Went up to knock some birds down and had 10" of snow overnight! Do they follow the snow line down? Todays gun was a 23" 28 gauge SxS after I got shamed with the .410 the other day.

There isn't an elevation change enough to speak of here but I doubt ruffs move with the snow. In the many hunting stories of the last century or more, I don't recall wholesale changes in grouse location due to snow nor do I recall reading of any such happening in various biological reports. In fact, they actually need enough snow depth to borrow in to best survive the winter. As their winter food tends to be leaf buds off trees and shrubs with the most important being aspen and alder a distant second, snow would not be a major factor in their movement.

Deep snow keeps most of the predators at bay. Which includes those with a shotgun. They do fine in deep snow and Grouse have always thrived better in the North Country.

No aspen here, but plenty of alder. The terrain is very steep, with lots of down timber. So with the snow and walking conditions, I'll try lower today so as not to end up a statistic.

I'd hunt the same places now as I would earlier in the year. Grouse don't migrate due to snow and actually need snow to best urvive the winter as said earlier. Grouse pick habitat that has year round food and cover so they don't have to move as the seasons change.

The only caveat regarding late season grouse hunting is to not hit any covert too hard. Grouse taken after the fall shuffle often leave that cover open until the shuffle next fall. It isn't much of an issue in marginal habitat where survival is questionable in the best of times but can lead to some long term population drops in heavily hunted or isolated areas.

In Minnesota, I would hunt the food and thermal cover (pine trees) and the snow is secondary. Its only a spot for them to bury into for a warm winters night.

Nothing is more cool than a morning hunt flushing grouse at your snow shoe tips!

that's the truth,,,,first time it happened to me it set me back on the tails!

In snow they often are under it!