Ruffed Grouse & Woodcock in Maine

[GWPMANWV]

Anybody have experience hunting the northwoods in Maine. Got any advice? Is the hunting like they do in New Hampshire ? Meaning do the shoot out of the truck windows and such? Someone told me the Ross Lake area was good.

[JIM K]

i have friend who i believe lives there.
go over on the HUNTINGNET forum, join it and ask your question there.
many are from maine.
there is state sticky there with about 6 states in sticky.
as your question there and you will get MANY comments.

my friend is PHIL IN MAINE on his forum name.
he has 3 IRISH SETTERS and he gets grouse.

[ryanr]

Aw man, your just insulted every law-abiding hunter in New Hampshire, which are the majority of hunters in that great state. I hunted NH for several years and plan to go back with my next dog. My friends and I never shot grouse or any other animal from a truck. How many deer have you killed from your truck window in WV 'cause I heard that's how they hunt deer in WV.

For the record there is good grouse hunting all through the northwoods of Maine and some law breakers do shoot 'em from their truck window along the backroads.

[JIM K]

i like to hunt toby here in pa. along roads in mornings. at least 5 trucks pass me hunting grouse out windows of trucks with 2 hunters in front seat.
it is disgusting and getting worst.,

[bluestemkennels]

i like to hunt toby here in pa. along roads in mornings. at least 5 trucks pass me hunting grouse out windows of trucks with 2 hunters in front seat.
it is disgusting and getting worst.,

Please don't call them hunters....We have what I call "ditch jockeys" out here.....ride down the road, see a rooster cross and out they pile. It's embarrassing when you see them doing that in front of a farmhouse or with a kid in the cab. If they are that desperate for a bird, they should go to KFC. It's cheaper and tastier to boot!

Sorry for the rant, this topic strikes a nerve.

Bluestem

[JIM K]

i like to hunt toby here in pa. along roads in mornings. at least 5 trucks pass me hunting grouse out windows of trucks with 2 hunters in front seat.
it is disgusting and getting worst.,

Please don't call them hunters....We have what I call "ditch jockeys" out here.....ride down the road, see a rooster cross and out they pile. It's embarrassing when you see them doing that in front of a farmhouse or with a kid in the cab. If they are that desperate for a bird, they should go to KFC. It's cheaper and tastier to boot!

Sorry for the rant, this topic strikes a nerve.

Bluestem

in pa now for 5 bucks a kid from any age, you heard that right, any age can kill a deer/turkey.
sooooooo,fathers are buying say kids age 3/5/7 all tags.
guess who shoots the deer?
its great way to get kids interested in hunting

kids are getting GREAT training in how to violate law in future.

[Penndraht]

i like to hunt toby here in pa. along roads in mornings. at least 5 trucks pass me hunting grouse out windows of trucks with 2 hunters in front seat.
it is disgusting and getting worst.,

For those of you that have never hunted grouse in PA, Take this quote with a grain of salt. I hunt grouse though the entire season, been doing it since a youngster, 56 now. And have never witnessed anyone attempting to shoot a ruff out the window of a vehicle

[ryanr]

in pa now for 5 bucks a kid from any age, you heard that right, any age can kill a deer/turkey.
sooooooo,fathers are buying say kids age 3/5/7 all tags.
guess who shoots the deer?
its great way to get kids interested in hunting

kids are getting GREAT training in how to violate law in future.

Yeah, not sure but I heard a lot of USP members are doing this, and training their kids in these illegal acts right along with them. A shame what a rotten few passes along to their offspring. I took my nephew out for the Mentored Youth Hunt and we enjoyed it legally and ethically.

[Penndraht]

Look into the North Western tip of Maine. There is a gated area there that you will have to pay to enter and hunt. Refered to as The Northwoods. Fee is very resonable. Something like three and a half million acres that is behind locked gates. Lots of cabins and outfitters located in and around that area. A couple freinds of mine hunted that area two years ago and did well on grouse. Took them a few days to get into good numbers of birds. They started out hunting large clearcuts like we would here in PA and they soon found that if it was void of large stands of pines the birds pretty much weren't there. They adjusted to areas where pines were abundant and did real well. Many of the young birds were not very flighty. They were hunting young dogs so that was not all bad. They got a lot of points on them.

[Andy W]

Anybody have experience hunting the northwoods in Maine. Got any advice? Is the hunting like they do in New Hampshire ? Meaning do the shoot out of the truck windows and such? Someone told me the Ross Lake area was good.

You can hunt in Maine like you would in NH, just not on Sunday. Ross Lake area is good.
I've had the best grouse hunting in the northwest part of the state (Wildlife Management Districts 1, 2, 4, & 5 -- see WMD map http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/ma...nt/wmd/map.htm), which coincidentally tends to have the greatest numbers of grouse observed during the annual moose hunter survey (See the 2011 Wildlife Division Research and Management Report (Page 17, table 4): http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/su...ort 9-1-11.pdf). This area is contained within the North Maine Woods (North Maine Woods Association controls road access to 3.5 million acres in northern ME) http://www.northmainewoods.org/. It takes a major effort to get in to the NW corner. Bring everything you'll need for your stay, as you can't just take a quick trip to the store for gas, food, etc -- it could be a couple hours' drive each way on gravel roads. When going in to the North Maine Woods it's a good idea to be as self-sufficient as you can. I recommend bringing 2 spare tires (I've had 2 flats in one day -- good idea to head out for repair after the first flat), extra batteries for your toys that need them, several full cans of gas (top off before you leave pavement -- e.g. in Ashland, Patten, Millinocket), rope, come-along, winch, hi-lift jack, chainsaw, ... however if you're staying at a lodge/outfitter ask their advice -- you may be able to buy gas from them. Cell phone coverage may be spotty.

You can also find very good grouse and woodcock hunting across the rest of the northern 2/3 of the state (WMDs 1-11, 13, 14, 17-19), and much of this area is more easily accessible (less of an expedition) and closer to motels, hotels, restaurants, etc. Commercial timberland that is accessible to the public is widespread in the north and less so in the south; that is also the trend in grouse habitat, with better habitat on actively managed commercial timberland, generally speaking. Downeast (WMDs 26-28, 19) tends to have very good woodcock hunting, but grouse numbers often are less dependable (generally speaking -- there are exceptions). As you go south into Midcoast areas (WMD 23, 25, 26), bird hunting still can be quite good but finding access to land is not as easy as in the north, and so a good guide can be valuable.
Licenses can be purchased on-line or over the counter at many sporting goods stores, town offices, hunting lodges, and corner stores. No Sunday hunting; grouse season Oct 1-Dec 30, woodcock season likely Oct 1 - Nov 15 (check the regulations). The Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazeteer is a must, as is a compass (gps helps). Spruce grouse are not legal game in Maine, but are not uncommon in areas w/ young spruce and fir or tamarack. Camps/lodges tend to have fewer occupancies during Moose season (October 8-13, 2012). Likely see moose in northern areas and maybe pick up a shed; good time for a lobster.
To find guide services and lodging see the Guides and Camping/Lodging links from the Maine DIFW website: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/links.htm
especially look at: Maine Campground Owners Association (campgrounds and cabin rentals) http://www.campmaine.com/home.php
Maine Professional Guides Association (searchable database): http://www.maineguides.org/
Note that 2 advertisers in the RGS spring 2012 magazine who operate in Maine are Foggy Mountain Guide Service (http://www.mainegrouse.com) and Allagash Guide Service (http://www.allagashguideservice.com).
North Maine Woods Association (controls road access to 3.5 million acres in northern ME) http://www.northmainewoods.org/
The upland game bird biologist for Maine DIFW is Kelsey Sullivan (207-941-4474); he can answer questions and also provide you w/ contact numbers for regional wildlife biologists in any regions of interest to you. Last year grouse numbers in much of the north were excellent; drummers are abundant this spring, and so far nesting conditions have been good. Good luck,
Andy

[Penndraht]

Great first post Andy!!!

[Steve Anker]

-Great advice ANDY,

Having hunted Maine for Deer and Upland I can attest to the need for the "extra" equipment. Excellent.

We've done well hunting around Moosehead Lake, Rockwood, Tomhegan areas, Lake Millinocket, Libby's Camps, it's wild, it's big, it's desolate, so pack yer kit...!

Now...where's my swiss army knife.....?

[mustad]

Gee Andy,

You almost sound like a RGS biologist

Missed you this past weekend at our VT fun shoot.

[Andy W]

Gee Andy,

You almost sound like a RGS biologist

Missed you this past weekend at our VT fun shoot.

That post was from my state biologist past. It's going to be a good fall to have a bird dog (or be a bird dog) in northern New England & maritimes
I hope the shoot was a blast I was busy with youth baseball -- sad to see the season come to an end, but that means we're closer to October

[mustad]

And when Andy says, "northern New England", he means south of Nashua, NH. Anything north of that is just filled with a bunch of inbreeding rednecks!!

The itch is officially on. Got bloody today in the northeast kingdom putting up a few birds. Not sure what the dogs liked more between the scouting or the creamees afterwards at Chappy's.