A $10,000 Grouse Hunt: Bow Hunting Grouse While Pursuing Canadian Moose
Brooks Johnson 02.14.12
Giant canadian moose had always been a bow hunting dream of mine, so in 2010 I booked a trip to British Columbia to chase the largest deer in North America. Ten days in the bush, chasing moose all day, and camping in the wall tent at night. I was geared for this trip, and from talking with the outfitter, I knew bow hunting grouse would be a bonus along the way. Forty-seven arrows were packed and ready to rock, with every style of broadhead, judo and whatever else I could muster for the end of my arrows for bow hunting grouse.
No moose, lots of grouse
As the trip went on, it became apparent the moose were not going to come easy. The weather was warm, and there were new roads into our unit which meant more hunters. I don’t know which one ruined the action, but my guess is the human pressure. We could hear cows wailing and bulls grunting, but try as we may, we could not work them in. We worked moose every day, but never laid eyes on one outside the truck. The moose were there, but they were not going to play. Thank god we could kill time bow hunting grouse.
A full quiver for bow hunting grouse
As the week went on I brought more and more arrows for bow hunting grouse each day and shot at every grouse I found unless I was lucky enough to fill my legal limit. Those 47 arrows turned into 9 by the end of the week and I learned a lot about bow hunting grouse along the way.
We hunted both ruffed and spruce grouse, and the easiest shots of the week always came from spruce grouse in the trees. We spotted most of the birds from the road and got out for the stalk. It became apparent as the week progressed that if you saw one on the road, you should start checking the trees for more. The tree birds stayed put while the road birds did their best to keep a tree or two between you and them. It did not take long to develop an eye for spotting the size and shape of a grouse in a tree, and we were shooting a lot. We had grouse pizza, grouse in Alfredo sauce, and grouse in red sauce. We had grouse in omelets for breakfast and grouse on crackers after supper. We ate a lot of grouse.
Which nine arrows survived a week of bow hunting grouse?
The only arrows I had left at the end of the trip were six moose arrows and three others, all tipped with Snaro bird points for bow hunting grouse. I lost all my judos and the two G5 tips I brought along through the trees. The Snaros flew from my 60 lb compound as well as my 50 lb recurve, and we killed lots of birds with each weapon. I used the 2 and 3 inch from the compound bow hunting grouse so they could clear the riser at full draw with my original hunting arrows, and I used the 3 and the 6 inch in my recurve bow to give me a margin for error (there’s a lot of air around a grouse). The Snaros were almost impossible to lose, and aside from the two I left in the top of different spruce trees, I came home with three of the five I left with.
The design of the Snaro heads keeps them from diving under grass, moss and leaves for birds on the ground. The grass and forest leaf litter ate my broadheads of every style at a quick pace. The Snaro bird point also keeps the heads from skipping through the woods when bow hunting grouse. My Snaros quickly became the head of choice for birds in the trees as well, as even a solid hit with a broadhead meant the arrow kept going far enough it was futile to search for them. The Snaro bird tips stopped in the brush and branches and we always found them. My best guess is the broadhead-tipped arrows lasted 2 to 3 shots before they were lost, and the Snaros were all I had left the last 4 days of the trip. I was glad I brought them along on my trip to British Columbia for what twisted from a dream moose hunt to a trip devoted to bow hunting grouse.
Brooks Johnson has been active in the bow hunting industry for close to 20 years. He successfully cofounded and sold Double Bull Archery, and learned a lot about both turkeys and bowhunting along the way.
He loves traditional sticks, swing blade heads, and the tug of a night time catfish.
