Grand Rapids MN 2026 Ruffed Grouse Opener Eve

I haven't hunted the grouse opener in quite a few years.  But I'm going to give it a try this year.  I've been scouting a fair amount looking for new places to hunt.  My two biggest concerns tomorrow are finding a spot that doesn't have too many trucks and that it will be warmer than what I like to hunt in.

To celebrate the opener eve I decided to hit Florios for the Friday Night Fish Fry.  Pro-Tip... make a reservation... 

Quail Release For Dog Training 2026

I got 26 quail from my Realtor’s daughter.  I think she was raising them for a 4H project or something.  I should have waited a day to release them as we had a pretty big storm the night that I let them go.  I let out 6 in some good cover pretty close to the house and then the other 20 were in our 25 acre field underneath some raspberry bushes.

The next morning I found a pile of feather where I am assuming one of them became a meal.  A little later I had the bird in the photo start to follow me around.  They were  raised as pets and didn’t have any fear of people.  I’ll check on the other 20 and see if the dogs can find them when I take them for a run in the field at the end of the week.

 

Deer Fly Mania Dog Run

I ran the dogs for 30 minutes in the field next to our house.  The cover is fairly decent but we haven’t released any birds yet so we were just running for exercise.  The flys were driving me crazy so I attached a Deer Fly Strip to my hat and it made the run a lot more enjoyable.  It ended up being out last run before the mega heat kicked in.  

You can pick up Deer Fly Strips @ https://deerflypatchstore.com/categories/deer-fly-patches

Besides Backing I asked Jerry @ Northwoods Bird Dogs to work on Sweep’s Whoaing.  She does ok but can sometimes break when there is a lot of action going on like other hunters or dogs.  Just got this picture of Sweep on a whoa.  She is doing it much better now and I also know that if need be I can put on a belly band and she will be more diligent about it.

 

 

 

Bird Dog Training Steady To Point and Shot

Just got the latest picture of Sweep from our trainer, Northwoods Bird Dogs, one of the things that I asked to have Sweep tuned up on was backing. We don’t hunt with other dogs but it is nice knowing that they will back if we do hunt with someone else or if I run her with one of our other dogs.

Finally connected on ruffed grouse | Deer River MN

 

Finally got back out hunting after a week of household chores and warm weather.  Tasha, the old timer ( 13 )  got the call so that she could take advantage of the cooler weather.  We had 2 wild flushes in the first 5 minutes and then the action continued to pick up….  She got a couple of nice points that I was able to connect on and I only missed a few of the early ones. At about the halfway point of the loop she went on point about 10 yards off the trail, as I moved in the birds starting popping up all over.  Most we out of range or behind the trees.  We ended up moving 6 or 7 from this one spot but didn’t end up getting any.  At about the 3/4 mark Tasha decided to follow a different route thru the woods.  This used to be a trail to a deer stand but has since over grown.  Her hearing isn’t what it used to be so Iw ent after her when she got to 125 yards away.  It took me a while to catch up to her and she had just gone on point and I was able to take the first one but two more flushed at the shot and I didn’t connect.  We had it back to the truck and she was still going well but it was a good time to end her hunt before it became too much.

Peach got the next spot. This area was my favorite for a number of years but the cover had gotten older and we have had quite as much success but I though it would be a good place to have her try.  She started out well with a grouse and then a woodcock point, neither of which presented a shot.  We didn’t move another birds and she didn’t even get too birdie during her hunt.  At about the 40 minute mark she started to breather really heavily and just sounded like it was a challenge.  We took a break and sat for a few minutes and then I put her leash on her and walked her slowly bak to the truck.  After resting and drinking a lot of water she seemed better.  This evening she seems back to normal.

If all goes well tomorrow Sweep will get to hunt.

Ruffed Grouse Hunt Sept 28th 2025 North of Deer River MN

Finally, the Ruffed Grouse season has begun for us! It was warmer than I had hoped for, and the forecast suggests it will stay that way for the next week. Par for the course these days, I guess. We've had to limit ourselves to morning hunts. It was about 60 degrees when we started.

Tasha, the 13-year-old, got the call this morning. We went to her favorite spot, and I was surprised to see no one else parked there. This loop usually takes 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the number of birds we see and how often she roams the woods. A nice breeze was in our faces, and she pointed a grouse within the first five minutes. It flushed low and away, offering no shot. Moments later, a second bird took off from a tree; I shot but was way behind. About ten minutes later, Tasha went on point again. She was only about ten yards off the trail, but the cover is still thick enough that it took a moment to get to her. We had two flushes—the first was a "hear-only," but I saw the second and took a shot, only succeeding in taking out some leaves.

I was already feeling overdressed, even though I was just wearing a thin waffle thermal shirt and a lightweight orange shirt. As we neared the halfway mark, we had a crosswind, and Tasha cast out about 100 yards before going on point. She stayed steady, but I couldn't flush a grouse. On the way back, she stayed mostly within 50 yards of the trail, which seemed fine considering how thick the cover still is. We ended with four more flushes and just one more shot that didn't connect. It was 70 degrees when I got back to the truck.

We drove to the next spot we had planned to hunt, but someone else was already parked there. We bagged the hunt for the day and just drove around, scouting some spots for next time.