owners wanted $1600 to lease for hunting season. Didn't have much luck. The best accessible parcels were either taken, posted, or lease was $$$$$. Only permission I obtained on private land was for a 2-3 mile walk through the swamp - I wasn't interested in dragging a deer back out through that jumble.

I'm on state land this year for grouse and deer. *grumble grumble grumble*

Just wish I had enough spare $$ for my own slice of paradise. Some of the land prices I've seen around my hunting area are ridiculously low compared to what they were 5 years ago.

[EJSG19]

I have to work the platbook/phonebook this month for permission. Wasnt worth it the past couple years. Got about 15 acres of my own but that doesnt equal much hunting day after day.

Sounds great where you go.

I tried that for this fall after the land I hunted birds on changed hands and the new owners wanted $1600 to lease for hunting season. Didn't have much luck. The best accessible parcels were either taken, posted, or lease was $$$$$. Only permission I obtained on private land was for a 2-3 mile walk through the swamp - I wasn't interested in dragging a deer back out through that jumble.

I'm on state land this year for grouse and deer. *grumble grumble grumble*

Just wish I had enough spare $$ for my own slice of paradise. Some of the land prices I've seen around my hunting area are ridiculously low compared to what they were 5 years ago.

Even hunting land has gone stupid around us. Used to be ten years ago you could BUY hunting land for maybe $1500 an acre. Now its between $3000-$5000 an acre for land that is fit for nothing but growing wild grass. Insane. But, you get guys with money to burn from out of town doing it, nothing you can do. With farm land going for over $10,000 an acre, its pretty tough to set some aside to make no money and hunt pheasant/deer

[JJ]

Even hunting land has gone stupid around us. Used to be ten years ago you could BUY hunting land for maybe $1500 an acre. Now its between $3000-$5000 an acre for land that is fit for nothing but growing wild grass. Insane. But, you get guys with money to burn from out of town doing it, nothing you can do. With farm land going for over $10,000 an acre, its pretty tough to set some aside to make no money and hunt pheasant/deer

Our first farm in SW MN was bought in 2008 for $1500 an acre. Second farm was bought in 2010 for $1900. We went to look at another piece this summer that was up for auction. 90% was CRP that will be expiring in two years. It went for just under $6000 an acre to a pretty large corporate farm. As soon as that CRP contract is up, it will be going under the plow

The biggest driver in cost from talking to the guys around us is the guaranteed contracts for ethanol. The large corporate farms most years make more money selling to the ethanol plants at inflated prices, because in years like this the ethanol plants could not pay enough to compete with the food market. Nine out of ten years ethanol contracting pays more than selling to the food/feed market, and these guys are cashing in.

All that said, there are some pretty good programs to be had for CPR and the like right now. With the mass exodus out of the programs, it's extremely easy to get into a myriad of programs. For us we really get lucky, as or second parcel butts up to a State WMA. If you are enrolling next to a WMA there is a TON of bonus payments that can be had.

[grousemaster]

Conditions this weekend will be almost perfect for grouse. I'm headed up tomorrow after lunch, if I don't move 25+ birds a day I'll be disappointed.

[PowderBurn14]

I hunted Chengwatana state forest early Saturday morning. I had 3 in my party and 1 GSP in training and we flushed 2 grouse and 5 woodcock, I connected with 1 of the timber doodles. 1 in the bag and 4.5 hours of brush busting hard walking. Lots of ppl in the woods on Sat., I think all of the twin cities moved up there for the weekend. One group was at the gravel pit/range and I think they had a gun powder burning contest going on, it sounded like world war 3. We left shortly after that, I was half expecting rounds to come through the trees. I will be trying it again mid-week when the weekend warriors are behind desks. It was a nice day for it though.

[grousemaster]

Hunted Aitkin County this weekend. 5 grouse and 5 woodcock pointed Friday evening (got up early enough to bust brush for an hour and a half or so), we took 3 woodcock and a grouse. Hunted Saturday morning and the dogs pointed 14 grouse and 8 woodcock, buddy and I limited on WC but only managed to bag one of the grouse due to a wide variety of FAILS on our parts. Went out again for 3 or so hours Sunday morning and dogs found 3 grouse and about 15 woodcock. Managed to take our 6 woodcock and one grouse.