we were still hunting our way through a really nice patch of reprod on Saturday. I had an arrow nocked and was ready for a close range shot on a deer any minute. we had jumped a few up to this point. all of a sudden a grouse hops up on a stump at about 15 yards. I thought to myself I should switch to my grouse arrow. However, he was looking right at us and started to twitch like he was gonna fly off. So I drew back and pin wheeled him! The arrow went through and through just below the breast. feathers went everywhere and we saw him fly off to the side. while I was looking for my $25 arrow (Easton FMJ with a Muzzy MX3 broadhead), Deerlick went and found the grouse. It had burried itself up to its neck in some bushes. luckily he found him and was able to ring his neck. I didn't find the arrow. Note to self...bring two cheap arrows with blunt tips for grouse when you deer hunt. The best part about sticking this grouse is that it was my first bow kill and the first game animal I've killed since I started hunting this year!
A big thanks to Deerlick for putting me on some animals yesterday and for showing me how to breast out a grouse. It was delicious!

The beast is dead!


Today wasn't a bad day either. I went back into Winston to see about finding an elk and or deer. I went back to one of my spots from last week. I walked to the corner of a marshy clear cut. When i was about 50 yards from the timber stand I saw two does (might have been yearlings) just a few yards into the timber. They were jumping around together. I nocked an arrow and clipped on my release. one of them looked at me but then just went back to messing around with the other deer. The ferns were too high in there for me to get a good enough visual to make the shot. I watched them move down a trail and I made a move and got into the timber. This place was a hell hole. it was a swampy, fern jungle, alder stand. any shot I would get in there would happen fast and would be 20 yards or less. I still hunted my way through at a snails pace and bumped a large doe. she crashed through the ferns and I didn't see her again. even though I didn't get a shot it was really nice to actually see deer while deer hunting. haha. I didn't see any elk. Just a bunch of sign.

Love the bonus birds! If you stand on the wings and pull their feet, they become nature's version of a Snack Pack.

I use cheap bulk arrows cut to legnth with a .38 case epoxied on it. I don't even bother looking for them if they glance off into the wild. I have also used washers behind field points or Martin used to make a jagged stamped steel washers that went behind a field point for a crude version of a Judo Point. It doesn't really matter for a disposable arrow and you would be surprised how well they fly.


Okay... Once I killed one while sitting on the top edge of a road cut. I was sitting there quietly and it landed about a foot off my leg. It looked at me and made some putting noises before it strolled behind me. I pulled my arrow off my bowstring and made a wild swing as I spun around and caught it right in the head with the side of my arrow shaft. If someone was watching from a distance, they'd wonder what the hell I was up to flogging around on the ground.


I don't care how many deer are in the area- I will always take the bird in the hand.


Good job Drew.

that's hilarious that you killed a grouse by swinging an arrow by hand at it. haha. I'll have to try that washer behind a field point idea. I like that. I assume it just stuns them long enough so you can grab em and ring their necks?

I have seen the .38 empty used on rabbits with success. Well when the archer was accurate. I was there with the shotty when he missed and got them running.

If you hit them squarely, it will punch a hole right through them. Otherwise, the shock will bowl them right over. An additional plus is the arrow wont snake under leaves and grass... it just ends up tumbling and that makes it easier to find and, if you hit a stump or log, it is super easy to pull back out.

Those FMJs are super heavy... I shoot a much lighter arrow.


To each their own.

I like the idea of 450 grains punching through like a freight train kinetic energy is good.

Did you yell "It's coming right at us!" as you shot?



Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Good on you for your first kill!

haha. I think I said "oh, sh!t...GROUSE" and then smoked it like it was second nature. guess I'm a stone cold killer.

I understand you kinetic energy premise, but if you run the numbers, what you give up for a flatter trajectory won't sacrifice much in energy.

Something to think about (maybe you already have)

In the equation for kinetic energy, velocity is the squared value so dropping some mass also increases your velocity. The heavy arrow argument is an old one, just ask Washington State. Unless you are hunting truly dangerous game like elephant, hippo, buffalo, bears or the like, having a leading cutting edge type broadhead and a small diameter shaft contributes more to penetration than a super heavy arrow.


The trade-off with your recipe is more trajectory that requires an emphasis on range estimation and that translates into the possibility of a miss. Punching through ribs is easy and I have never seen an arrow "punch" through a shoulder blade... I am sure it is possible but the reality in my experience is that North American game is relatively easy to kill with a well placed shot and penetration is rarely a factor.


I don't recall how many deer and bear I have shot, I have additionally been involved with hundreds second hand and, in my book, a pass-through is a pass-through and that is the norm IF the shot is accurate.


Grouse are small targets.

Not that small.

Nice shot.

Nice bird and gun.

JTD. The FMJ's I'm shooting are actually pretty small in diameter compared to most normal carbon arrows of the same spine. they're great for cross winds too. I've been practicing out to 70 yards with them and getting good groups. obviously I wouldn't take a shot at an animal at 70 yards but practicing long distances doesn't hurt. a 450 grain FMJ is not my first choice for a grouse but it was nocked and he was right there. Haha.

I have a set and have tuned for them before. Nice, sturdy arrows and if they are grouping well and you like them, go with it.

I was just offering another perspective.

Congrats on the grouse-Yum!

There's a reason I carry six arrows with four being tipped with a slick trick and 2 with judo points. Unfortunately the judo's are the only bloody ones . I also use the judo's when backpacking to stump shoot just to make sure I didn't damage the bow during the hike in.

I love my FMJ's and even went to a 125 grain bh which not only increased my KE but also increased the weight forward of center which really improved my long range groups. The only thing I don't like about them is I am now punching thru the bag targets on the Kenmore walk thru course so basically can't use them there any more.

haha. I haven't tried mine on the walk through yet but I have punched most of the way through the big blocks out to 50 yards and had to pull arrows out the back. Haha.

Nice story, and a good dinner to boot. I once shot a grouse while deer hunting. This was more than a few years ago; all wood arrows. I tipped a couple well used arrow shafts with cheap Ben Pearson tool steel broadheads that were fairly light. While still hunting in Capital Forest I saw a grouse on a tree limb, so nocked a cheapie and let fly. I thought I missed as the arrow rattled through tree limbs far away. And then the grouse, tipped over and dropped to the ground. The cheap broadhead had cut its throat, and the bird was bleeding out. I don't even remember if I saw any deer that day, but had ruffed grouse for dinner.

Sg

a buddy of mine scalped a grouse with a broadhead. popped the top half of the scull right off.