Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Julian on June 26, 2015, 01:14:00 PM
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Hey guys I'm heading to Wyoming in early December on a camping trip and will be taking my 45# browning recurve along for the ride. Any good advice on a grouse setup? I've never taken one of the birds and don't know how tough they are do I need broad heads? Or will judos do the job? Thanks in advance!!
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I really don't like judos because they get caught in the feathers and often don't penetrate well.
My goto on grouse is a MA3 BH clipped off about 3/8" up from the point.
Mike
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I would check the Regs, it looks like the grouse season closes on Nov 30. Maybe bunnies or partridge?
A Judo point works well for grouse. I like a screw in blunt with an adder collar behind it for grouse and stumping.
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I used to use blunts on ruffed grouse, but for the past fifteen or so years, I've just used my old Woodsman broadheads for my small game and bird hunting.
Have fun, and I hope you get into some grouse. :thumbsup:
Bob
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I took some Ace hex heads on a sheep hunt a few years back and put a number of ptarmigan in the pot with them. They quickly found a spot as my number one favourite small game head. Bullet casings and split shot come a close second.
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Meant to type September... I normally use broad heads here in Alabama for small game but with the chance of shooting up in the trees I didn't want to loose a bunch of arrows. I have a bunch of carbon arrows I was going to use for that and was looking for a cheap but effective head. Thank for the tips that's what i was wondering if judos had enough penetration feathers make better armor than most folks think.
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A lot of people seem to have good results on grouse with judo's, but I haven't. Maybe it would be different if I shot heavier bows. :dunno:
They leave a lot to be desired for pheasants too, IMO, but they're a great stumping/roving head.
The only grouse I have any experience with are ruffed grouse, by the way.
Bob
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Hex head 145gr :thumbsup: small washer and adder collar.
(http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y434/danamhay/Mobile%20Uploads/1435345923_zps60ef7b4e.jpg) (http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/danamhay/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1435345923_zps60ef7b4e.jpg.html)
This has been a great stumping and mountain grouse head for me. They will stick and i have left a couple way up in a tree. Great for the ground.
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I'm becoming a big fan of VPA's Small Game Thumpers.They are wider than Hex heads and 3R Hammers and come in a large variety of weight in both glue on and screw in configurations.They fly very well and are devastating on small game,cutting a cookie cutter style hole,the shape of the head,clean through.I shot a snowshoe hare with one and he never twitched.Very well made and designed head.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/Trapping2012-2.jpg) (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/jbrandenburg/media/Trapping2012-2.jpg.html)
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Jim, I like them too ( VPA), but they are not without issue. Those way out points catch hard stuff and the resultant torque on the arrow breaks the shaft right behind the head. . . a lot.
For that reason, I stick with the Hex heads myself
ChuckC
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You all must not take shots are grouse in trees. If you did, those high priced hammer heads and judo;s would stay in the quiver.
Plan old steel blunts. Buy 100, mount them on some arrows you don't care if you loose and have at it. You will shoot a whole lot better if you're not concerned the $10 arrow set up you're drawing might be 1/4 mile away down the mountain when it lands.
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I honestly haven't had a lot of grouse land in trees, occasionally though they do and then you use a flu flu and some kind of blunt or if you don't mind losing the arrow because it's impaled in a tree use a flu flu and broadhead for the tree shots. I think like somebody mentioned before, unless your bow has a lot of thump then a broadhead is a better choice
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Originally posted by ChuckC:
Jim, I like them too ( VPA), but they are not without issue. Those way out points catch hard stuff and the resultant torque on the arrow breaks the shaft right behind the head. . . a lot.
For that reason, I stick with the Hex heads myself
ChuckC
That hasn't happened to me yet but I can see how it could.
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I've killed several varieties of grouse over the years. Regular steel blunts have always worked well for Roughs and I'll bet that VPA blunt would put them down quick.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/mengrouse1.jpg)
Wingnut has eaten more grouse than most of us will ever see so pay heed to his recommendation of a cheap broadhead.
For the bigger mountain grouse like the Blues you can't beat a broadhead. The same goes for Sage Grouse.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/08Wyochickenssunset020)
I shot a Sage grouse once with a Hex Head just to see how it worked. The shot was dead center and the bird launched into the air. A hundred yards away it landed in the sage. Without a dog it would have been lost.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/08Wyochickensrobinquiverstanding016)
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I've shot a lot of grouse of various species with broadheads, judos, and big rubber blunts. Only broadheads have been satisfactory, particularly for the larger species like blue grouse. I regret that I lost some birds figuring that out.
Broadheads fold them right up. Too many birds fly away after being shot through with judos or blunts.
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You'll find the grouse on the ground more often than not. Usually when you startle them from the ground They'll fly up into the trees. I keep a couple crappy type of broadheads with me like old thunderheads or those small montec ones. Then they won't destroy the bird. I get picky any more and only shoot the big ones and at a good distance. You can practically walk up and grab them sometimes. If you do get them up in the trees you can hear them call to one another.
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Originally posted by killinstuff:
You all must not take shots are grouse in trees. If you did, those high priced hammer heads and judo;s would stay in the quiver.
Plan old steel blunts. Buy 100, mount them on some arrows you don't care if you loose and have at it. You will shoot a whole lot better if you're not concerned the $10 arrow set up you're drawing might be 1/4 mile away down the mountain when it lands.
Add a wing nut behind that blunt and you are golden!
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Thanks again for all the great advice. You guys confirmed a lot of what I suspected about the judos not penetrating feathers well. I think I'm going to go with cheap broad heads and keep a few crappy arrows in my quiver with some blunts of some kind. What kind of backing would you guys suggest if I was going to use a field point with I backer behind it on a carbon arrow?? My local bow shop has carbons pretty cheap in a grab basket thinking about getting a handful and using them as throw always. I hate to launch a good cedar shaft into the wild blue yonder if I have any tree shots.
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My supply of free Hi-Precision is almost gone. Locally made and too soft to make good deer heads, they were perfect for larger birds. The availability old soft three blades and plastic ferrule heads for cheap seems to be running low on the web as well. On smaller birds, smaller than pheasants, the good old .38 with some split shot for weight on a cheap parallel cedar still works.
How many shots a day can one get with western grouse species? Rough grouse in Minnesota and Wisconsin can be a tough challenge depending on cover and bird numbers. I actually did much better in Iowa for them.
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I had opportunity to shoot some grouse a number of years ago. I thought that on two occasions, when the grouse was perched on a limb, that it rolled with the blunt tip arrow impact, just like a good prize fighter would. This lessened the impact and the grouse flew off. However, I used a snaro tip on a straight up vertical shot on a grouse perched on a limb. That worked well.
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There are a bunch of Bodkins still floating around and they would make great inexpensive small game heads.
ChuckC
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Hey Whitetail Addict. If you have shot a ruffed grouse with stick and string then you are my new hero. I can't hit 'em with #6 bird shot out of a twelve gauge. Let me know your secret. Promise I won't spread it around.
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Originally posted by highlow:
Hey Whitetail Addict. If you have shot a ruffed grouse with stick and string then you are my new hero. I can't hit 'em with #6 bird shot out of a twelve gauge. Let me know your secret. Promise I won't spread it around.
My secret is that I rarely shoot at one on the wing. The only ruffs I've killed with a bow have been either on the ground, or in a tree. Sorry to disappoint you. :dunno:
Bob
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Those NY "ruffies" must be a lot dumber than our NJ species. Can't get close enough to shoot while on the ground or roosting much less on the wing. Do you use a dog? That's the only way I could see you being able to take them with a bow. Without a doubt, the ruffed grouse is the ultimate trophy in the winged category. IMHO
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Judo tips work great. I have killed a lot of ruffed, spruce and blue grouse with judo tips.
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(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0183_zps9c2a1341.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0183_zps9c2a1341.jpg.html)
This one fell to a Hill broadhead, but I have taken them with judos, rubber blunts, and other broadheads, I have also had a few leave for parts unknown with arrow attached. Broadheads are the best choice, in my opinion.
Get ready for a feast; blue grouse are about as tasty a bird as there is.
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No, I wouldn't call them dumb, and I don't mean to give you the impression that I go out and shoot my limit with a bow, either. I'm usually able to kill two or three each year, because I enjoy it, and I put in the time hunting them.
The way I hunt them is to very slowly make my way through good grouse cover, spending more time looking than walking, like I would if I was still hunting deer.
More often than not, they fly before I see them, but now and then I'll spot one standing there looking at me, or I'll notice one when it takes a step or two. I've had a few fly up into low trees and offer me a shot over the years, but it doesn't happen very often.
I'm no great hunter. I just love to hunt, I'm dedicated, and I'm able to spend enough time in the woods to make it happen once in a while.
Bob
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Would love to try hunting them like you described Bob. Unfortunately the grouse population here in NJ is almost non-existent. Been deer hunting in NY up around the Cincinnatus area north of Binghamton. See and hear quite a few but concentrating on deer exclusively. If I ever tire of trad bow hunting, which I seriously doubt, might take up grouse hunting.
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Broadhead! There isn't many things more disheartening then watching a grouse lock it's wings with a judo tipped arrow halfway through its chest, as the grouse crests the pines and does a thousand foot glide down the mountain you spent the last hour hiking up. Now you have to follow up because choose to release the arrow.
As Charlie said, "Wingnut has eaten more grouse than most of us will ever see so pay heed to his recommendation of a cheap broadhead".
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You could always go really primitive...I took this one with a fastball from about 15 yds (lucky throw). I was tagged out and not carrying my bow. Most of the ones I've killed have been shot with an Ace blunt, but I absolutely agree with the others that have said a broadhead is better. I just use the blunt because I always carry 4 sharp broadheads and a blunt for practice. I'm never specifically hunting grouse but usually elk hunting and grouse happen to be a creature of opportunity. If I were targeting grouse, cheap broadheads are all I'd carry. They are tough birds.
(http://i.imgur.com/mgX9p5h.jpg)
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Nice throw and harvest DarkTimber. Were you a baseball pitcher in your past life?(LOL)
Tony
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Tony...I was a catcher.
I was hunting with my brother that morning trying to call an elk in for him. He shoots a compound and I'm always trying to talk him into shooting a stick bow. I always tell him..."it's just like throwing a baseball". So when we saw the grouse that morning he handed me a rock and said "go ahead...remember it's just like throwing a baseball". When the rock clobbered that grouse my brothers jaw just about hit the ground (mine too probably)