RSG Reports 2017 National Grouse and Woodcock Hunt Results

By Ammoland Editor Joe Evans

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. -(Ammoland.com)- The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) held its 36th annual National Grouse and Woodcock Hunt (NGWH) on October 12 and 13, 2017 in and around Grand Rapids, Minnesota with harvest results, obtained by RGS wildlife biologists, showing decreases in ruffed grouse and American woodcock harvests compared to 2016.

Participating hunters (108) harvested 124 ruffed grouse during the two-day hunt (62 grouse on day 1 and 62 grouse on day 2), which is a 30 percent decrease from the 2016 harvest of 175 ruffed grouse and a 50 percent decrease from the average harvest. Each hunter harvested an average of 0.5 grouse per day in 2017, which is low compared to the average of 1.4.

The recruitment ratio was 3.33 with 45 percent of harvested birds being adults, 55 percent being juveniles, 60 percent males and 40 percent females. The color phase breakdown was 9.6 percent gray, 20 percent intermediate, 11 percent brown, 44 percent red and 14 percent split. Dry weather and strong south winds provided difficult scenting conditions for hunters with bird dogs.

Participating hunters harvested 333 American woodcock, which is a 14 percent …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand