New Jersey Grouse season

[Rick Riddell]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

I wrote the Inland Fish & Wildlife Div., in Maine and said that I believed the Maine grouse season was too long, and the bag was too generous. It runs from 10/1 until 12/31, with a bag of 4 per day.
After the first deep snow, they are sitting ducks, in the birch and alders, as they can't ground feed. They replied that their 'people' had reviewed it and determined the population was adequate to support the hunt.
My experience, in the past several years, not hunting as the locals do, is that the population is in decline.

Our biggest problem in Maine is the increase numbers in accipiters and delayed spring, cold and wet. Most hunting in Maine, believe it or not, is done from riding the dirt roads and hopping out to shoot one on the road, or in a tree near the road. Seldom do people venture in the woods. We still have logging, so there is a fair amount of turnover. In the past two years I have seen an increase in birds where at one time there were none.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

"Just be careful which direction you shoot and you'll be welcome any time."
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Just hearing something like that is like going back in Time.

[Jack Murphy JR]

My two cents. I am from the center of Connecticut. I was 12 years old in 1972. I had spent the better part of the first 12 years of my life following behind my father who was a great grouse hunter. I witnessed him shoot true doubles on grouse multiple times. And grouse were plentiful. I hunted them in Connecticut from 1974 until I shot my last Connecticut grouse in 1982 when the Connecticut grouse had all but dried up. They were the same farms & covers that I followed behind my dad on and they sure still looked like great grouse cover. I believe the answer is a combination of predators And some kind of disease.
I have a camp in the NEK of Vermont & there are still birds but no where near the numbers that they once were. I can say the same about Northern New Hampshire. I’m guessing we will all agree that NH grouse have also seen a large decline in the last 15 to 20 years.
All I know for sure is that I love the king and it is heartbreaking to witness. I will add that the ruffed grouse is largely responsible for my love of side by sides. A good pointer along with a Parker a few Ruffs and a good friend are the things dreams are made of.

[edgarspencer]

Rick, our place is in Greenville and I have hunted basically from Casey’s Camp Rd. and north. Where there would be 10-20 flushed walking Frenchtown to Spencer Mtn, today there might be 4-5. All of my wife’s cousins are heater hunters and as a rule, put 40+ birds in the freezer annually. I’m quite familiar with this practice and refuse to participate. The slaughter in late November and December is wholly unethical.

[Steve Hodges]

Comment deleted

[Twombly setters]

I heard that Vt. may close grouse season too.
possibly all of new England will close all upland hunting.
something to think about!

[OH Osthaus]

nice try

[Steve Hodges]

We had a very good Grouse season here in New Hampshire last fall. I pretty much hunt Pittsburg and we consistently had many flushes per day, much more the fall before. With the VERY intense hunting pressure you need to get off Indian Stream Road and all the other major logging roads and hike back a bit. If you know the country and do that you will be surprised what you will find in terms of birds.

[Dean Romig]

Not the case in some areas but in many it depends on how far you’re willing to get from the “tried and true” crowd-pleasing producers that just don’t produce after the first week of bird season.





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[Steve Hodges]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;278160]Not the case in some areas but in many it depends on how far you’re willing to get from the “tried and true” crowd-pleasing producers that just don’t produce after the first week of bird

Dean, not that far, believe me. After almost 40 years of Hunting/Guiding in Pittsburg, NH, I can say that most hunters are intimidated by the big woods and will not venture more that 200 yards max off the traveled roads. Get back a bit more, and you would be amazed at the birds you will find.