We live in central Douglas county . This morning my wife looked out the window and  said , "hey , look at the grouse " ! Turned out it was a hen with her entire brood in tow .  9  in the count . Great to see on a fresh snow !

I hunted Iron County Yesterday for a little bit before putting the boat away for the winter. Hunted maybe 3 hours or so. Moved 5 birds. Missed one and got one. I hunted 3 different spots and all my flushes were in piney areas on the edge of open clearings. Snow was about 3-4 inches but as you move north up towards Gile it was a foot or more.

I don't mean to disappoint you Junkie4ice, but the overall #s are way down for what is a historical peak in the cycle. There are pockets of grouse in prime habitat, but very few elsewhere. 

Driving around Washburn county on the old logging roads in search of ice this weekend I counted at least 6, wish I would have thrown the shotgun in. It's been years since I've grouse hunted, but that is more than I've ever seen in a day and the numbers you guys are throwing around are crazy!  Glad to see the populations doing well, probably time I get back into it. 

Brule I am seeing similar stats. 16 in 3 hrs yesterday and yes the prime habitat only

Flushed 37 11am - 4pm. All in prime habitat. Got 3 and missed same.

Just got home from a 9 days of hunting primarily in Sawyer and Washburn Counties.  Bird numbers seemed pretty similar to last year however the birds were as spooky as I've ever seen them.   Lots of runners and birds coming up 30 yards in front of the dogs.   Most of the birds harvested were second year birds so with age came wisdom I guess.  It appeared to me that birds were starting to group back up the last few days.  Afternoons were more productive than mornings.

Unlike most "peak" years, grouse are not in marginal habitat. I have walked several miles without flushing any birds and then flushed 8-10 in 30 minutes. I now hunt only prime late-season habitat with abundant food sources. This involves lots of driving and walking. 62 flushes equated to numerous locations and 13 over miles of walking.

Haven’t been out for a few days, so don’t even know if there are any left around or not, but just in case, a quick reminder that woodcock season closed at the end of shooting hours today.

My son shot 35 times at 20 and got zeroed out! His friend shot same amount and got 2. I plowed through the thick stuff and connected with 5.