Grouse are not very prevalent in AZ and the season has been open for a couple weeks, so opportunities will be limited this time of year. Locals have culled off the dumb ones already! I’ve went up a few times and tried for them when my dog was younger. It’s beautiful country up there, so enjoy!

 

Pick out some good looking spots on the map and just be ready to walk. There's plenty of "grouse habitat" in that unit but you won't find grouse in most of it. They seem to be concentrated in pockets here or there probably due to the fires. I've been hunting grouse for about 5 years now and one thing I've learned for sure is that food is key. Spruce-fir forest is all over but food isn't. They like open areas with berries and grasshoppers for broods to feed on. Unfortuntately, they also eat pine needles and they may have already moved to them by this point. I saw some pictures Nevada grouse hunters took on opening day and the craws were already full of needles. With it being such a wet summer in AZ they may still have better food sources this year. Another thing I'd recommend - look up some grouse info for surrounding states like colorado or utah. AZ has very limited info published and it isnt very good. Tha game and fish website still states that grouse migrate downhill which absolutely amazes me because it is well known that these birds reverse migrate. I've done out of state grouse hunts the last two openers and learned so much more researching for those states. I also want to warn you I'm no expert...I've seen a whopping 1 grouse in that general area so far hahaha...but I have done a lot of research. I might make it up there this weekend to visit an old friend and the dog and I will definitely be going on a few walks if I do. Good luck!

 

Good Luck. My plans were to try it this year but it did not happen and I don't have a dog making it doubly hard to find them.

I can tell you that my wife and I travel/hike the back roads in 27/1 much of the summer and I have seen grouse twice. They are few and far between. I do not recall where I heard or read it but a tip was to make note of columbine patches because they like the seeds when the plant matures. A little late for that now but something that will waypoint on my maps in the future.

 

Good tip on the Columbine. The areas that this wildflower grows harbors many plants that the dusky grouse feed on. At least that is true in CO, where I’ve seen some tremendous numbers last summer. This spring/summer was drier up there and there was considerable less. Nonetheless, I usually see more dusky grouse in one day in SW CO than in all my years stomping around the white mountains here. Not trying to be discouraging, just giving it to ya straight!

 

Grouse are definitely littered in 12/13. Just kind of far to travel unless combined with another tag.

 

The blues are few and far between in AZ. Best bet is to go up to Colorado for them. Big birds and tasty.

 

Did you end up getting on any of the grouse? I was also trying to work out a trip to the white mountains this year but ended up taking the dogs to Montana instead.

 

I am a local in the White Mountains and I do not know where you could find a grouse. There used to be a somewhat huntable population above 8000’ I’ve certainly shot some. I have not seen any in many years.

 

Do you actually try hunting them yearly or you just don't see them in your living there?

 

Lots of Grouse in 12 A, more towards the North Rim boundary and to the west.. Walk or drive the backroads more on top of ridges to find them. Still a Tough bunt for a birdie !!

 

What about boars head hunting ranch

 

I see them often during the summer. Don't ask where because one of these Septembers I am going to hunt them.

 

Well, I bet the Phoenix Zoo has them. I'll ask Khmer for coords

 

RK knows them by heart.

 

I do not hunt them anymore. In fact I do not see them in the white mountains anymore. Probably some in unit 1 but clearly not many. In the past I could have gone out with an expectation of seeing some. They are not smart and I’m sure that they have been shot out and fires have reduced many acres of older fir forest areas.

 

I went to unit 1 last month with the intention of scouting for grouse. I only saw 3 birds but I'd call that a success. My intent was looking for habitat, mostly berries. The birds I found were in steep terrain.

 

That is quite impressive actually. I spend several days per week out in 1 or 3b and have not seen any since I started my retirement life

 

I am in 1 and 27 most all of the summer and can count on one had the number of times I have seen grouse.

I know I said I see them often but I guess that often is relative because I have not seen any this summer and did in the past.

 

I have been in UT most of the summer running dogs in the mountains. I have got into grouse 4 or 5 times. Appear to be mostly juvenile. Cover is very dense - if I was hunting I would likely only have had 1 or 2 shots.

 

The area I got into them had raspberries and gooseberries. Also some of those little red berries I think were Utah Honeysuckle. The areas the berries grow weren't hard to find once you know what you're looking for. A friend that hunts these birds out of state gave me some tips on what to look for in terms of terrain. We'll see if I can make it happen when it opens.

I did land my first Apache on the fly while out there which was the cherry on top. It was evening and I saw fish rising but couldn't hook up. Must've tied on 6 different flies before I finally hooked up

 

See my thread on Grayling. I used one fly and caught and released probably a half dozen Apache and Grayling.

 

Must've tied on 6 different flies before I finally hooked up

Thats Hard on the eyes and frustration level. !!!