Might as well make those my first post!
I went out last weekend in North Central Minnesota, I heard zero drumming and only had 2 flushes the first evening. Granted that was in about an hour with a dog (red setter) new to grouse. I decided to check with my neighbor. He said the DNR guy had been over and reported that he had talked to 30 different hunters and combined they had 3 flushes. Hard to believe. My mind kept going to the lack of drumming.
The next day in the evening I started in an area new to me of older growth, nothing. It was hot and dry and the dog needed a break so I waited until evening to go out again. I started in an area that was primarily a pretty dry cedar bog, 20 flushes. Next I went to an area that was clear cut about 10 years ago, it's hard to hunt because of tree density, I hit a covey of 8 right away. Seems like a normal year except you may have to change where you hunt.
I follow the grouse cycle pretty closely in my hunting area and the difference between the highs and lows are extreme. People can really make a difference simply by improving the habitat. It's noticible even during the low years.
