The 2021 statewide survey results for ruffed grouse were 1.3 drums per stop. The most recent peak in 2017 was 2.1 drums per stop. During the low point of the cycles, counts are typically about 0.8 drums per stop.
Rumor has it that ruffed grouse numbers aren’t bad across the upland species’ range this year, and even in down years, the author still heads afield.
Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) standing on his drumming logNorth Dakota’s popular hunting seasons for grouse and partridge will open Saturday, Sept. 9. State Game and Fish Department upland game biologist R.J. Gross says hunters will likely see fewer sharptails and Huns compared to last year, while ruffed grouse numbers are up from 2016. Gross said that hot, dry early summer…
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