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I don't know anything about grouse hunting in the South.
Also I now do all of my bird hunting with a dog - but I used to grouse hunt in Canada without a dog, and here are my comments, that might be of use to you.

One technique I would use would be to walk in what I would call "light woods", patches of relatively small aspen trees that spotted the landscape of grain farms and cattle ranches where I hunted. Every once in a while I would flush a grouse, but rarely would I react fast enough to hit it. I would shoot anyway, because I had this theory that if you shoot they seem to land faster, while if you just observe they fly forever. Once I had flushed them I would look to spot the general area in which I thought they had gone down. My experience was that when they did a manoeveur like that they were not necessarily tucked in a familiar hideout for them, but were standing someplace worried about what was coming next. I would head for the general area that I thought I had seen them go down, only this time I was very prepared so when they flushed I was ready and had a good chance to succeed.They are not difficult to kill, but many times there is a lot of growth between you and the flying bird, which I translate into 12 gauge with heavy loads of 7 1/2s and an open choke. You have to be careful if you have an open shot with such a load because you can destroy any hope of eating them. Also, be alert after that initial flush, because there frequently are others which might flush just as you relax and put your shotgun down, cursing that you weren't fast enough for the first one.

If you go to the woods in the fall, before snow and when the leaves are down and dry, you can listen and hear them scratching in the leaves well before you see them.

The other technique would be to walk in fields along the edges of the woods. Here again I would usually find that I would not react soon enough to a flush, but I would try to spot where they went down (usually in the woods proper) and go after them.

They do go for gravel in the evenings, and if it looks like a snow storm is coming up they can be caught in open fields eating clover, they seem to be less cautious then and focus on eating as much as they can before the storm hits. I suspect this would not happen in the South. In the bush they are usually feasting on one berry or another, especially high bush cranberries in the areas I was in.

The wonderful thing about ruffed grouse is that they appear to be a small bird but they have huge and very tasty breasts.

Spruce grouse are different, they indeed are fools' hens. One could snare them, they are so reluctant to fly or run. Many a spruce grouse has had its head shot off by a high powered rifle in the hands of a bored moose hunter. They do taste of, well, spruce needles.

Finally there are sharptail grouse or prairie chicken. I find these birds to be very nervous, they flush much more wildly, although they inhabit more open areas. I have had little success with them without dogs. The shots are longer than for ruffies, and I prefer to use #5 or #6 shot with modified choke, even over dogs.

I once went ruffed grouse hunting with a partner who was fast enough to shoot and get the grouse on that first fast surprise flush, but his quickness actually made me nervous and I chose not to hunt with him any more.

There are people who cruise gravel roads in the evening looking for ruffed grouse. I don't like it when someone shoots with a shotgun while they are on the ground, any more than I would like it if I saw someone shoot a duck sitting on water. If you do spot one by the side of a gravel road they usually will flush, or run into the bush and flush, if you walk up on them.

I like to use double shotguns with a tang safety, that way it is a natural movement to move the safety off while mounting the gun to shoot, just as the previous poster suggested.

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