Failing the Kids with Grouse
 

So I have two kids who just got their hunting licenses and are itching to shoot some grouse this year to ease into the world of hunting. They've been preparing for a long time with target practice, bird identification, etc. and are now set. I've taken them out the last two days and have not been able to put them in front of any grouse with a shot opportunity (FYI - just using .22). In total, we've only seen two grouse in two solid days out. We've tried everything from walking, quading, and driving and covered a lot of ground. All in multiple, spread out areas that I've traditionally done well in. Overall the grouse numbers seem to be way down here based on what I have seen (west of Edmonton from Wabamun to the Pembina). I saw way less grouse than normal in September and October and can't seem to find any now that my kids are finally set to go. The weather should have been perfect the last few days but every corner we came around where I was expecting to have a grouse sitting in the sunshine was empty. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong at this point but any tips would be greatly appreciated to help ensure the kids' intro to hunting turns into a successful one.

Hi there. I'm not sure how far you want to travel but if you take the road towards Cynthia, once you're 10 kms in, take any of the back roads, where accessible, as they me rutted up. Pull off and go for a walk. Just as the sun is warming thing up, they will be out. Especially if there is open gravel-sand type material. They need this to help in digestion.
Others may know of somewhere closer, yet I have had great succes out that way.
Good luck to you and your boys. You'll find them

I’d love to help you out but due to a new baby I hardly have time to fill my last tag. If nothing much pans out this season hit me up next year and I can take you and your kids to some good grouse spots

Your not failing them your teaching them about hunting and like life somethings are not instant and you gotta persevere.

Life lessons....good luck.


Plus your enjoying the outdoors with loved ones:sHa_shakeshout:

Amazing that you are taking the time to show your kids the natural world, but don't see this as a failure, use it as a part of the lesson. Part of hunting is failure and frustration. If it was easy, everybody would be filling tags and bagging out.

My first 2 years of hunting I put a LOT of miles on the vehicle and boots and spent a lot of time out in the bush and still got skunked. You have to understand that is a reality of hunting that sometimes it just doesn't line up.

It also makes it THAT much more special when things do line up and you have a great day out there.

This isn't answering exactly what you are asking, but maybe expand the focus of the trips to include a shooting session, like shaken up pop bottles, and pick up their favorite fast-food on the way out so they have lots of fun stuff to focus on if the grouse are hiding.

If you are ever down 316 way, I have been seeing tons of grouse, few deer though!

No such thing as failing the kids. Everytime out there is something to learn. Have a weiner roast, shoot some cans, learn about the bush. It's all good.

Thanks for the replies. I totally agree with the "life lessons" part and have been instilling that in my kids for years. They've spent many hours at various lakes from a young age passing the time with various activities on slow days hoping a fish would bite somewhere. I was just hoping the perseverance and frustration training would be more a thing when they move up to big game hunting, I've definitely had my fair share over the last 20 years. Grouse seemed to be a lot more plentiful a few years ago and I have introduced a few new individuals to hunting that way and was hoping to give my kids the same intro. Just doesn't seem to be panning out that way this year. The only absolutes in hunting are that there are no absolutes - and that any day out is better than a day not out. They have enjoyed the quading through new to them terrain and we did stop along a river and set up some of the river ice chunks on land for some target practice so still memorable experiences. We'll keep heading out as time permits and maybe try some of the areas some of you mentioned. Luckily, grouse season is still open for a while so we should run into some of them at some point. Thanks again, just needed a positive spin on a few frustrating days I guess.

well grouse are where you find them , this time of year they'll be feeding on the poplar buds, the spruce grouse will be around the big spruce trees if there is any left in Alberta (joke)
yer not failing yer kids , yer teaching them and believe it or don't every outing you and them are probably learning something new each time, just think now you have a reason to take up waterfowl hunting as well and a new excuse to buy new shot guns , (you have yer kids to thank for that) haha
I always say teach yer kids to hunt and you wont have to hunt for yer kids and yours and their bank accounts wont ever be the same
keep up the great family time and building those great memories

Just spent some time a stone's throw NW of Edson and saw decent numbers of grouse.

The Grouse are good this year.
I see lots everytime I go out