Nice stretch. If they manage to win the next two in Cleveland they will finish April with a record of 14-16. Not too bad.

Cleveland series this week could not be bigger in right sizing this ship …

“Band wagon” Wolves fan (play-offs only) here. Luca is a flopper he must have soccer buddies back home. Naz turned hot at the right time … he could not buy a “3” in the first half. I enjoyed the run last year and even had to get another streaming service to get the West semi and final games. Hope they make another deep run.

Go Wolves. Twins take 3 straight and 5 of 6. Only let down this weekend regarding local pro sports was the Wild.

We have quite a few very large mature trees in our yard. Like the comment above, we could not mulch it all. We probably have a few bins and 30 bags worth in the fall, plus mulching across the yard. Spring … maybe a couple of bins worth of twings and a few leaves.

Regarding letting your leaves blow into the neighbor’s yard or worse the street (public works has to clean) … don’t be that guy.

Nice win – didn’t let that flat 2nd quarter affect them.

Twins gotta love the Sox

I once found a ruffed grouse frozen on a balsam limb. I think a few days before it had dropped down to around -40F … no telling how long it has been there.

Ruffed Grouse tend to roost in trees. If you try hunt them really early in the morning many grouse have not flown down yet and you go right by them …

Fun thing about deer hunting in a stand is when a few grouse are around in the morning. Watching them wake up, start to peep a bit and flutter or fly down. Same in the evening … watching them fly up feed a bit and then settle in for a night sleep.

In the cold, cold part of winter ruffed grouse will roost more in balsams and if the snow is deep enough they are known to roost on the ground under the snow.

Acorns are a good food source for grouse in the few areas where they exist in northern Minnesota. Aspen and alder catskins are a major food source for grouse in the winter … that is why you need older aspen trees and not just wrist diameter aspen clear cuts. Dogwood berries are a source of food in areas where they are prevalent.

Grouse are hunted year around by hawks, owls, fox, bobcats, to name a few…

Those dead end trails described in the few posts above… I would park and walk it with dog if the cover is right.

Crawdaddy … grouse hunting is actually a lot of fun. If you have a bird dog along there are certainly dangers out there, but they are very rare.

In the last 20 years I have seen more porcupines in ag country than in the woods. I have had two dogs quilled in the last 40 years. One dog twice over 3 years so she just could not let them be.

I will admit I carry #3 buck shot (available for my 20) when hunting in wolf country and at times have carried a few slug rounds too. Both are available in 5 pack boxes.

Some 15 years ago, as I came over a small rise, I had a Brittany standing face to face with a coyote in ND about 5-10 yards apart they were just starting to circle about 30 – 40 yards away from me. The minute the yote spotted me he was off to the races in the other direction.

My Britts spend most of their time hunting with in 20 – 50 yards when in the woods. I usually have visual on them much of the time. I have am not loud, but I am not in stealth mode like I hunt pheasants either.

If we run into wolves the plan is to get the dog back on heel and walk out. If this is a pack that decides to follow … I am prepared.

Most (certainly not all) of the dogs killed by wolves are bear hounds in Wisconsin which tend to stretch out a long ways. Bear hounds are especially vulnerable to wolves when they are training / hunting in August when wolf pups are still associating with their den.

When Toms go quiet they may be coming in but possibly from a different pathway … some can take a pretty broad circle towards your area. It takes a lot of patience to sit there and sit there and sit there waiting. Especially after they were so vocal earlier in the day or week.

True that Gerty. We have called them in from a half mile or more away … crossing gravel roads and running full spring the last 100 yards. Other days days they pop up just out of gun range and never take a step closer.

The first two weeks of October is a good time to hunt ruffed grouse. Again Octobers seem warmer and windier than they used to be. Leaves are turning and even dropping the further north you go. Aspen trees are one of the first to lose leaves so that is a plus.

Dry year hunt low …

Check crops … identify food sources and adjust accordingly.

Grouse move around quite a bit morning and evening. Likely nap mid-day.

If you hunt where snares are used (mainly ag land for coyotes) … the Felco C7 wire cutter works well … no chance they work on the steel conibear …

Yep – we have already been discussing practicing opening them … use a sandbag or stuffed toy to trigger the trap. The plastic zip tie works extremely well and there are videos showing how they work. Finding the large zip ties with enough strength to do the job is another story. Mine are 24″ by 3/4″ and work.

The reason that most dogs that die are owned by rural people taking their dog for a walk down a gravel road or trail or letting their dog run loose is they are not aware of the danger. City people take their dogs to state parks where these traps do not exist.

This danger can be almost completely eliminated by requiring conibears to be set in deeper recessed cubbies or elevated. Fur prices remain rather low and not may longliners out there. Again most trappers that operate in populated areas or bird hunting areas are cognizant of the issue and work to avoid it. Not all trappers though.

Many trappers mark trap locations or “nearby” locations with marking tape.

Conibear traps are used above the waterline. Coninbear and conibear cubby traps pose a greater danger to dogs in Minnesota than people realize. MN DNR limits the size of the trap above the waterline, but that size is still large enough to get a dog. I would say snares (for coyotes) and leg hold traps (fox) are more common in ag land.

The trapping organizations are trying to educate their members to be more cautious in their use but it just takes a few guys out there running aggressive old school. Most dogs killed in MN appear to be dogs of rural people running off leash but bird dogs are not immune from the danger.

Wisconsin rules are a bit more stringent and greatly reduce dog’s being hit.

Large plastic zip ties work really well in opening the jaws but can become brittle at cold temperatures.

Twins are on the wrong side of quite a few close games.

BC: try to find time to go to Alexandria for the time slot his school has at the state meet. Usually mid-June. Head coach should know the dates.

I have been hunting ruffed grouse in Minnesota for about 40 years or so. I focused on grouse hunting in my 30s and 40s and probably had some years of 20+ days (often just half days) in the woods. I still hunt ruffed grouse, but I don’t go “a mile back” like I used to… I have shot a lot of ruffed grouse and woodcock from the far westside, the middle, to the far eastside of MN. Most of my hunting has been north of I-94 and south of Hwy 2. Never found much reason to go far north, but there are probably more birds way up there.

Spring – early summer nesting season usually is a far better “indication” of fall bird populations that drum counts.

Aspen is a key component, but so are areas of balsam and alder swamps. My advice is be ready on edges!

ATVs and SXS are definitely an issue in some parts of the state. Like Gitchy noted … I have never hunted a true ATV trail. I have also seen example after example of where ATVs drive right around a trail gate to go down walking only trails. If you find areas of the state with lots of intertwining gravel and trails roads it is not just ATVs … I have seen plenty of sedans and pickups slowly driving around looking to pot grouse on the ground. I will also note that in the last 10 years or so … most of the ATVs I see moving about no longer tote guns … they are just riding to ride. I would like to MN continue to develop more ATV free – walking only hunter trails across the state.

Clover (spread on trails to stabilize the soil after a clear cut) is a primary reason grouse are on those trails. It is a major food source for them and an easy source. More than one DNR biologist has told me that clover roads are where most MN ruffed grouse go to die. Grouse of course are also along these trails and roads for gravel.

I bet more grouse are killed standing than flying. Legal and no judgement. Actually, I know quite a few guys that probably not be able to kill many grouse (or any) that are flying.

Over the past decade or two I have noticed that September and October are warmer and to be honest also seems much windier. Often the heat limits you to hunting say 8AM until around 11AM or noon and then maybe one last golden hour walk. That noon – 4 time is often a tough time to find many birds anyways.

I run Brittanys so the prolific expansion of wolves (especially into one of my best private land spots – deer land) is of concern. I have never seen a bear in the fall … see them in April and early May though for sure.

Dog dangers while MN grouse hunting:
> porcupines
> deer ticks … have them on the pill or topical treatment of both. Spray your pants too.
> sharp objects and lots of objects on the forest floor. I have had dogs rip open their chest, break toe nails, sprain joints
> rare but there … ground hornet nests … ouch. I carry Benadryl
> conibear traps when fur bearer season opens the last few weekends in October. Minnesota needs to follow Wisconsin in how trappers are allowed to set these traps to protect dogs. Any subtle changes have been stopped in the legislature. Probably the number one reason that I have stopped late season grouse hunting … that and a return to my roots – pheasants. Learn the process of removing a conibear trap … buy a trap at MFF and practice … know the dangers of flagging tape near the ground.

All things aside I was killing plenty of pheasants before CRP.

If you want to talk about where farmers are messing up the ecosystem lets flip over to discussing drain tile.

Turkeys often do not run or fly away after they hear a gunshot unless the hunter stands up and moves. Many times a second Tom or a flock of jakes will run to the dead gobbler and spur him up pretty good.

Vikings now have one of the largest salaries in the NFL. They are built to win now. The draft needs a couple of players ready for the NFL now … starters or special teams.

The position with the largest question mark is of course QB.

I would get the best OL available if they are projected to start now. The new QB needs time to work his progression.

Game birds (pheasants, ducks, turkeys, grouse) live on public land year around. I suppose some are harvested as the season goes on and the rest often get educated … but they are there or nearby.

CRP open to public hunting would not be decimated …

Looking at CREP from a SD vs. MN basis. Both appear to be a coordinated effort between the state and the USDA and is generally a step up in habitat formation/protection from regular CRP.

SD requires CREP participants in the James River Valley to open that land to public hunting. MN does not.

FUBO carries the Wild and Twins. HULU does not.

jimmysiewert wrote:

Got my better half out for her first ever turkey hunt. She gained a heck of a bruise from the 10 gauge but better yet – she’s hooked on Thunder Chicken hunting for life!!

Congrats. If she stays in it … Plenty of turkeys killed with 20s and even .410s. Turkeys are not very difficult to kill if your pattern is dense enough for the yardage you take the head shot at.

CRP payments were competitive a few decades ago, but at this time a landowner usually can get a better return farming or leasing than CRP payments offer.

CRP can offer landowners a fixed income when weather takes out their crops (flooding, drought, hail). Also provides a buffer when grain prices drop below the price it cost to plant, nurture, and harvest.

CRP grass can provide an emergency hay buffer in drought years. Pheasant hunters know this all too well when you drive up to a WIA and it is hayed.

CRP and CREP are USDA (AGRICULTURE) supported conservation projects. The idea is to remove crop land from production – vs simple price supports to farmers, remove land more susceptible to wind and water erosion from farming, and provide grassland habitat (conservation). Has nothing to do with hunting access … but that said …

State Walk in Programs in the many states piggy back off that program and lease this land to open it to hunters …

CRP subsidies are a very small percentage of the subsidies handed out to farmers (price supports, crop insurance – supported below true cost, etc…)

You can see online by USA, by state, by county, by farmer every subsidy handed out by the USDA over the past 20 years or more. Breaks out by type of subsidy also.

The database tracks $522.7 billion in farm subsidies from commodity, crop insurance, disaster programs and conservation payments paid between 1995 and 2023

It is not as much the crossbow weapon as much as the full-length season for crossbow users (following bow season vs. 1 week for gun users).

Most MN residents hunt the 1st two seasons … more birds, more naive birds is their thought I suppose.

Ticks are rarely if ever an issue if you spray your clothing with tick repellant.

I rarely jump on a fire the coach bandwagon, but isn’t it time ?

One of the worst collapses of a playoff bound MLB team last September and now a record that simply is following a terrible performance that was put up last September.