Scouting for covers

[bob lyons]

These would be my suggestions not in any order
- join the ruffle grouse society RGS and get involved you will meet a lot of people with similar interests. They will help you identify likely covers in your area.
- get a dog, pointer or flusher but it must be trained. A poorly trained dog will have you lose interest quickly
- I hunted partridge, woodcock, pheasants and rabbits from the early 60’s thru the early 90’s actively. Hunted every day possible from October till February. I was lucky enough to have 3 very good dogs in that time. I hunted In Mass, Maine and NH .
-read all the grouse hunting books you can find. Then read them again.
- attend some Feild trails see what good dogs are all about
- during my most successful years I would hunt in the mornings and look for new spots in the afternoon. Drove a lot of miles. But it paid off.
- I would always have a supply of apple cider in the truck and when asking permission to hunt an area or farm it would break the ice. Many times I was shut out but I often got permission. Many times just checking in the people opened up other areas. Always be very thankful to the people that let you hunt there property.
- keep a journal of every day you hunt and a map book with you spots located I learned this after years of hunting. It saved many hours and miles of driving.
- never take more than 2 grouse from any one cover. You can over hunt them and they don’t come back. This does not apply to wood cock
- in Maine forested land is a very good 5 to 7 years after they have been cut. As some one mentioned there is an app that shows these areas pretty well.
- my history’s showed me that I would flush or point one bird about every 45 minutes of hunting. So if an area did not meet close to this criteria I would move on.
- most of the loss of coverts are related to development and to a lesser degree over hunting. Also in Maine when the forest get’s too mature partridge move out.
- woodcock however return to the same places for quite a few years
- wood cock need soft earth swamp edges drainage paths and alder runs.
- oddly enough cemetery and abandoned apples orchards where always good for me.
This whole thing if you really want it is a lot of work for partridge. If you cannot devote all the time that is needed . Hire a guide and just get some hunting in.
At this stage of the game for me I hire guides that do all the hard work and just go out for a few days each year, not the same but still very good.
Good luck
Bob