Have been wanting to do this for a long time. Much of the forest grouse hunting around here is road hunting. The grouse will fly out of the forest or brush and land on the verge of the logging road to peck gravel for it's gizzard or just to get out of the wet brush if it is raining. They will sometimes sit still for amazingly long times even with a hunter creeping up on them. So folks will cruise the back and offtimes seldom used gravel roads or turn offs at a slow pace. Down a straight stretch, away off in the distance, the dark distinctive shape of a grouse can be seen. On the side of the road and maybe beneath a spruce tree where the raindrops are more widely spaced. The truck is stopped and the hunter slips out and begins to try to sneak within range. Most shots are from extreme effective shotgun range. Not the most sporting way to bag a grouse but the most common one around here. So today I whipped up a small flock of grouse silhouettes at full size out of thin metal. I did a slapdash paint job. Next time up I will strategically place a silhouette just where a grouse would likely be. I wonder how many will get peppered. I may write "Gottcha" on the bottom of the ground plate. Then again, I may not do it at all. Just give the silhouettes to my grouse hunting friends so they know what they look like!
This is awesome! I've seen enough people try to hunt them this way too. Putting "Gotcha!" On the base will be pretty funny if someone goes to see WTH went on. They might steak the silhouette then at that point though.
I like them all in front of the garage door - just gotta make sure you move them when using a vehicle
This is the way they hunt grouse up here as well. Our dog Shadow goes crazy every time she sees a "chicken" on the side of the road. campinspecter had her bail out the window on one of his firewood gathering trips. Fortunately she didn't go far after it. Those cutouts would drive her crazy.
I know what you mean about driving the dog crazy. Years ago I had a Red Setter who was an excellent grouse dog. We had been out hunting and grouse were few and I had missed one (Dog was disgusted!). I drove my VW Squareback with dog in back and the seats all folded down up to a local country store to get a sandwich and a half dozen Guinea fowl came around the corner of a nearby house. Poor Becca about had apoplexy! "Dad will you look at the SIZE of those grouse! Why aren't you getting the shot gun?" I finally had to leave the area she was so agitated.
Someone would likely take them out of spite, but the "Gotcha" would be priceless. Edit.. The NYS DEC officers do put out mechanized deer decoys to target road hunters.
I wouldn't care if they took the grouse. Very cheap to make. I am sure they would deserve something for their discomfiture. A friend said I should gamecam the action. Might be fun if they didn't find the camera and take it too!
The last time I was visiting family in Alaska we bagged about half a dozen without a single shot fired. We were headed up north on a pike fishing trip driving on a dirt road. The grouse would be sitting there motionless as we approached. We'd get closer and closer until we were right on top of it then BAM! The moment the van was right over it, it finally got spooked and sprung up, breaking it's neck on the floor pan of the vehicle. Stop, bag it, get back in, keep driving and wait for the next one. That night we had a nice little dinner on the river bank. Great times.
The Blue grouse high up around here can be kind of stupid like that at times but the Ruffed grouse at lower elevations are no bodies fool!
CNC Plasma cut from 14G steel. Put a tab on the feet and a slot in the base. About a 1" weld from under the base and grind flush (no pun intended).
They do that down here too. Guy ised to work with me got caught... He saw this nice little buck in the edge of the field, stopped, took his shot, deer didnt run off, thought his scope was off...then the warden walks up behind him, asks "Did ya get'im? He said "Nope, but you got me"
Washington State does that also. It is illegal to shoot along a regularly public maintained road in WA. A logging or forest access road is considered fair game by most people.
Watched one of my buddies sneak a slough because he said there was a beautiful mallard sitting out there. He circled on the side with thick cattails for cover so he wouldn't get busted. He rushed out of the cattails, gun shouldered and blasted at the first glimpse of it. From the road we heard the distinctive sound of pellets hitting plastic. Someone forgot a decoy out, and a shame too because it was a nice one until it became a strainer. A wee bit of grief was dished out on that one.
Went grouse hunting/mushroom hunting yesterday and put out one of the silhouettes on the verge of a nice straight stretch of rough forest road. We went on down lower and mushroom hunted a while then came back up the road to where the grouse was. Sure enough, one side peppered with shot! I was surprised that they didn't take it. Probably were laughing so hard they decided to leave it for the next unsuspecting hunter to shoot. We went to the top of the valley and across it and stopped for lunch. A truck passed us heading back the way we had come. I started thinking "If he turned down the cutoff road at the Y then that would put him at the grouse about now". BOOM echoed across the valley from the location of the silhouette. My buddy and I started laughing! Poor bird got it from both sides. We didn't bother checking it out so don't know if they took it or not.