Minnesota hunters can encounter grouse anywhere from the hardwood forests in the state's southeast quadrant to the northwest quadrant. Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

Grouse hunting is a good test of wing-shooting abilities no matter which of Minnesota's three species of grouse one is pursuing. Each of the three species -- ruffed grouse, spruce grouse and sharptail grouse -- prefers unique habitats and provides hunters with different hunting experiences.

Hunters are well aware of the grand slam of turkey hunting, but perhaps some attention should be given to completing a triple play in grouse hunting -- harvesting one of each species in a season.

It's an accomplishment very attainable in Minnesota, one of the premier grouse-hunting locations in the country. "It's something that we in Minnesota almost take for granted, but people from Indiana, Georgia and the Appalachians come up here to see the numbers of grouse we take for granted," said Dan Dessecker, biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society.

Grouse can be found from the hardwood forests of Minnesota's southeastern corner all the way up to the northwestern quadrant. The ruffed grouse in the southeast are a bit more sporadic but still offer plenty of opportunities in select locations. The northwest region is characterized primarily by sharptails, with some ruffed grouse mixed in. Move anywhere northeast of that diagonal line across the state, and you are in the heart of Minnesota's grouse country for all three species.

Veteran grouse-hunters are eager to head into the woods this fall because they know that this year or next will be the peak of the grouse's miraculous 10-year population cycle. That means at least two more years of first-quality grouse hunting. Potential grouse-hunting rookies might want to consider taking up the sport this year, because there's nothing more fun than taking up a new hunting pursuit during the peak of a population.

Picking up a new hunt during a down cycle can lead to a lot of frustration and makes it tough to learn the intricacies of the species. When there is more game to chase, there are more opportunities and it helps a hunter get through those natural downswings in the population cycle -- something grouse tend to have more than many other species.

Not only that, but veteran grouse hunters enjoy population peaks because it means more opportunities for the birds to make mistakes and more opportunities for finding birds in nontraditional areas. There are areas where you'll always find grouse, and there are areas where you only find them when they've been given the boot by more dominant birds. Either way, hunting is always more fun when the woods are full of birds.

"We should be nearing the top end of the peak of the 10-year population cycle, and this should be our fourth year of increases from the low end of the cycle in 2005," said Michael Larson, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grouse research biologist out of the Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group in Grand Rapids.

Dessecker also believes that 2009 will be an excellent year for Minnesota grouse hunters and that this year or next should be the peak. "I'd suggest that we'll hang on for another year, but picking the precise year of the peak is a crapshoot," he said.