I'm not asking anyone to give me a location. But just an answer to the question of are there good grouse populations west of Red Deer? I've been here for 2 years now and have seen very few while big game hunting. I know some years there are more than others. Are they out there and I'm just missing them?
We found lots of birds out west of Caroline this year but they’re patchy. I’ve got the luxury of having grown up out there so I know where to look. My best advice is poke around, look for mixed forest, good cover and this time of year you’ll see tracks in the snow. Most of the easy birds are already dead, if everyone can drive a truck down the road or trail you probably won’t be seeing much but get down some trails that are rarely travelled and you’ll still find them. When you get in the right areas you’ll be seeing birds.
It was easily the best year for birds out there since 2014 which I felt was the best year I’ve seen since the mid 90’s.
Tons of grouse west from Caroline to DV. Each year is different and some areas produce better than others on any given year. I have two awesome sections that had so few birds this year that I just left them. I have another spot that is hit or miss that produced several limits for myself and hunting partners. I was a little concerned we might have hit them too hard but a short walk the other morning deer hunting I flushed 10.
I run dogs and do a lot of walking. People I spoke to road hunting were not having a good year. Grouse spend more time along roads and cut lines when berries are scarce and clover is a main part of their diet. This year there was lots of berries in my areas and birds were well off the beaten trails.
If you are a wing shooter that is familiar with hunting over dogs I could put you on to some birds next season. Once you learn the type of cover to look for, you will have no problems finding them every season.