I am curious about how these giant grouse are hunted in Europe. I've heard that they are mainly stalked with a rifle. Does anyone over there try to attract these birds to the gun by imitating mating calls, and would this be an effective method? Thanks.

I had no idea there was such a bird! Though it appears from what I read that their numbers are dwindling due to collisions with high fences.

Alan

Sorry guys, not available in Belgium.

We have the "t�tras lyre" in the same style, but not hunted anymore, endangered specie.

Maybe skandinavian hunters should be more especially asked.

I have already spotted videos about that bird's rifle hunting on youtube.

I took this one in Russia while bear hunting on the Kamchatka peninsula. My guide says they are typically hunted the way you describe though I did not take mine that way. We had just stopped to eat lunch and the bird ran out of a dead fall 25 yards from us and stopped to look at us. I found the .325 WSM to be very effective at that range. This one was very tasty by the way.

Mike

The cappercailie is a big bird mostly found and hunted in Scandinavia, Baltic countries and Russia. You can hunt them with dogs and shotguns or with a small caliber rifle using full metal jacket bullets. In France we have some but as their living ground is shrinking they are protected.
Most of french hunters who are looking for some come to Finland or Russia; they generally hunt them with shotguns in front of dogs cause hunting birds with rifles is not in french hunters tastes

Thanks for the responses. I had hadn't heard of this bird until a couple of years ago. What little I have read on it suggests that it might be responsive to calling. Calling wild turkeys in the spring is my favorite type of hunting (when the birds are vocal). Mainly curious as to how vocal the Capercaillie is and if it would be possible to hunt them in the same manner. Maybe one of the Scandinavian members will chime in after awhile.

By the way, congratulations on your new forum. I have enjoyed the posts on European hunting from the other forums in the past. Now they will be a lot easier to find.

There was a half-assed attempt at introducing the capercaillie into Northern Minnesota back in early 60s or so. The effort was the idea of a state senator and the MN DNR didn't seem to appreciate his attempts at meddling in their business so they provided very minmal support to adequatly habituate the bird to the area.

They are hunted either from the ground with shotguns and dogs ( flushing or pointing ) , or with rifles up trees and often with finnish spitzes. The finnish spitz is a "barking pointer" , guiding the hunter and also holding the bird's attention while the hunter sneaks or crawls to shooting distance.

A 10lbs+ male capercaillie is a great sight.

the traditional mitteleuropean hunt for tetrao urogallus is made in the period of the reproduction (around 20 april usually) when the male are confident and in the morning before the sunrise sing from a tree to attract females. during this moment you can stalk in order to spot the bird and shoot it with bullet or shotgun on the tree depending from the position of it and the distance. normally as rifles combi are usede in 12/5,6x50 or 12/6,5x57 etc. with full metal jacket and for 12 4,5 mm pellets
according to me really beautiful hunt.
paolo

I have hunted them in Russia just like Toperone describes. It was a very exciting, very technical stalk in which you could make no mistake or you would spook the bird. It happend to me once and it was very disappointing. We got up at 2.00AM, had a strong coffee for breakfast and starte into the woods. It took as around two hours ij pitch darkness to reach the right spot and wait till we heard the bird calling. It was my fisrt stalk, I gave an untimely step and soopked it. There was nothing more to do but return and wait till next morning.
Here are a couple of pictures of that trip. I also shot a tetras lyre or teterev as they call it in Russian.
BBerg

Thank you all for the replies. BBerg, those are fine looking birds. In the United States, roost shooting is illegal for wild turkeys in every state that I am aware of, though it is practiced illicitly fairly often in my area. It also used to be legal in several states to hunt turkeys with trailing dogs, treeing them and stalking in for a shot. Alabama was the last state that I am aware of that this was still a legal hunting method. If any of you ever have the opportunity to come to the U.S. during the spring I would highly recommend a spring turkey hunt. There are huntable populations in every state but Alaska, non-resident tags are relatively inexpensive, and guides are reasonable as well. If the turkeys are vocal, it will be a memorable experience.