Shot size for mid season Grouse

[Kevin McCormack]

For Ruffed grouse shooting out of a 28 ga. IC & Mod I have used 3/4 oz. #7.5 in the IC barrel and #6s in the MOD barrel. Where I hunt (upstate NY) the leaves are still quite dense up through the middle of October and I like 6s for a second shot to punch through the leaf canopy (usually after missing the first shot!). ( A couple of times I have actually hit the second barrel just as a bird disappeared behind a dense overhanging canopy and killed the bird on that shot)

I think if you have a decent dog a 28 ga. is fine for Ruffed grouse; I don't have dogs anymore and have gone exclusively to a wide-open bored 16 ga. (SK/IC) as my go-to grouse gun. They are light and easy to handle and carry through the woods and are lightning fast getting on the bird. I shoot standard velocity loads in both barrels; the cover we hunt is very dense and shots are usually at close range (15-20 yds.). We stay away from the high brass stuff; to me a grouse is as fragile a bird as a dove or a woodcock: only a few pellets usually prove lethal. Good luck and good hunting!