Digging these grouse vids, Ive just gotten back into hunting and living on the Olympic Peninsula. I remember surf perch fishing on the coast last year and when I packed up to leave back to my car there was a mountain lion standing on a beach log, I don't know how long it was there because all I heard were the crashing waves. It was the only time I've ever pulled out my pistol. I started yelling "get outa hear cat!" Luckily for both of us he slowly walked up the gully pat ran alongside the trail back to my car and I never saw it again.
Thank you! I have heard good things about grouse hunting out there. Whoa! A mountain on the beach.. sounds like a beautiful and somewhat scary experience. Especially since you couldn't hear it. "Get outta here cat!" haha I love it. Cool experience
Yeah I've used that Louisiana Fish Fry on.. well.. fish before! haha but I've never used it on a bird. Turned out great! I had some left over and I was looking through my cupboard looking for a cool idea to cook grouse for a video and that jumped out at me. That 100% a sasquatch!!! It was a loud cracking, like breaking LARGE sticks, followed by rustling that stayed in one spot like something was just there messing with me. I have had a really similar experience whilst grouse hunting once and a guy walked out of the woods. That was weird. But this time, nobody walked out of the woods. Creepy
Absolutely awesome video! I had a nice fat grouse in my sights yesterday. It was a lucky grouse because a side-by-side came down the road and scared it off a few seconds before I would have been ready to shoot. The catch and cook is great and a big "yes" to the Louisiana Fish Fry! Weird spooky noises in the dark woods. That is always a little unnerving when you are out alone.
Thank you! Oh man that's a bummer. I had very similar day yesterday. So many quads and dirt bikes out, I went home early and never took a shot at a bird. Too many people. Turns out that fish fry is great on birds too haha I really wish the camera had picked up those creepy sounds better. They're there but you really gotta listen hard. They were big cracks followed by rustling but not moving toward or away from me.. just in one area but the woods were so thick and dark I couldn't see in there. I obviously had a shotgun but it's only got #7 shot in it. That's why I carry my S&W 40! Definitely unnerving. Thanks as always for watching!
Save some for me and take me with you! Haha I was just up there but only saw one grouse. Had a great adventure. Video out this coming Sunday, you'll probably recognize some of the areas. Thanks for watching!
Haha! Thanks!!! I've been making backcountry fishing and grouse videos for a little over a year now.. no blowing up yet so you might be buying a new computer 😂😆
I couldn't hear anything but the wind blowing, opening day starts here tmr, pretty excited. If a heard people laughing and talking before in the woods and there was no one around.
Yeah the Gopro didn't pick up the sound very well. It's faintly audible if ya listen real hard haha Glad I didn't hear what you heard out there, that woulda been way creepier!
Nice work. I was walking down a dirt road one time and something charged me. It was a grouse it some bird like that. Scared the hell out of me and I started running away and it was chasing me. It chased me long enough for me to realize I was running from a little bird……..so I stopped and turned around and yelled RAWR and chased that damn bird and showed him who’s boss 💪 It was very traumatic.
Is that a true story!? I can totally see it happening tho. My neighbors have chickens and they'll chase ya down! I can see a grouse doing that. I'm glad you came to your senses and told that mean grouse who's boss. You keep your man card for another day!
Pre-season black tail scouting, my dog and I had a large creature walking along us too. My only thought was possibly a bear, no other animals make that noise. And it was a tad thicker brush than in your video. When you had your shotgun ready, I did the same thing! Accept, I grabbed some smaller rocks slowly and backing up, tossing them in the trees to scare it off. Didn’t hear it again.
Creepy! If ya spend enough time in the woods, you're bound to experience some weird stuff. Well did you get your black tail that season at least? Haha I didn't explain it in the video but the noises I was hearing wasn't something smashing bushes... it sounded like something intentionally hitting two very large sticks together over and over. Creeped me out pretty good! People ask me sometimes why I carry a pistol and not just bear spray. The answer is because of all the strange things I've experienced way out in the forest!
Great videos from a fellow PNW hunter/gatherer! Can you point me to the chest holster you use? I also like to be prepared in the backcountry when mushroom hunting but find my current setup is bulky. Looking for some concealable alternatives. Keep up the good work, dude!
Thank you! If ya do any wandering around alone in the woods it feels good to be prepared. I love this chest holster. It's up and out of the way and very well made. It's also made here in the PNW in Idaho I believe. Name is Hosking Holsters. The owner is also awesome. Here is a link: www.hoskingholsters.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAq7COBhC2ARIsANsPATH6A-qFzEOO6QHW-HNqSy635QDO55MLz3DoW2tlcuxRYpKks_s7kgkaAnygEALw_wcB
This is my old Mossberg 88. It's a 12 gauge pump action I bought well over a decade ago. It's cheap and heavy but it gets the job done. I would recommend, if you have the $$$ and are thinking about getting into grouse hunting, getting a lighter gun. Makes walking around all day easier haha :)
Thanks! I usually us size 7, 7.5 or 8 shot. Kinda depends how thick the brush is and what I can actually get my hands on these days. I use an improved cylinder choke. I think it's pretty good at about 30 yards. I might go back to just cylinder next year tho. Took a lot of close range shots this year
Well you found one! You know they're there now. Did you flush it into the thick woods/brush? Sometimes I don't take the shot if it's too thick. If it's on the edge I might take the shot. I use #7 steel shot. It is big enough to get through light brush but not so big as to harm the meat of the bird. After a rain is always a good to time to go! I'm rooting for ya!
@@CascadeBackcountry yea I flushed it into thick stuff. But man it was great to see one. They are out there and im super hooked. On another note though I extremely enjoy your channel. You definitely have "the bug" and its contagious. Lol you make the videos enjoyable by passing on your excitement!
Grouse hunting is very addictive! You can walk miles and miles of road for that two seconds of excitement. They're such elusive little birds that seeing one is exciting but bagging one is such a rush. Thanks a lot man! I really appreciate it. I love spending time outdoors, especially trout fishing and grouse hunting, obviously haha Thanks for watching :)
Up in the Whatcom County area and love exploring these roads. Going to give grouse another go here this season after a failed first season. Do you mind me asking what size choke you're using?
I live in Whatcom County area as well. There's definitely grouse out there! I usually use an improved cylinder choke as shots I takes are generally pretty close. You'll get one this year, I have faith! Haha
Hey man, I’m in the bellingham area for college and watching your videos has got me really interested in going after grouse though I’ve never hunted before. Any tips you can give me starting out? Would be super stoked to go with you sometime as well :)
Well if you've never gone before I think I'd have too many tips to even write down! Haha I'm gonna do a grouse hunting tips n tricks video soon. Hopefully I can answer some questions there. Grouse hunting is great fun man. Going with me isn't out of the realm if possibility BUT is unlikely currently for pandemic and baby reasons.
I live on the Olympic Peninsula. Get your hunter education cert, and check out some logging roads on the DNR land east of Bellingham, it's a nice way to get outside, stay fit and scout for bigger game for the Blacktail season. Good luck.
I've been watching your videos, trying to get learnt before the 2022 grouse hunting season. I am a total noob, and I'm curious, if you are taking the grouse home, do you do any field dressing, or throw it on ice and dress at home?
Awesome! I hope some of the info and content helps out :) If I'm taking a grouse home to cook, I do usually dress it in the field. If any pellets got through the bird and into the guts and then the bird sits for a few hours while you hunt or drive home, it can spoil the meat. Careful though because, at least where I live, I believe you have to leave identifying features on the grouse like a wing and tail or something. Thanks for watching!
Wondering. ...Are we allowed to sleep in our jeep overnight out there alongside the road? Also; are the grouse more often walking on the side of the road on the ground rather in the tree? Is it possible to reach one with an arrow?
As a general rule you can camp for 14 days in the National Forest. That changes when you get into parks tho. I car camp all the time in the forest! I definitely see grouse more often on the side of dirt roads than in trees. You could reach one with arrow for sure. The challenge would be to find a grouse that sitting still haha
Beautiful area down there. I live quite a ways north. While I can't give away my exact locations, I can tell you that I hunt old logging roads in the 3 most northern counties in Western WA haha
Done that recipe before, and i agree its good stuff. I've said the same thing before about enjoying the hell outta myself in the woods as i watch people pass by and no one knows im even in the woods. Its actually really nice because then i dont get constantly bothered or harrassed by anti hunters. The rIn is coming so be ready for the shrooms to be poppin. Im going to try my spots but with all this new found love of the outdoors that people are feelingright now, 40% jump in new hunters this year, a lot of my areas are being found out. Do find this happening in your area?
Yeah I would happily eat that again! Makes ya wonder how many people you've passed by and not even known it. Can't say I've ever been harassed by anti-hunters while I'm out in the woods, maybe I just don't see any or maybe because I have multiple guns and knives haha who knows. I am ready for the mushrooms to start poppin out for sure! The cool rainy weather should definitely help with that. I'm really hoping to find a chicken of the woods spot this year. My only know locations are multiple day hikes into them. I have DEFINITELY noticed a jump in people out and about in my spots, however, I didn't realize it was 40%! Doesn't surprise me though. I was actually out trying to grouse hunt yesterday and I literally called it off because there were so many people out. The woods are busy these days
@@CascadeBackcountry Same i was going to hunt up some grouse dinner, but there were people target shooting were i grouse hunt. Grrr! Never tried chicken of the forest mainly, because i cant find any. There are so many people in my area that pick all the mushrooms its tough to get any and you have to be really quick to get out there before there all gone.
Yeah the gopro didn't pick it up very well at all. The sound was like large sticks being broken in half followed by rustling around. It was all coming from one spot like something was doing something in one particular spot. I spend a lot of time in the woods and this sounded unfamiliar to me. I have hear something like this before in a nearby area.. it turned out to be a human. This wasn't a human. My dog is too scared of everything to go hunting haha
Oh man I gotta BBQ sauce all day on that one! Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon? haha So here's my secret... I get up REALLY early! Like 4am. Then I'm usually home by the afternoon so I'm not gone a full day. Also, I live out in the county so a lot of these adventures I can almost just walk out my back door and be in the mountains. And of course I tell her to make me a sandwich when I get home that way she knows what's up! Thanks as always for watching. Much appreciated :)
I usually use 6 - 8 depending on time of year and conditions. I actually did a video with this info in it.. Grouse hunting essentials. Go check it out :)
I love grouse hunting as much as you do, and I commend you on your intelligence and craftiness. But I must help you, so that you will live to be 100 years old and still be hunting grouse at that age: (1) The Canola oil has got to go!!! Very bad for you!! AKA Dr. Gundry. Olive Oil (extra virgin of course) is best, but if you don't like the flavour of it with pan fried grouse, then try Coconut Oil or Walnut Oil. Be careful with the Walnut Oil because it's flash point is 320F instead of Canola's and Coconut's 350. La Tourangelle Roasted Walnut Oil can't be beat for taste, but stay away from Spectrum's "modified" walnut oil for cooking - it has no flavour. Just cook at a little lower heat with the walnut oil if you go that route. Great Choice on the Louisiana spices for your Grouse! I knew you would love it. Another great way to prepare grouse is to use a basic portable Weber Grill. The kind that looks like a 2 gallon sized black egg turned upside down, for $25-$40. 15 charcoal pieces lit to coals, then put grouse breast halves (filet'd off the bone) in it for 6 minutes 15 seconds to 6 minutes 30 seconds!!! 7 minutes will dry out those precious few succulent juices but 6 minutes 15-30 seconds won't. DON'T PUT ANY SEASONING ON THIS GROUSE WHEN COOKING THIS WAY ON THE WEBER - YOU WILL JUST RUIN THE FLAVOR! Also, you stay at the grill and don't get distracted. Set a timer and stay there and take the grouse off quick. If you want to talk sometime write me back here. My best year was 53 grouse, 21 quail, and two turkeys. Jeff
Thanks. I AM pretty crafty haha I agree... canola oil is terrible for you. I don't use it at all in my day to day life, only really a few times a year for video sake (cuz it fries so well.) I really should just use olive tho as I quite like it. Thanks for looking out! Hopefully I'm still out grouse hunting when I'm 100! Do you think I could do the Weber grill recipe you mentioned over a campfire? 53 grouse is a great season! Where abouts in the PNW you hunting?
As a chef, you totally lost me on the cutlets. I pluck my grouse, rub them with garlic, slide in pats of butter next to the skin on the breasts, season with salt, pepper and rosemary, and roast them. Serve with chanterelles, carrots, shallots and brussels sprouts. And champagne-can't forget the champagne!!
