The one drawback to hunting grouse in southeast Minnesota is that once you’ve hunted them up north where public land stretches for miles, you quickly realize there is a limited supply of public-hunting options downstate. When you look at a map, you see the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area, but that is pounded pretty hard by hunters. There is also the Richard J. Dorer Hardwood State Forest, but some of the land within the boundaries of Dorer is private, so take a Public Recreation Information Map (PRIM) along. They are available through the DNR. Pay close attention to the signage as you drive from one WMA to the next.

On my last trip to the woods south of Winona, I found the landowners were very gracious, and while over half of them refused to grant me permission to walk their woods, I received access to enough good cover to shoot at a half-dozen birds and actually hit one. My two hunting buddies fared about the same.

THE NORTHWOODS
If there is anyplace in Minnesota where you should do your homework before making the trip, it is to The Arrowhead region of our state in the northeast.

Those woods north of Grand Marais took a heavy hit for ruffed grouse a few years ago when the predatory birds from Canada moved in and the winter survival was not good. It is an area that should show signs of improvement in the future, but it would be a smart move to make some phone calls to find out if there are many birds flying. Otherwise, you may find yourself taking some long walks in the woods with little success.

I’m always asked if I hunt the Grand Rapids region of the state. This is one of the most highly touted sections of the country when it comes to grouse hunting, and hunter pressure is high. I do hunt this region because you will find the textbook cover there and plenty of birds if, yes if, you are willing to just work a little harder than the average hunter. It has gotten to the point where many grouse hunters like to hop on an ATV and ride down trails looking for dumb birds that are on these paths. These hunters get some good hunting the first few weeks of the season and after that the grouse are either educated or dead.

With that in mind, I save the Chippewa National Forest and the premier hunting there until late in the season when all the ATV hunters are gone. At this point, you just have to spend a day deep in the woods to find birds that may not yet have even seen a hunter. Some of my best ruff hunting is the last week of the season on a huge tract of woods north of Deer River. I have the waypoint where I park my truck in the GPS, and I just take off walking. The farther back I go, the more birds I see.

Minnesota is the gold standard when it comes to ruffed grouse hunting. We may cuss some when the cycle is at a low point, and we grouse hunters always hope for more habitat that suits the production of our favorite game bird. But when the cycle is on the upswing, like it is now, there’s no better excuse to take a walk in the woods than a shot at a speedy little brown bird dodging through the trees!