# Empty handed again....



## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

Tried around strawberry for the opener. Tried up American Fork yesterday. Hiked up the steepest **** hillside ever. Got to the very top barely able to walk from exhaustion and scared up on blue grouse and it was a monster bird. He flew above me right into the sun think I might have winged him. I searched for over an hour and never found him and tried scaring up others saw nothing....... I beginning to hate grouse.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

What you need to do is start hunting something else, with a different weapon. Like deer. Then you'll see grouse all over the place. Keep at it. You'll find them. Take notes of terrain, elevation, and time of day, and then use that info to find other spots. The biggest thing is just to keep at it. You'll eventually find them.


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Chaser said:


> What you need to do is start hunting something else, with a different weapon. Like deer. Then you'll see grouse all over the place. Keep at it. You'll find them. Take notes of terrain, elevation, and time of day, and then use that info to find other spots. The biggest thing is just to keep at it. You'll eventually find them.


That is the best advice I've seen. Last year I was on a mission to get grouse and I only jumped one!! I hiked all the way up mueller canyon in bountifull up to the top of the ridge, I thought about walking down to the wasatch back!!! I never shot a thing never saw a bird other than that one, I made about 20 hunts!!
This year while Elk hunting I started jumping them before the grouse season and I took not of the areas. Now the opening of Grouse season I went to Monte cristo and walked right up on an elk!!! You always find what you aren't looking for!! I have gotten 3 grouse so far this year and I have jumped prolly 40 birds, in only 2 hunts. From what I've found the birds are in big groups, so when you jump on you are going to see 30 more!! Sucks because you only get 3 shots and then the whole covey is gone.
I find they are kinda low right now, around 7,000 at the edges of the oak brush, up high is not producing anything!! Walk all morning around the edges of the oaks and you should find them. I find if I keep changing habitat often I never find them stay in the oaks, that has worked for me!!
What works for me is to leave the gun home and take the camera, don't forget the bear mace!. I went out yesterday with the camera and saw about 25 grouse, 15 deer 5 being small bucks, 9 turkey all hens, 2 coyotes and heard an elk bugle!!! If I had a gun I know I wouldn't have seen all that, now I know where to hunt though!! I did put about 12 miles on the boots though!! I've hunted that same area a lot and not seen a thing!!


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## jason.little (Sep 22, 2008)

drsx said:


> Tried around strawberry for the opener. Tried up American Fork yesterday. Hiked up the steepest **** hillside ever. Got to the very top barely able to walk from exhaustion and scared up on blue grouse and it was a monster bird. He flew above me right into the sun think I might have winged him. I searched for over an hour and never found him and tried scaring up others saw nothing....... I beginning to hate grouse.


Ha,.... sounds like chukar hunting.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

jason.little said:


> Ha,.... sounds like chukar hunting.


Seriously! They run uphill out of range on you, and when you finally catch up, you're heart is racing a million miles per hour, and you're unable to get your wits about you to shoot. This is when they fly. And IF you are in good shape, and aren't huffing from the hike, they fly straight at the sun, and in a thousand different directions. Pretty good escape plan if you ask me. There's a reason they call them devil birds.


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Chaser said:


> jason.little said:
> 
> 
> > Ha,.... sounds like chukar hunting.
> ...


I gotta go after those guys oneday!


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## jason.little (Sep 22, 2008)

I like to play starwars death march songs while hunting chuckar!!! LOL Thes aren't the birds your looking for!


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