What size shot grouse?
Most grouse hunters prefer 6 or 7 ½ shot. If shooting a two barrel gun, some use 7 ½ in the first barrel with 6s in the second. Early in the season when birds may flush a little closer and cover is thicker your best choice may be 7 ½ all around.
What gun do you use for grouse?
A 12-gauge seems to be the most common grouse gun, once again because for most hunters it fits the bill for pretty much any wildfowl from woodcock to wild turkey.
What is the best shotgun for grouse?
The 10 Best Shotguns for Grouse Hunting
- Browning A5 Sweet 16. The new Browning A5 Sweet 16 is lighter and produces less recoil than the original.
- Benelli UltraLight. Benelli UltraLight is available in most popular gauges.
- Ithaca Model 37.
- Ithaca/SKB 100.
- Beretta 686 Onyx Pro.
- Dickinson Plantation Grade.
- Parker.
- AyA 4/53.
Do you have to use steel shot for grouse?
Bismuth No. 5 shot should be fine for any situation in which you’d normally shoot lead 6s so long as there are enough pellets to give you adequate density. Me, I’d shoot steel 6s. Later in the year, once the woodcock have gone on south, I’d shoot bismuth 5s and 6s at the grouse if I thought I needed more oomph.
What time of day is best to hunt grouse?
morning
Grouse tend to loaf at midday. The best time, according to Nelson, is often in the early morning or late afternoon. That’s when they move around, forage for food, and put a lot of scent on the ground.
Is a 28 gauge good for grouse?
Registered. The 28 gauge is the only shotgun I use on partridge(ruffed grouse). Have used it with good success for decades. Number 6 or 7 1/2 shot works fine.
What’s the best choke for grouse hunting?
improved cylinder choke
Most grouse hunters would say that an improved cylinder choke is ideal. For shot size, #6 shot is about as large as they would go and #9 is as small as they would go.
What is the difference between 12 and 20 gauge shotguns?
Performance. Because a 12 gauge shotgun shell has more volume than a 20 gauge shotgun shell, it fits more powder and bigger projectiles. This means you will get a harder-hitting shot at a greater effective distance with a 12 gauge than you will with a 20 gauge.
What size shot Woodcock?
The most popular lead shot sizes for hunting woodcock are #7.5, #8 and #9. More obscure specialty loads can take you to #10 shot and to spreader loads, which have a wad designed to allow shot to spread out faster.
Can you use lead shot on grouse?
Lead shot has not been allowed for waterfowl hunting since 1991, and Maine has phased in bans on certain sizes of lead fishing sinkers that can be ingested by birds. But many hunters still use lead shot in shotgun shells they use while hunting upland birds — ruffed grouse and woodcock — or snowshoe hares.
Where can I find ruffed grouse?
Look for grouse where the ground is covered with salad—small, leafy plants, berries, seeds and mushrooms—not dense, long grass. Logged areas, 10-year-old burns and overgrown farms that are being colonized with poplars are good spots to look, as grouse feed heavily on poplar catkins.