Getting Started

     Venturing into the woods in search of ruffed grouse can be an overwhelming task for the newbie. I was a newbie once, and was fortunate enough to have made the acquaintance of a bunch of deer, bear, and turkey hunters from western Mass who had no compulsion about pointing me and my shooting buddy, Bryan, in the right direction. Why anyone would be interested in hunting ruffed grouse was beyond them, though they did join us a couple of times, and brought us along at others. Because of this a groundwork was laid, and the obsession grew. With this came a quest for more knowledge which would allow me to be more successful in the grouse woods. Here is a look at some of the material I used.

     This book has been my go to guide over the years. I've got the first edition, and every year it comes to grouse camp with me. I routinely find myself picking it up, and thumbing through it for a few more morsels of information. So confident am I in the info in this book that it gets passed around the guys regularly.
Get Grouse Hunter's Guide here.

     Here's another I've read and been impressed with. The information was presented well, and was entertaining. I must admit, I do not own this particular book, but it is on the list, as I've been wanting to read it again.
Get Grouse and Woodcock here.

     This video is another great resource. One area of grouse hunting that I believe the newbie struggles with the most is what type of cover to hunt. Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, some good video of grouse cover is worth a million. The bonus; some great footage of a really cute Setter pup.
Get the DVD here.

Buyer beware.

     While there are numerous texts, and magazines with good grouse hunting, and dog training one must use caution when following advice. A friend in Pa. recently forwarded me this link to a column in the local paper, the subject of which is dog training.  The author, Mr Tatum, makes some mistakes in his spaniel training program, which he admits to. While I know nothing about Mr. Tatum, other than he's an outdoor columnist, and what I've read in this article, I'd be a little put off if I'd have been following a dog training program he might have been writing about. So, if there is any question as to the validity of any info, seek a second opinion. The worst that can happen is you'll learn more than you'd expected.

http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/03/22/sports/srv0000011218730.txt

     The link to the column written by Mr. Tatum is to illustrate my point, and if you read the entire column you'll see that Mr. Tatum, having made a training mistake, did a great job fixing what could have been a serious issue. Good job, Mr. Tatum.