Minnesota Grouse Hunting

White Oak Inn & Suites is the perfect spot in Northern Minnesota to use as your ruffed grouse hunting headquarters. No other state in the nation harvests more ruffed grouse than Minnesota and no other state provides as much public land on which to hunt.

Our location on the edge of the Chippewa National Forest provides you with access to one of the most premier grouse hunting areas in the world. The Chippewa includes 1.6 million acres of upland and wetland, aspen, birch pines, balsam and maple woodland areas. This is the heart of breeding ground for the number one game bird in the state of Minnesota! In any given year from 600,000 to 1 million grouse are harvested by some 120,000 to 150,000 grouse hunters.

The Minnesota season for hunting ruffed grouse opens Sept. 16 and will run until New Years Day 2007.

With its stands of thick aspen, the Chippewa National Forest is a wonderland for nature lovers wishing for a quiet walk in the woods as well as for those avid grouse hunters wishing to hear that lawnmower-like sound of the ruffed grouse drumming.

Within the Chippewa National Forest there are numerous fire roads indicated by a small brown sign on a 4 foot post marked FR followed by a number. These are navigable roads down which you may drive to find an off shooting trail suitable for grouse hunting.

Once you are off the road and walking down one of these trails look for clear cut areas ideally with 8 to 20-year-old aspen about as thick around as a man's wrist. The stems, which sprout out of the ground, dense and thick, create the perfect protection for the bird which is low on the animal food chain. If it is hard to walk through, it also will be difficult for an owl to fly through, or a fox to trot through to catch a grouse.

Now that you have located the right habitat here are a few identification tips to help you find the fowl:

• Length: 14 inches
• Sexes similar
• Medium-sized, stocky, round-winged, chicken-like
  bird
• Crest at top of head
• Blackish ruffs on sides of neck
• Head, neck, and back brown or gray
• Breast whitish with brown and black bars and
  chevrons
• Long, squash tail
• Tail brown or gray with narrow black and pale
  bars and broad blackish sub terminal band.

Similar species include the Sharp-tailed Grouse which is more white and tan than brown or gray and has a long, pointed tail with white outer tail feathers. Spruce and Blue Grouse are darker and lack the black sub terminal tail band.

Ruffed Grouse are one of 10 species of grouse native to North America and one of the smallest birds in that group weighing between 17 and 25 ounces. They live out most of their entire lives in wooded areas, which makes Northern Minnesota a perfect hunting ground for Ruffed Grouse whose name was derived from the long, shiny, black or chocolate colored neck feathers found on the male species. The Ojibwe Indians call this bird "benai." When the male is defending its territory or showing off for a perspective hen it will extend his feathers into a "spectacular ruff." A combination of the ruff and the fully fanned tail can make him look twice his normal size.

Grouse are hearty, snow-loving birds that eat buds and thrive in severe winter climates where other birds, such as quail might be decimated.

Before the snowfall these birds will feed on a wide variety of green leaves and fruits as well as some insects, although sometimes they may eat snakes, frogs and salamanders. When the ground is covered in snow these birds will subsist on dormant flower buds or catkins of trees like aspen, cherry, birch, or ironwood.
With snow cover the unmistakable marks of the ruffed grouse become more evident on snow covered logs. So look for logs, boulders, tree roots or other elevated sites which are known as drumming logs.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been tracking drumming counts since the 1950s. Records show that every 10 years there is an abundance of ruffed grouse. Results of this years spring ruffed grouse drumming count survey show that the bird numbers have not changed much from last year. Counts have been on the low end of the cycle for the last five years in a row.
Several factors affect the numbers of ruffed grouse in the area including predator/prey relationships where avian predators like goshawks and great horned owls come down from Canada and feed on the small grouse among other things. If there is a lot of snow, however, the grouse can avoid these predators, but in years with less snow, the population may slip. Other factors include temperature and whether or not aspen trees produce a chemical compound that make them less inviting to eat.

Habitat is perhaps the best indication of grouse success and survival. Grouse thrive best in properly harvested and managed forest lands where aspen is part of the overall forest composition. Unlike pheasants and quail, grouse cannot be farm raised, so much of their success depends on habitat and Northern Minnesota has some of the premier grouse habitat in the world.

We at Little Winnie Resort hope that you have a great hunt, but we hope that you would practice good stewardship in the Chippewa National Forest and on other Minnesota public lands. You can help to take care of our public lands so that others may enjoy these areas for years to come by practicing some of the following actions:

• Don't Litter... take along a trash bag or other receptacle for collecting your trash so that you can deposit it in the proper trash receptacle.
• Make sure that you are using the correct type of hunting equipment permitted in that area. Ask us about current hunting rules and regulations for the area in which you wish to go.
• Don't hunt in areas where you are not permitted. These areas have been declared "off limits" to hunters to protect wildlife, vegetation, or for your safety.
  

For your safety:

• Wear proper hunting gear, such as: orange vests and caps so that you are not mistaken for wildlife by another hunter.
• Complete a hunter safety course and ask us what the local hunting laws and regulation are.
• Always transport your hunting weapons with the safety on.
• Be courteous and remember that you are sharing public lands with other hunters and recreationists.
• Do not hunt on unauthorized public lands.
• Bring along extra safety items such as water, flashlights, maps, and a cellphone or radio.

For more information check out these other grouse hunting resources.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: http://www.dnr.mn.us/hunting/grouse/index.html

Minnesota Ruffed Grouse Society:
www.ruffedgrousesociety.org

Want to hear what a drumming ruffed grouse sounds like?
there is a link at the usgs.gov web site.