Stan,
It can be. I have read more than than one time someone who wrote that grouse hunting reads better than it plays.
This is an older picture, taken on the edge or entry to a vey good grouse cover in Pine county, MN. Might have been late December, maybe 25 degrees or so, and we got to plinking with my Fathers, now my boys, .22 rifle.The boy and I had given up on grouse hunting that day, which, happens later in the season. Birds get tougher to find. The cover has lost its foliage, and you can see a bit of sky looking up. You dont typically stomp through the middle, but, this section backs up to a balsam/tamarack swamp, and makes a good edge to hunt. There is no good way to describe the hell hole that is a balsam swamp, save perhaps the warning you might die if you go in there, and cant get out. So, you will walk just inside an edge that looks remarkably like what you see in the photo.
I have blasted trees trying to swing on a bird, and had my 25 Darne barrels come to a screeching halt striking a tree and ending any chance of a shot.
Every grouse hunter has.
The grouse hunting of late has been disappointing, Stan. Wish you could have seen it back in the day.
Best,
Ted
