Wyoming Sage Grouse

[RSather528]

The wife and I will be around Casper late September to scout and try and fill her antelope tag. We will have a day or two before the season starts and was kicking around the idea of bringing a shotgun. We will have our bird dog with if that helps. Worth getting the license to pursue some birds while out there?

 

[manitou1]

I would think so. We live about an hour North of Casper. Never hunted birds in Casper, or WY in general, but bird hunted MT, KS, MO, and SD before moving here. My dogs got old and I never replaced them.... but I often think about doing it.
We do see sage grouse, huns, pheasants, and sharpies out here.

 

[RSather528]

I would think so. We live about an hour North of Casper. Never hunted birds in Casper, or WY in general, but bird hunted MT, KS, MO, and SD before moving here. My dogs got old and I never replaced them.... but I often think about doing it.
We do see sage grouse, huns, pheasants, and sharpies out here.

Getting a combo of birds and big game would be awesome. Even chasing or seeing a sage grouse would actually be pretty cool. Depending on how the scouting and antelope hunting goes it’d be cool to get the dog a day or two of hunting.

 

[Wags]

They're pretty prevalent in my area so we always grab a small game license and smack a few.

 

[Truck24hr]

Definitely do. I don't know much about Wyoming, but I flushed several yesterday while fishing. I'll definitely bring my dogs over when we leave Nebraska this year.

 

[RSather528]

They're pretty prevalent in my area so we always grab a small game license and smack a few.

Compared to other upland birds like pheasants, is the tactic the same for hunting them?

 

[RSather528]

Definitely do. I don't know much about Wyoming, but I flushed several yesterday while fishing. I'll definitely bring my dogs over when we leave Nebraska this year.

Do they hold pretty well or do they run a bit before flushing?

 

[Airborne]

Make sure you are in an open unit--sage grouse unit 2 is closed and Casper sits on the edge of the unit. Generally in Wyoming (unless you know of honey holes) the best way to find grouse is to drive around all day until you come upon a road covey. Early mornings and near water holes are the best. Walking aimlessly around the sagebrush sea isn't the best way to go about it. Now if you know some good draws and water holes that consistently produce grouse then running your dog in those areas can be fun but if going in blind, just drive around until you bump something. If ya have your dog with ya then put him out on the road birds, if not just have your shotgun ready and jump out and chase them down. Either way works! They will hold for a pointing dog but they do not put off much bird scent and some dogs struggle with sage grouse--even experienced dogs. I think sage grouse are some of the hardest birds for dogs to point as their scent isn't there and generally it is hot and dry making scenting conditions tough. Good luck to ya

 

[Wags]

Compared to other upland birds like pheasants, is the tactic the same for hunting them?

Pretty similar to rooters, however I usually see them while driving along and then go after them.

 

[wytx]

We hunt them without use of a dog, watch for rattle snakes in Sept.
Near water is usually where we find them, but not always.
Some birds to be found south of Casper.
Fishing is also great in Sept., spawning trout.

 

[Dos Perros]

I think this bird hunt is a go. I bet you come across them scouting or otherwise on your hunt.

In addition to keeping your eyes open while driving (which you will looking for goats), watch for poop as you walk. With one dog it might not make sense to make blind walks to fill the time, but if you're seeing lots of poop it might.

I've generally had good luck of them holding to points. They die easy and fall hard.

 

[Truck24hr]

Hold well early, run like hell later. They're a tough hunt late season, but we still chase them.

Do they hold pretty well or do they run a bit before flushing?

 

[Dos Perros]

This is a good crash course on sage grouse.

http://www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SGI_SageGrouse_FieldGuide.pdf

 

[RSather528]

We hunt them without use of a dog, watch for rattle snakes in Sept.
Near water is usually where we find them, but not always.
Some birds to be found south of Casper.
Fishing is also great in Sept., spawning trout.

Are rattle snakes pretty common for the end of September? Neither the dog or I have any experience with rattlers.

 

[RSather528]

I think this bird hunt is a go. I bet you come across them scouting or otherwise on your hunt.

In addition to keeping your eyes open while driving (which you will looking for goats), watch for poop as you walk. With one dog it might not make sense to make blind walks to fill the time, but if you're seeing lots of poop it might.

I've generally had good luck of them holding to points. They die easy and fall hard.

Unless the week we are there and the weather is absolute garbage I think I’ll pack the shotgun with and give it a shot.

This is a good crash course on sage grouse.

http://www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SGI_SageGrouse_FieldGuide.pdf

Thank you! This is a great resource.

 

[Dos Perros]

Are rattle snakes pretty common for the end of September? Neither the dog or I have any experience with rattlers.

Common enough to be aware, but not common enough to be of concern, IMO. Likely to see more driving than in the field. Bites of dogs can happen though. I'd know where the closest vet is and have their # programmed into your phone. If you're the precautious type you could ask your vet to give you a syringe full of benedryl and tote it around with you (I've done that). You could also give your dog the Red Rock vaccine before you go, but be mindful if bit the vet will still administer a pretty expensive anti-venom, so I'm not really sure what it's buying you, maybe a reduced risk of death. In 6 or so years of hunting Montana more than week each year, multiple guys, as many as 21 dogs on a trip (that's a lot of dog*miles!), we've never had one bit. But I know people who have had dogs bit, and have heard of dogs dying. You could reduce risk by staying away from prairie dog towns and rocky outcroppings.

 

[RSather528]

Common enough to be aware, but not common enough to be of concern, IMO. Likely to see more driving than in the field. Bites of dogs can happen though. I'd know where the closest vet is and have their # programmed into your phone. If you're the precautious type you could ask your vet to give you a syringe full of benedryl and tote it around with you (I've done that). You could also give your dog the Red Rock vaccine before you go, but be mindful if bit the vet will still administer a pretty expensive anti-venom, so I'm not really sure what it's buying you, maybe a reduced risk of death. In 6 or so years of hunting Montana more than week each year, multiple guys, as many as 21 dogs on a trip (that's a lot of dog*miles!), we've never had one bit. But I know people who have had dogs bit, and have heard of dogs dying. You could reduce risk by staying away from prairie dog towns and rocky outcroppings.

21 dogs??? That is a lot of dog food to haul as well as miles covered. I will look into the Red Rock vaccine and see if my vet would give me a syringe of benedryl. We give him a tablet or two as an alternative to their shot before his vaccines since he had adverse reactions as a puppy and swelled up like a balloon. Since then a couple tablets and he has been good. I’d hate to not be prepared if so happen chance we stumble upon something.

 

[Dos Perros]

The year after this one we added another trailer with 8 more dogs.

 

[IsThisHeaven]

Common enough to be aware, but not common enough to be of concern, IMO. Likely to see more driving than in the field. Bites of dogs can happen though. I'd know where the closest vet is and have their # programmed into your phone. If you're the precautious type you could ask your vet to give you a syringe full of benedryl and tote it around with you (I've done that). You could also give your dog the Red Rock vaccine before you go, but be mindful if bit the vet will still administer a pretty expensive anti-venom, so I'm not really sure what it's buying you, maybe a reduced risk of death. In 6 or so years of hunting Montana more than week each year, multiple guys, as many as 21 dogs on a trip (that's a lot of dog*miles!), we've never had one bit. But I know people who have had dogs bit, and have heard of dogs dying. You could reduce risk by staying away from prairie dog towns and rocky outcroppings.

Great info. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[RSather528]

The year after this one we added another trailer with 8 more dogs.

Nice! What are you primarily going for in MT?