NE Prairie Grouse

[Eagle]

Headed out middle of next week to chase sharptail and prairie chickens in the sandhills. Anybody have any advice? I've spoken with a couple biologist in the area I plan to head to and from the sounds of things, the birds should behave well for my almost 8 month old pup and shouldn't flush too wildly this early in the season. I'll be hunting NF grasslands mostly if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!

 

[mlchase]

Have fun, be ready to walk, and have water along for you and pups. Leeward side of ridges they seem to hold, be out early to take advantage of better conditions. Depending how far west in NE you go, don't neglect some of the CRP MAP/Public Access grass fields next to ag fields...they won't be in the thicker stuff that the pheasants are, but many are out in these flatter fields...not as scenic as the sandhills, but more controlled walks. Where are you coming from and zeroing in as a starting point.

 

[Eagle]

Have fun, be ready to walk, and have water along for you and pups. Leeward side of ridges they seem to hold, be out early to take advantage of better conditions. Depending how far west in NE you go, don't neglect some of the CRP MAP/Public Access grass fields next to ag fields...they won't be in the thicker stuff that the pheasants are, but many are out in these flatter fields...not as scenic as the sandhills, but more controlled walks. Where are you coming from and zeroing in as a starting point.

Thanks for the advice. I'll be driving from western Kentucky, so 13 hours roughly to where I plan to start my start. Hate to mention a specific location on an open forum, but suffice to say I'll be slightly west of the central portion of NE.

 

[mlchase]

Gotcha- you should be fine. Generally, not a ton of pressure for grouse, and landowners not as protective of them as their pheasants or deer. So don't be afraid if you see a rancher out to stop and chat for a bit, and ask what they know or have seen on grouse and they might point you to them- probably one of the easiest species besides coyotes to get permission for....IF you can find the landowner/hired hand.

 

[Eagle]

Gotcha- you should be fine. Generally, not a ton of pressure for grouse, and landowners not as protective of them as their pheasants or deer. So don't be afraid if you see a rancher out to stop and chat for a bit, and ask what they know or have seen on grouse and they might point you to them- probably one of the easiest species besides coyotes to get permission for....IF you can find the landowner/hired hand.

Now that's some great advice! Thanks for the heads up, as I have a contact that has mule deer hunted on a ranch outside of Thedford, so might be worth contacting the landowner he know's personally.

 

[cmankingsley]

Just hunted the last 3 days out there. Found plenty of birds. Just keep walking! I’ll send a PM.


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[gadrahthaar]

Headed out middle of next week to chase sharptail and prairie chickens in the sandhills. Anybody have any advice? I've spoken with a couple biologist in the area I plan to head to and from the sounds of things, the birds should behave well for my almost 8 month old pup and shouldn't flush too wildly this early in the season. I'll be hunting NF grasslands mostly if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!

I'm headed to your CO tomorrow to look for ptarmigan first, then NE for grouse on the 20th. How long are you out there? I've never hunted NE, but in my MT sharpie experience your young dog should be able to handle them this early.

 

[gadrahthaar]

Just hunted the last 3 days out there. Found plenty of birds. Just keep walking! I’ll send a PM.


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Glad to hear. What was the avg covey size? More sharpies or chickens?

 

[cmankingsley]

[mention]gadrahthaar [/mention] about 10 birds a covey. 2:1 sharpies to chickens


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[gadrahthaar]

[mention]gadrahthaar [/mention] about 10 birds a covey. 2:1 sharpies to chickens


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10-4, thanks

 

[Eagle]

I'm headed to your CO tomorrow to look for ptarmigan first, then NE for grouse on the 20th. How long are you out there? I've never hunted NE, but in my MT sharpie experience your young dog should be able to handle them this early.

Good to hear. I'll be out for 4 days total, three nights, probably only get a couple hours in the first evening and last morning, but hopefully it'll be enough to get the pup some wild bird experience.

 

[gadrahthaar]

How did it go?

 

[Eagle]

Not well as far as birds, they flushed super wild, never got closer than 40 yards before a flush. Only found 6 or 7 total over two full days as well, assume they had already been hunted pretty hard in the spots we gave a shot.

My dog on the other hand proved that even without being into birds, she'll hunt non stop. She never gave up or let the sand burs or cactus slow her down, so for just having turned 8 months, I'm pretty excited about her drive. Really wish we could have had at least one solid point/flush/retrieve, but the birds just weren't going to let that happen.

 

[TSAMP]

I was curious how the cactus would play a part on the dogs. I saw lots of birds while I was hunting goats and considered bringing my dog back out.

 

[Eagle]

I was curious how the cactus would play a part on the dogs. I saw lots of birds while I was hunting goats and considered bringing my dog back out.

Every dog is different, and I brought boots due to some folks saying their dogs wouldn't hunt after getting into the burs/cactus. Thankfully didn't need them, though my dog didn't mind them during the trial run I gave her with them after they arrived.

 

[gadrahthaar]

Not well as far as birds, they flushed super wild, never got closer than 40 yards before a flush. Only found 6 or 7 total over two full days as well, assume they had already been hunted pretty hard in the spots we gave a shot.

My dog on the other hand proved that even without being into birds, she'll hunt non stop. She never gave up or let the sand burs or cactus slow her down, so for just having turned 8 months, I'm pretty excited about her drive. Really wish we could have had at least one solid point/flush/retrieve, but the birds just weren't going to let that happen.

Glad to hear about the pup. I’ve had many 80 yard flushes but a few under 20 so it’s been fun.