Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

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gspmo1
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Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:21 pm

I have been quail hunting for several years through out Missouri. This year I have been thinking about trying to hunt grouse and woodcock in Missouri. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on areas and time to hunt these game birds. I did some spring scouting for woodcock, it seems there was a good number of birds migrating through the area. Will those same areas likely have birds in the fall?

Thanks

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Big Dave
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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Big Dave » Mon Oct 05, 2009 8:07 pm

I will sometimes find woodcock in late October and early November during a wet fall. I don't know if they will be in the same places as they were in the spring. I shot a real nice one opening day of quail season last year, he was big and colorful, I had it mounted. I have only been in one "flight" of woodcock and it was really fun. I hunt mostly northern Missouri and enjoy them as a bonus bird.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by nwMOgsp » Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:09 am

I usually find a few woodcock every year, but they are incidentals. I have never found more than 2 in a day. Most of the areas I hunt are dominated by crp, so it is not ideal habitat though. I have never even seen a live grouse, but know people that have hunted them in the state. I think I read on the conservation departments web site that you can expect to flush 1 grouse for every 10 hours of hunting - not really my kind of odds. I would think you could use those 10 hours to drive somewhere with better.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by madduckdog » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:35 pm

There are folks in AR and TN that have started doing perty good on the woodcock. Wif No quail to speek of they have started hunting them and they tell me they do good for about 3 weeks on good years...

I am going to try to shoot them this year. Let me know when you start seeing them so I will know when it is time to get serious.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:30 am

I am going to try to shoot them this year. Let me know when you start seeing them so I will know when it is time to get serious.[/quote]


Here is a link that might help:

http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/migration-map

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Big Dave
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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Big Dave » Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:49 am

I have never seen a grouse in Missouri, I have been hunting for 22 years and in many different counties.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by madduckdog » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:51 pm

any one seein MO woodcock

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:01 am

I have been out a couple of times this year already. I have flushed about about ten birds. We had a lot of rain last and it flooded several of the river in the area otherwise, I think I would have seen more birds. Also it has gotten cold up north yet so I don't think the birds have really started to migrate yet.

Anyone else have any reports?

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Boxa » Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:26 pm

I've never flushed a grouse in MO and have hunted extensively throughout the state.

I've never targeted the woodcock, or tracked their flights. Typically shoot a few each year as bonus birds.

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SpringerDude
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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:39 pm

How did you guys do last fall chasing woodcock's in Missouri?

What part of the state did you hunt?

SpringerDude

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Meller » Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:49 pm

I've shot several woodcock in Missouri ; Ithink the weather has a lot to do with when they
migrate through, I've had success in oct. sme years and not untill nov. other years.
Lot of fun to hunt whenever they come!

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Mountaineer » Tue Jul 20, 2010 10:26 am

Woodcock migrate.
Missouri is on a flyway.
Finding them is a matter of timing and habitat.
The RGS website has a sighting report of migrating woodcock from observers.
Woodcock are a somewhat fragile resource that is difficult to measure....treat any contact with that in mind.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Tue Jul 20, 2010 10:40 am

SpringerDude wrote:How did you guys do last fall chasing woodcock's in Missouri?

What part of the state did you hunt?

SpringerDude
I had a great time chasing these little birds around Central and Eastern Missouri. I would say I flushed about a bird or two per hour including re-flushes. Some days the birds where here and others they were gone.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:17 pm

Meller,

What part of Missouri do you hunt and find woodcock? I have always thought the eastern side of the state would be awesome to hunt. I have communicated with folks that have shot woodcock from Kansas to the Miss. River. Just wondered what part you are hunting.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Meller » Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:45 pm

Mostly in the central part of the state and on public ground, still a lot depends on the migration; although we do have spots that seem to always hold a few spring through fall residents.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:13 am

I hunt on all public land. It is the nastiest cover I can find that attacts woodcock in the Fall. The weather up north dictates to a degree when the woodcocks come through Missouri. No matter what the weather is though, they always come through Missouri.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Meller » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:13 pm

Hey SpringerDude what part of Missouri do you live in?

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:18 pm

I live in the Springfield, MO area.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:42 pm

gspmo1 wrote:
SpringerDude wrote:How did you guys do last fall chasing woodcock's in Missouri?

What part of the state did you hunt?

SpringerDude
I had a great time chasing these little birds around Central and Eastern Missouri. I would say I flushed about a bird or two per hour including re-flushes. Some days the birds where here and others they were gone.

GSPMO, That surprises me some. I would have thought you would have more flushes than that. I guess it would depend on what part of the season you were hunting. Last year I bagged my first bird of the season earlier than any year. But there were only a few in early. Numbers picked up by early November.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:35 am

Springerdude,

Once November gets here it's all about quail hunting. So yeah I did not spend alot of time looking for woodcock after the first two weeks.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:55 am

Makes sense if you have the quail in your area to hunt. How many different covey's do you find during the season?

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by tailcracken » Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:05 am

Big Dave wrote:I have never seen a grouse in Missouri, I have been hunting for 22 years and in many different counties.
i was working a little south of nevada mo and saw grouse fly in where i was working about ten in a group

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:03 pm

SpringerDude wrote:Makes sense if you have the quail in your area to hunt. How many different covey's do you find during the season?
It varies some, I hunt almost all public land all across Missouri. I found birds everyday I was out last year and very rarely hunt the same area twice.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:07 pm

tailcracken wrote:
Big Dave wrote:I have never seen a grouse in Missouri, I have been hunting for 22 years and in many different counties.
i was working a little south of nevada mo and saw grouse fly in where i was working about ten in a group
I'm guessing those were prairie chickens, not ruffed grouse right?

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by tailcracken » Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:40 am

gspmo1 wrote:
tailcracken wrote:
Big Dave wrote:I have never seen a grouse in Missouri, I have been hunting for 22 years and in many different counties.
i was working a little south of nevada mo and saw grouse fly in where i was working about ten in a group
I'm guessing those were prairie chickens, not ruffed grouse right?
i guess i just remember they came sailing in like chickens i see i kansas im not sure i know what a grouse is then lol i just figured pc were not that far this way? clue me in please

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:41 am

I would say they were probably prairie chickens. I know that there are small populations of them in Western Missouri where they are trying to re-establish some natural prairie habitat. Not many though. You are fortunate that you got to see them.

Ruffed Grouse would be in more timbered areas in the hills and hollows of Missouri. They would not have been in a flock flying like what you saw.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by BellaDad » Fri Jul 30, 2010 8:39 am

I took my dog out to a game farm in late March this year and didn't realize that the woodcock were coming back through. I flushed a quail that flew low so I didn't shoot, when we went to chase it down my dog went on point. I went in to flush it and swung on the bird to have the guy I was hunting with yell and call me off the shot. We ended up flushing half a dozen wood cock. It's tough to distinguish a flying woodcock from a flying quail at first.

I've seen one grouse in MO. Ever. We were walking through the edge of the woods one day and my dog was running like usual, it was a casual walk. She locked up but I didn't realize it, went back to her after about 5 min when I figured out she wasn't runnign anymore and scared the crap out of myself when the grouse flushed.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Meller » Fri Jul 30, 2010 9:46 am

I just read in my Missouri Conservationist that there is Ruff Grouse along the river east of St. Charles county a few miles north of Marthasville on a family's farm of 1000 acre's, so I guess there are grouse still left in Missouri. I'll probably only get to read about them though. :(

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:17 pm

The most recent Missouri Conservation Magazine also has a article about the restoration efforts of the prairie chicken also.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Mon Aug 02, 2010 5:59 pm

A friend of mine went out with a conservation guy in the spring and watched some prairie chickens in Western Missouri do their mating "dance". There are a few around but not many.

BellaDad,

The woodcock come back through in the Spring in nice numbers. It is a great time to get a young dog out on wild birds in March. Can't shoot them but you can sure work a dog on them. Actually, they start coming through in February. So, if you get the winter blues and long for the next bird season, then take your dog for a walk in Feb and see how many woodcock you can find. You can easily get 20 dog/bird contacts in a couple hours if you are in the right cover.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by TraditionsGSPs2010 » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:21 pm

Let me start by saying I wouldn't believe me if I was hearing this story but.... About 15 years ago in my college days, before I had a dog, I got the hankering to go shoot a rabbit or two. Whetstone Conservation area is not that far south of Columbia and I thought I would give it a shot. After 3-4 hours of walking around in wet snow with a couple of bunnies in the bag, I was just sort of stumbling back to the truck. As it happens most of the time... just when you least expect it I had a wild bird flush. You guessed it, a Ruffed Grouse. Being a kid born and raised on quail, I remembering thinking that was the coolest thing I have ever seen!

A couple of years later at a NAVHDA training day in central MO, some of the guys were heading to the Ruffed Grouse Society Banquet and one of them had some literature about what they were trying to accomplish. Turns out that the Whetstone Area was a target area for grouse by the MDC. I've never been back but there you have it. I'd give anything for one of the girls to lock up on that little bugger today!
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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by ymepointer » Thu Aug 19, 2010 12:02 pm

As a boy growing up in Central MO, I rarely moved any Grouse but there were a few moved every year. I live in Grouse nervana now and can in good years here in the selkirks move 20-30 in an hour

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by CHJIII » Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:37 am

I've jumped a few woodcock along the Gasconade river in Ocotber while running the dogs before season. From my understanding there are a few stands that hold grouse (ruffed). I believe Calloway county holds some and around the Montgomery City area..

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by BellaDad » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:32 am

I just read in this month's Missouri Conservationist that the MDC put an emergency closure on the Rough Grouse season for this year due to low population numbers. Apparently they're going to attempt some more reintroductions to areas with suitable habitats.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by gspmo1 » Thu Oct 14, 2010 3:59 pm

Yes I heard that Missouri closed the ruffed grouse this year. Woodcock season opens tomorrow though and can't wait. I have not seen any woodcock yet when running the dogs over tha last couple weeks, but hopefully this last cod front and rain brought a few in.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by MO_GSP » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:27 pm

SpringerDude wrote:I would say they were probably prairie chickens. I know that there are small populations of them in Western Missouri where they are trying to re-establish some natural prairie habitat. Not many though. You are fortunate that you got to see them.

Ruffed Grouse would be in more timbered areas in the hills and hollows of Missouri. They would not have been in a flock flying like what you saw.

yup most likely prairie chickens even ten yrs ago they were thriving in that area numbers have declined but the last two yrs i have noticed a few more so they're still hanging on, we used to have some beautiful springs out on the mdc prairie grounds but im convinced they burn off when the chickens are nesting and that has been their demise as well as the increase in predators. (hawks and bobcats mainly)

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by northern cajun » Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:39 am

Mountaineer wrote:Woodcock migrate.
Missouri is on a flyway.
Finding them is a matter of timing and habitat.
The RGS website has a sighting report of migrating woodcock from observers.
Woodcock are a somewhat fragile resource that is difficult to measure....treat any contact with that in mind.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Tue Nov 06, 2012 6:54 pm

This is an old thread but I thought I would bring it back to the top and see if any of you ever started hunting woodcock in Missouri.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Big Dave » Wed Nov 07, 2012 7:22 pm

I have always enjoyed the dog work on them and occasionally will shoot one. With this years drought I was suprised to see as many as I have this fall, I have one mounted and hunt with pointers.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Wed Nov 07, 2012 9:47 pm

Big Dave,

Glad you work your pointers on woodcock. Most folks miss out on a great bird hunting opportunity. Drought or not, they all have to move south of Missouri to survive the winter. You just have to be out with the dog when they are moving through. This year is shaping up to be one of the most productive I have ever had. So far, I have seen 51 woodcock and had over 70 flushes. Even seen a few of the elusive bobwhites along the way. The next couple weeks should be the best of the season.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by duckn66 » Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:47 am

Just out of curiousity, but where do you find woodcock in NW Mo? I didn't know they were that far west. I've never hunted them. Not even sure I've ever seen one. I didn't think there was enough timber to hunt them in NW MO.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by hunterw/newhobby » Thu Nov 08, 2012 2:53 pm

I'm with Duckn66 on this one. Might give it a shot if I knew what to look for.
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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:08 pm

I am not familiar with NW Missouri. However, I would start by looking at MDC lands that are overgrown and thick with briars, sumac and plum thickets. Nasty cover that you can't walk through very well. Don't worry about wet ground or marshy areas. Folks get hung up on looking for that cover and they miss the birds. The birds might fly into a moist area after dark to feed but they are not necessarily there during the day. I find them on rocky ridges a long way from any moist ground.

My dogs get a lot of work on woodcock each year and all my birds in SW Missouri has to come through northern missouri somewhere. So far we have had over 80 flushes in 9 hunts.

Good luck and happy hunting

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by Big Dave » Fri Nov 09, 2012 8:13 pm

Springer Dude that is awesome! I have pointed woodcock this season in Ray and Clinton counties, the best woodcock hunt of my life was in Caldwell county.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by donnie_19 » Fri Nov 09, 2012 8:46 pm

Saw one last weekend around Centralia, MO. Dry and warm so dogs didn't lock up so no shot.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:25 am

Glad you guys are seeing some birds.

What folks don't realize is that the entire population of woodcock that will be breeding next Spring in the northern states and Canada, will be south of Missouri by mid-December. They have to be where they can eat earthworms. Which means they can't be in area's where the ground freezes.

Moisture matters to them for feeding purposes, but they still have to come through Missouri whether we are in a drought or not. They might hang out a day or two longer if they can stop and eat. However, they still have to come through.

They will come back through Missouri starting in early February. If you have a young dog, this is a great time for obedience work in amongst a ton of birds. Putting a dog on 30+ birds in a couple hours is not unheard of. This means, 30 different dog/bird contacts during the 2 hours. Now that is some inexpensive training opportunities.

Went yesterday looking around an area that I have not hunted before. We moved 8 birds and had 10+ flushes. If you get in the nasty cover, you can find woodcock.

Happy Hunting!

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by duckn66 » Sun Nov 11, 2012 9:06 am

SD, all of what you said makes sense as far as migration and feeding. Maybe I should head to MO next spring with my pups.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:09 pm

Duckn66,

Kansas has a good population of woodcock moving through. I would check out the east side of the state in the thickest cover you can find.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by ezzy333 » Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:11 pm

I think the largest migration is along the east coast, not the mid-west, but we do have some for a bit.

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Re: Grouse and Woodcock in Missouri

Post by SpringerDude » Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:40 am

Ezzy,

I read once that the majority of the population is east of the Mississippi. However, we sure get a lot of them through Missouri. We started seeing birds by mid-October and they are still coming through in good numbers. Limit is only 3 per day. One doesn't need a lot in any one day but a steady migration will make the fun last for several weeks.

Strong North Wind last night after the front moved across Missouri. I a headed out this morning to see if any birds dropped in. I heard snow geese flying over last night and we had robins moving through the area over the weekend. Can't wait to see what the weather changes did to the woodcock numbers. Could have just moved our birds out but might have moved birds AND dropped in a ton of new ones.

There is a bunch of birds moving through Illinois. I have found them in West Tennessee.

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