START YOUR OWN GROUSE HUNTING TRADITION AT ANCHOR INN RESORT
Minnesota grouse hunting is a tradition for many repeat guests at Anchor Inn Resort. The resort’s location in the Chippewa National Forest makes it a natural lodging choice for experienced hunters.
Minnesota is the top ruffed grouse-producing state in the U.S. No other state harvests as many ruffed grouse each fall or provides as much public hunting land containing ruffed grouse.
The ruffed grouse is a native woodland bird about the size of a small chicken. The bird is noted for its fan-shaped tail marked by a broad, dark band. Some ruffed grouse–called red-phased birds–have chestnut-colored tails, and the gray-phased birds have gray or slate-colored tails. The bird also has a concealed neck ruff that the male puffs out during courtship displays.
MINNESOTA GROUSE HUNTING SEASON INFO
- Ruffed Grouse, Spruce Grouse & Hungarian Partridge Season – Sep. 18, 2021 – Jan. 2, 2022
- Sharptailed Grouse Season – Closed in Itasca County for 2021
MINNESOTA HUNTING REGULATIONS
2021 GROUSE SURVEY REPORT
Male ruffed grouse make a well-known drumming noise that sounds similar to a distant lawnmower engine. He drums by beating his wings in the air, starting slowly as a series of thumps, and then, as beating speeds up, the sound resembles a drum or engine. The drumming occurs on logs, boulders, tree roots, or other elevated sites known as “drumming logs.”
GROUSE AND WOODCOCK HUNTING TIPS
Our proximity to the Chippewa National Forest makes Anchor Inn a perfect place to start your grouse hunt or woodcock hunt as the forest provides great cover for these fowl. A beautiful walk through recently logged forest ground is a good area to start your hunt. The forestry trails and roads will also produce a good harvest. Pay attention to fallen trees and brush where the birds like to hang out and be prepared for the startling flap when you least expect it!
Not counting a sturdy pair of boots, a blaze orange hat and vest and a shotgun, all you need to hunt grouse in Minnesota is a valid small game license. Hunters seeking woodcock must be HIP-certified (done when you purchase your Minnesota license) but do not need state or federal migratory bird stamps. Shotguns may not hold more than three shells unless a plug is used.
Call Anchor Inn Resort today at 218-659-2718 to reserve your next Minnesota Grouse Hunting trip.
NOTE: Completion of a Hunter Education/Firearms Safety course is required to purchase a hunting license for anyone born on or after Dec. 31, 1979. Click here for the full story: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/index.html
