How to hunt wood grouse in autumn from the approach? Walkthrough stalker's call of Pripyat - backwater Hunting for wood grouse in the fall.

I knew about wood grouse from childhood - my father loved this hunt. At the age of fifteen, I myself visited a capercaillie lek for the first time, heard and saw a capercaillie lekking, and was forever sick of this hunt. Over the next fifteen years, six capercaillie leks, two potential leks and three promising places were found independently (and with a company of fellow hunters). In addition, they showed me two more currents, at which I observed a lot, and at the last current I managed to film the current swindler. Plus, I periodically observed the life of the capercaillie at other times of the year - mainly in summer and autumn (during trips for berries and mushrooms and just walks in the forest). I did not set myself the task of taking as many wood grouse as possible. In seven full springs spent with a gun on capercaillie currents, I took only three birds. It was always more interesting for me to look for new currents; I liked the search process itself, the emotions experienced during the hunt. The trophy was not so important to me, although there was an opportunity to get more birds. And then I was drawn into the photo hunt, and I plunged into it headlong.

So, let's take it in order...

1) Habitats of the wood grouse or where to look for the wood grouse?

– the bird is sedentary, lives mainly in continuous tall coniferous forests, as well as in mixed ones. However, wood grouse can also be found in deciduous forests, especially near the borders of coniferous and mixed forests. Capercaillie loves moss swamps in the forest, rich in berries. It is attached to coniferous forests, because in winter the basis of nutrition is pine and larch needles, less often spruce and fir needles, as well as juniper berries.

Mating among wood grouse begins at the beginning of March and ends at the beginning of the second ten days of May. With the onset of the first thaw, wood grouse move from the wintering place to the lek, where they begin to spend more time - they test their voice, descend to the ground and wander through the snow, lowering their wings and leaving the so-called “drawings” - chains of tracks bordered by stripes from the wings. The current reaches its greatest activity around the second ten days of April, when the snow mostly melts and wood grouse begin to fly to the current. According to my observations, the most active current flows from approximately April 10 to April 20 in our band, although everything depends on weather conditions. By the end of April, old capercaillie, as a rule, finish mating and leave the lek, while young ones continue mating for another week and a half.

The capercaillie is a sedentary bird, and, as a rule, does not make long flights, but spends its entire life in an area with a radius of 5-6 km (sometimes a little more). Therefore, if wood grouse are often found in a certain area of the forest, there is no doubt that there is a current in this area. Even in the summer-autumn-winter period, roosters rarely move further than 2-3 km from the lekking site, although there is scientific evidence (for example, radio research by Dmitry Shamovich) that the capercaillie, after the end of mating, flew 6 km away from the lekking site and lived there plot.

To find a capercaillie current, it is advisable to know at least a little about the area. If the area is unfamiliar, then asking local residents, mushroom pickers (sometimes hunters) will help - where the tall coniferous forest begins, where there are moss swamps, perhaps one of the local residents will be able to tell where and when he met wood grouse in this area. Topographic maps can also help here - from them you can find out the composition of the forest and elevations, the location of the swamps. Sometimes sphagnum bogs can be identified on Google maps - such bogs, upon careful examination, stand out from the rest of the terrain. Such a swamp is a vaguely defined spot on an area of homogeneous forest (since usually in such a swamp the vegetation is slightly lower than the main forest).

Although here, too, it is not always possible to guess, and some experience is needed. You should avoid large “pure” swamps, practically devoid of vegetation, and look for smaller swamps in dense forests, remote from the main forest roads. If in the area under study there are extensive moss swamps, practically devoid of vegetation, then it makes sense to walk around their perimeter and examine the outskirts. It often happens that such a swamp is adjacent to a smaller swamp, which may contain a current. Often, currents occur on forest islands on manes in the middle of large swamps. Such places are also clearly visible on Google maps; you need to take note of them in order to explore them later. It often happens that a tall pine forest on the outskirts of a large moss swamp is a continuous lek, which can be extended along the edge or located on the so-called “tongue” of the swamp - a place where an overgrown area of the swamp juts out into the forest. Capercaillie, as a rule, avoid forest promontories that cut into swamps. The far outskirts of a moss swamp, a mane-isthmus between two swamps, a hill on the edge of a swamp near an array of tall-stemmed pine forest - such places, as a rule, are chosen by wood grouse for their mating grounds. The capercaillie will always prefer a pine tree to another tree, and even if in the area of the lek mostly spruce and birch trees grow, the capercaillie will choose the area where there are pine trees - even a small area - and will lek there. The locations of the currents are unchanged, and there are currents where wood grouse have been listened to for more than a hundred years. Currents can only be destroyed by fires or human activity - deforestation.

All such places where such swamps were found, bordered by manes, adjacent to areas of old tall-trunked (mainly pine forest) must be remembered, or better yet, marked on. You will come here in the spring to really check whether there is a capercaillie current here or not. Only the song of a capercaillie in the pre-dawn twilight is one hundred percent confirmation of the current! Until you hear a song in a potential place, you cannot say that there is a capercaillie current in this place.

2) When is the best time to go looking? Spring, summer or autumn? Let's talk about the benefits of each season.

The best time to search for capercaillie leks is undoubtedly spring. But let’s imagine that for some reason you couldn’t (didn’t have time) to find a capercaillie lek in March-April. There is no need to despair, you can find it in summer, autumn, and even winter. But you can confirm your hopes only in the spring, when you hear a capercaillie song on the lek.

So, it's June. You can go searching in the second half of the month. At this time, young wood grouse already know how to fly, but stay close to the wood grouse. As a rule, at first the capercaillie brood stays close to the lek, since the capercaillie often builds a nest in close proximity to the lek. At this time, in the morning (preferably not at dawn, but after 1.5-2 hours, when the dew has dried a little), walk along the outskirts of promising swamps, comb the berry patches along the edges. If a brood is raised, this place should be taken into account. If there is a moss swamp with manes nearby, you need to remember this place. With a high degree of probability, wood grouse may display in this swamp in the spring.

In July, blueberries ripen, and wood grouse begin to feed on them. At this time, they spend most of the day in the blueberry field, and with a high degree of probability it is possible to lift the bird from the berry field. Although, according to the observations of ornithologists, in the summer the capercaillie can move 5-6 km away from the lek, such observations are still very helpful in searching. It always makes sense to comb the area within a radius of up to three kilometers, looking for a promising moss swamp with manes.

From the second half of August and September, wood grouse begin to fly to aspen forests before sunset, where they feed on aspen leaves. Here the principle is the same as in berry fields - if a capercaillie has been frightened off in an aspen forest, it is necessary to explore the surrounding area, mark promising swamps with manes, in order to determine in the spring whether there is a current in this area. Although, there are also mistakes here. I had to meet wood grouse in the fall on aspens both a kilometer from the current and four. Also, as wood grouse switch to rough food (pine needles) in the fall, the birds begin to fly out onto forest roads and the banks of forest streams and rivers in search of pebbles. Here the principle is the same - if in a given area we regularly flushed wood grouse “on the pebbles”, we begin to actively explore the area. We look for promising swamps and note them.

3) Signs of capercaillie current:

Now comes the fun part. Finally, the long winter is behind us, with January frosts and February snowstorms, short days and long cold nights. It's March. In the morning it warms up, and at night the frost grips the top crust of snow well. Sometimes a crust forms, as strong as asphalt. It's time to go looking for wood grouse drawings. If there is no ice, you should go skiing. If there is crust, then sometimes you can do without skis if the search area is not so far away. You need to go out while it’s still dark, because after sunrise the crust begins to hold poorly, and the way back can be difficult. If the weather is such that crust forms every night, it makes sense to go out searching for the whole day - leave in the dark in order to walk along the crust to the area under study, before the crust begins to thaw, run around and explore as many places as possible, and hours in eleven in the morning or at noon get up for the day. In this case, they return back through the crust at nightfall, when the frost again grabs the top crust.

In March, you can find a capercaillie lek by looking at the birds’ collections in the snow – the so-called “drawings”. At this time, the roosters begin to fly to the lek, and, descending to the ground, begin to wander through the snow with drooping wings. In this case, a chain of tracks is formed in the snow, bordered by lines from the wings. If such a trace is found in a promising swamp, then we can say with great confidence that you have found a current. Although it happens that wood grouse draw even outside the current. In any case, take note of this place - there is a high probability that there may be capercaillie current here.

You should also pay attention to capercaillie droppings. Long sausages consisting entirely of digested pine needles are winter droppings at feeding sites. But the shorter ones, with dark and white splashes, are already spring droppings. By looking at the droppings, you can determine the number of wood grouse in a forest area. If the droppings are located strictly under a tree, then this is most likely just a feeding place. But if the droppings are scattered widely, then this is already a lekking droppings. In such a place the rooster crowed and spun on the tree. Although, it is also not always possible to say with certainty about the presence of current based on droppings - sometimes wood grouse sing while feeding in the spring. But if there are several such trees with lek droppings under it, and they are located nearby, this is most likely a lek. Wood grouse prefer old, broad-limbed and planted pines - these are convenient for wandering around the branches while mating.

Let's imagine that we went out searching in April. It’s a wonderful time for searching - almost all the snow in the forest has melted, it’s warm during the day, and at night the temperature fluctuates around -3 - +5 degrees. This is perfect for a comfortable overnight stay near a fire or with an off-season sleeping bag in a tent. Capercaillie currents are in full swing. Of course, don’t forget to take a compass or one with you, so as not to get lost in an unfamiliar area (see article ““). I usually went on such trips around 11-13 o’clock - it takes time to get to the place and have time to explore the area, not forgetting to leave an hour and a half before dark to set up a bivouac. We are looking for promising places - old moss swamps framed by manes, preferably overgrown with mature pine trees, adjacent to tracts of tall pine forest. Here you need to be careful, carefully study the ground in search of spring droppings. Occasionally, you can find a capercaillie lek by looking at the feathers that roosters leave behind during fierce fights (my father and I found one lek this way). Sometimes it is possible to track the evening flight of wood grouse. As a rule, capercaillie during the lek period are located not far from the current, and if a capercaillie has been frightened off in a given area, you need to actively search in this area.

Evening eavesdropping.

So, a promising place has been found. Now in the evening it’s worth going here for evening eavesdropping. Capercaillie fly to the lek in the evening and spend the night on the lek. “Indications” about the time of arrival of wood grouse at the lek vary. Wood grouse flew to me at half past five and before dark. Although it has been noted that the main arrival begins shortly before the sun sets and continues until dusk. The capercaillie arrives noisily - it sits heavily on a tree, makes itself comfortable, and often the arrivals are accompanied by cracking sounds. The number of arrivals cannot be used to judge the number of wood grouse at the lek, because often in the evening the birds begin to fly from place to place. The most active ones begin to display in the evening - in the spring of 2016, the first capercaillie arrived at my lek before six in the evening, and after eight in the evening four roosters were actively displaying.

While listening, you should not climb into the very center of the lek, otherwise later at dusk it will be difficult to leave the lek - there is a danger of making noise from the wood grouse settling in for the night. It is better to settle down on the outskirts of the current - the edge of a moss mane, some hill from where part of the swamp is visible, and prepare “escape routes” in advance. It is better to leave the eavesdropping site in the dark, when the wood grouse have settled down for the night and the last evening songs have fallen silent.

If the location of the current is not yet known, sometimes evening wandering around promising places (shortly before sunset and before darkness) helps. At this time, you can scare off a capercaillie that has flown to the lek. Some hunters sometimes walk through promising places at night. If you startle a sleeping capercaillie, then there is definitely a current here.

Well, as already written above, the main confirmation of the find is the morning song of the wood grouse. The capercaillie begins to display early, still in complete darkness, when everything around is asleep. Mating lasts as a rule until 7-8 o'clock in the morning, although some individuals can display until ten in the morning. If the current has not yet been found, then morning wandering around promising places can also help. Here, as a rule, you need to move quite quickly, but quietly, stopping every 50-70 meters and listening. The wood grouse song in the dark can be heard 300 meters away; later, when the forest wakes up, it is more difficult to hear the wood grouse. The meeting of roosters before 8 am is 90 percent of the current, especially if the capercaillie has been lifted from the ground.

After dawn, the current site can also be revealed by the clucking of copaluks. Well, for the rest of the day after the end of mating, the capercaillie stays close to the current, which should also be kept in mind when searching for the current.

Well, that's all, friends. I wish you to definitely find your current. Happy photo hunting everyone!)

Stalker: Call of Pripyat - questions and answers (FAQ)

Tired of looking for answers to your questions? Don't know how to complete the quest? Does the passage of the game Stalker: Call of Pripyat take a long time? Watch below and get answers to your questions!

Q: How to get to the Oasis artifact?

A: You need to go under the right arches in the right sequence! If it doesn’t work out the first time, then a hint will appear in the form of a falling “star” or “snow”.

Hint: the quest is random (I have passages between the columns - counting from left to right: 4-3-4-5) Thanks Wanhellsing!

Q: How to complete the quest at the Cooling Tower?

A: The quest on the Cooling Tower is completed using the Svarog detector. You just need to go to the indicated point with this detector and wait a little, and then search the corpses of the Dolgovtsev that appear.

Q: Where can I get the Svarog detector?

A: This detector is given as a reward for the quest about the three Veles at Sych.

Q: Where can I get Morgan's PDA?

A: On the corpse of Morgan himself, in the quest where Beard asks Degtyarev to help the stalkers disrupt the Bandits’ deal to buy weapons.

Q:Where can I get the Debt founder's PDA?

A: From one of the corpses that fell out of the spatial anomaly in the quest on the Cooling Tower.

Q: Who can I give Morgan's PDA and Debt's founder's PDA to?

A: Leaders of Duty or Freedom, or sell to the merchant Sych, as desired.

Q: Where can I find Capercaillie after he has gone to the port cranes (look for Danila)?

A: Near the port cranes. There is a small shed there. Inside is Danila's corpse. In the next room there is the corpse of Capercaillie and the “vampire” Tremor.

Q: Where is the Oasis and how do I complete this quest?

A: Jupiter, ventilation shafts. The entrance is a little to the side. It goes something like this: you look for anomalies at random, and when you find them, you run through them to look for new ones, etc.

Q: How to complete the quest with cylinders? Where are the keys to the box?

A: Information about where the keys are located is written in papers that are located in the cabin of the car with the container. The keys themselves are in the first and last cars in the column. The first car fell under the bridge at the site of its collapse, the second is standing, hidden by anomalies from the forestry department.

Q: How to assign Monoliths?

A: You need good relations with any group. Freedom - take the quest for Soroka on Zaton, talk to Sliver in the quarry, talk to Flint, hand over Flint to Loki. Debt - Owl's quest for 3 "Veles". If you do it, you get a super scanner. Then the scientists will have a quest to go to the cooling tower with this scanner. You scan the anomaly, and bodies fall out of it. You search and find a PDA. You give the PDA to debtors.

Q: How many people can you gather for a trip to Pripyat?

A: Three: Vano, Monolithic Tramp, Lieutenant Sokolov. Together with Zulu and Degtyarev there are five.

Q: Where can I find the tools?

A: There are only 6 boxes with tools, two of each type, that is, 3 for each master. On Zaton, one is at the sawmill (rough), the second is at the substation with mercenaries (precise). There they ask you to eat, if you don’t want to kill anyone for nothing, then take a couple of loaves of bread, a couple of sausages and canned food. Jupiter. On the territory of the plant from the southwestern entrance there is a small building (accurate), a train that stands under the bridge, in which an electr anomaly flies along the cars (rough).

Pripyat. two calibration kits. The first building is the old KBO on the second floor, there a little man will show you where the tools are. The second one is in a department store, or rather under a department store.

Q: Where can I find a compass?

A: Ask Noah, or remove them from his corpse (alas, you can’t sell them).

Q: How to get the best scanner in the game?

A: Bring three Veles on Sych’s quest to Novikov, wait, pick up the scanner from Sych. Attention! If you left for Yanov before accepting this quest, you will not receive it!

Q: Where can I find the Joker and the Barge?

A: Look for the Skeleton of the Joker to the south of the Sosnodub anomaly, the corpse of the Barge in the caves near the burnt out farm.

Q: Where can I get the artifacts Kolobok and Chunk of Meat for Garik?

A: Info about Kolobok in the Joker’s PDA (on the Sosnodub anomaly). A piece of meat is found near Sosnodub and in the cave with the corpse of Barge.

Q: Where can I get an exoskeleton?

A: Order from Shustroy or buy from Sych.

Q: Where can I get a Gauss rifle?

A: Get it according to the plot.

Q: Where can I get Bulldog-6?

A: Buy from Sych.

Q: Where can I get an automatic shotgun?

A: Remove the bandit Valet from the cold corpse (Vano’s quest). Sometimes ordinary bandits go with him.

Q: Where can I get pills to survive surges?

A: Buy from scientists, after the quest line, they lie at the end of the pipe through which we leave the lair of the bloodsuckers.

Q: What hit Skat-5?

A: One character in the story will say.

Q: How do I open the door under the Iron Forest?

A: You will receive the key according to the plot.

Q: The Volkhov air defense system, there is a fenced-off corner in the building with a bunch of weapons - who knows how to get there?

A: Take the note on the table in the building. Leave the building, near the house there will be a descent on the right into the basement and further along communications. A little surprise awaits you in the basement.

Q: What happens if you complete the Sultan's quest?

A: You will receive part of the profit, the attitude of stalkers will not worsen.

Q: What is this strange atom symbol?

A: This is hello from Half-Life. This symbol marks Monolith caches with first aid kits and gauss batteries.

Q: Found a cache with a note for the Phantom. What to do with it?

A: Give to Strelka. There are three notes in total, according to the number of hiding places. The lead to them lies in the crashed drone in the upper left corner of the Yanov location.

Q: Why does the game crash when moving from Jupiter to Pripyat?

A: You need to download and install a fixed nodvd - crashes will stop

Q: What is the most effective and economical weapon against the Burer?

A: Knife. He cannot pull it out, but he dies after 5-10 hits (on a difficult level).

Q: Are there achievements in the game? If yes, which ones to open?

A: There are achievements, roughly speaking there are 20 of them.

Discoverer

Whatever new appears in the Zone, you are ready to explore it first. By finding new, unexplored anomalous formations, you have advanced science in understanding the Zone.

Bonus - The totality of new data allowed professors German and Ozersky to synthesize an experimental anabiotic under the Zone conditions.

Mutant Hunter.

You are not trying to avoid dangerous mutants, you are hunting them, and succeeding in this. Good hunters are respected people among stalkers.

Bonus - Stalkers treat you better. In order to somehow thank you, stalkers from time to time leave cartridges in your personal box at the Yanov station.

Detective

You have revealed the mystery of the disappearance of stalkers from Skadovsk - it is not the mutants who are to blame for this, but a more dangerous enemy - humans. Your desire to find the truth has earned you the respect of stalkers.

Bonus - Stalkers treat you better. Out of respect for you, stalkers from time to time leave medications in your personal box at Skadovsk.

Your boyfriend

Having repelled the bandits led by the Sultan, you gained popularity among stalkers. You are always welcome at Skadovsk.

Bonus - Stalkers treat you better. At the request of the stalkers, merchant Sych made a discount for you. Beard offers you the best prices for artifacts.

You helped the Sultan seize the initiative from the stalkers and take control of Beard's affairs. Now on Zaton they fear and respect you.

Bonus - The Steel Bandits treat you with respect. Merchant Sych, out of fear that he might become the next victim, made a discount for you. According to the agreement, Beard must pay you a percentage of his income.

Messenger of Justice

You did not let the scoundrel escape justice. Stalker Soroka more than once exposed others to attack and was not shy in his methods. Now he awaits a fair reckoning.

Bonus - Magpie swag, obtained through meanness and deception, the stalkers will give it to the one who deserves it more. His loot was placed in your personal box on the Yanov.

Seeker

You have found all types of artifacts known to the researchers of the Zone. Thus, you have earned the respect of stalkers and the close attention of bandits.

Bonus - Stalkers treat you better. Bandits will chase you during forays into the Zone.

Combat Systems Master

Now Cardan has tool sets for every occasion. This will allow him to make previously unavailable improvements.

Bonus - Cardan can make a unique modification that will allow you to quickly move in the exoskeleton: add hydraulic amplifiers to the servos.

Master of High Technologies

Nitrogen received all the sets of tools that a technician in the Zone could dream of. Now he can do high-tech modifications.

Bonus - Azoth can make a unique modification to a tactical helmet: an infrared scanner that allows you to record nearby people.

Leader

Faced with the need to work in a team, you assembled a good team, which proved your leadership skills.

Bonus - Your leadership skills increase your team's chances of survival.

Diplomat

You know how to solve problems in a peaceful way. There is no need to use force if everything can be resolved through negotiations. However, you should beware of those who shoot first and ask later.

Bonus - Respecting your ability to negotiate, “Freedom”, “Duty”, free stalkers and even bandits began to treat you better.

Researcher

You have worked with scientists for so long that you fully deserve the title of research assistant. Now all the inhabitants of the research bunker treat you as one of their own.

Bonus - Having seen you as a valuable assistant, Professor Herman offers you medicines and equipment intended only for bunker personnel, at cost.

Novikov is so used to you that, when making modifications, he demands payment only for consumables.

Friend of Duty

You helped the Dolg group a lot and gained authority among its fighters and their friends. But we should not forget that not everyone sympathizes with “Duty”.

Bonus - Your relationship with “Duty” has improved. If you get into trouble, the “Duty” fighters will try to come to your aid. Technician Azot sympathizes with “Duty”, so he made a discount for you.

Your relationship with Svoboda has deteriorated. A Hawaiian trader sympathetic to Liberty raised the prices of his goods.

Friend of Freedom

Bonus - Your relationship with Svoboda has improved. If you get into trouble, Freedom fighters will try to come to your aid. A Hawaiian merchant who sympathizes with Freedom gave you a discount.

Your relationship with “Duty” has deteriorated. Technician Azot sympathizes with Debt, so he increased the prices for his services.

Balancer

You did not give preference to any group, and always acted as a free stalker. As a result, we didn’t make new enemies, but we didn’t make new friends either.

Bonus - For stalkers on Yanov, the balance of the forces of “Duty” and “Freedom” is important, so the technician and merchant gave you discounts.

Keeper of Secrets

You cannot be denied foresight - having found notes in the caches of Strelka’s group, you did not part with them until you found the person to whom they belonged.

Bonus - Having received the notes, Strelok found a new reason to survive and reach the intended goal at any cost.

Experienced Stalker

There are almost no accessible places left near the center of the Zone that have been overlooked by your attention. You have visited almost all local anomalies.

Bonus - The accumulated experience allows you to find rare artifacts more often.

Wealthy client

Although you are familiar with the lack of money firsthand, you cannot always be called strapped for funds. On the contrary, sometimes your financial savings can be envied. Such clients are a great joy for a merchant.

Bonus - Merchants often offer you the rarest and most expensive goods.

Marked by Zone

You were able to survive the ejection without hiding in shelter - you were saved by anabiotic pills. This had an ambiguous effect on your psyche - a strange silence fell in your head. You no longer seem to hear a constant stream of thoughts.

Bonus - Even without taking medications, you have a chance to survive the release outside the shelter, if your health is not undermined by anything.

Information Trader

Whatever information fell into your hands, you always found a buyer for it. Without missing the opportunity to provide information to those interested, you, naturally, did not forget about your benefit.

Bonus - Trader Sych gave you a discount as the best informant and colleague in the profession.

Friend of Stalkers

When you met stalkers in trouble, you always helped them. Stalkers are not very united, but in the unspoken stalker brotherhood you have allies who can help you in battle and after it.

Bonus - Your relationship with stalkers has improved. If you get into trouble, stalkers will try to come to your aid. Medical stalkers have agreed to sell you medicines at cost.

It has a wide variety of methods, each of which can be used by a hunter to increase the chances of success.

In the fall, young wood grouse already grow up and become easy prey because they do not yet have the experience of a high degree of caution.

Getting close to such individuals does not take much effort, because they behave much simpler than old wood grouse. Extraneous noises and sounds do not frighten them as much as adults.

This doesn't mean that hunting wood grouse in autumn should be carried out in an ugly manner and not be afraid to make noise, since the capercaillie is primarily a wild bird that tries to hide from enemies and potential danger.

Having the right camouflage, quick shooting skills, the ability to silently approach a bird, and cartridges with close and sharp fire will come in handy on this hunt.

How does wood grouse hunting go in the fall?

Contents of the article:

If in summer the capercaillie in most cases feeds on berries, then with the onset of autumn it moves to aspen and larch until the leaves on the aspen turn red and fall off.

With the arrival of cold weather and frosts, the first snows and days of winter, wood grouse go to the coniferous forest, where they feed on pine needles. At this time of year, hunting is already carried out in other places.

Since this bird often eats coarse grains, for better digestion it needs pebbles, which it finds along rivers, forest or railway roads and in quarries.

Thus, in the fall, you need to go to the forest where aspen and larch grow to find wood grouse. In addition, swampy areas and dense thickets with the presence of moss are the usual habitat for wood grouse.

Remember that the capercaillie leads a sedentary lifestyle, so it will not wander too far from the places where it was born.

Hunting wood grouse in autumn with a dog

The use of a hunting dog in this hunt has an excellent auxiliary effect, since with its help you can not only find the wood grouse itself in the hunting grounds, but also find wounded animals, which sometimes occur.

If you hunt wood grouse at the very beginning of autumn, then you can use a pointing dog, which, as a rule, finds broods of wood grouse by smell.

At the beginning, all the birds run away from the dog, but after a while they hide. The pointer makes a special stance, while the hunter determines the place where the wood grouse can fly and gives the command to the dog to raise the bird on its wing.

Shots are fired at flying birds. It is imperative to notice the place where the capercaillie flew in order to direct the dog there again.

Towards mid-autumn, many hunters begin to take a spaniel with them on hunts, which, by the nature of its work, differs from a pointer.

This breed of hunting dog does not stand, so you need to constantly monitor its behavior in order to have time to shoot at rising birds.

Here you should not lag behind the active spaniel, but follow him. If you train the dog well, you can ensure that it will bypass the wood grouse and lift them towards the hunter.

Laika is also actively used during wood grouse hunting. Her style of work is to find a capercaillie and drive it into a tree, and then let the hunter know with a quiet and rare bark that the bird has been found.

At this moment, the hunter tries to come closer and make a well-aimed shot. It is very important that the husky does not bark often and loudly, because this way you can scare off the capercaillie long before the hunter approaches.

Hunting for wood grouse in autumn from the approach

From the name itself it becomes clear that hunting consists of approaching the wood grouse at a distance that allows you to make a successful shot.

The hunter needs to dress in camouflage clothing that will be similar to the environment, because the capercaillie has good eyesight.

It is better to choose cloudy weather when the leaves in the forest do not rustle, which will make it easier to approach the bird. You need to go to places where aspen and larch grow. If there is wind, then it must blow towards the hunter, and not away from him.

As a rule, in a pine forest there are small islands of aspen or larch, which are located on the southern slopes.

The presence or absence of wood grouse in such places can be determined by the dried needles lying on the ground. In addition, during the fattening process, birds throw small twigs and leave droppings under the tree where they feed.

When a capercaillie flies up a tree, the flapping of its wings can be heard for several hundred meters, and the clicking sound while tearing off leaves can be heard for a couple of hundred meters.

Thus, the hunter will be able to determine where the wood grouse are currently located, and then begin to approach them.

If several wood grouse are sitting on a tree, then you need to shoot those who are lower so as not to frighten off the rest. You should aim at the side under the wing with shot No. 2 or No. 1.

When hunting wood grouse in the fall, other methods are used. For example, hunting with stuffed animals, when three to five stuffed capercaillie are planted on a tree, they build a hut and wait for their arrival.

Some hunters drive up to a capercaillie in a car and shoot directly from it, but this is an illegal way of hunting. Such moments happen when wood grouse are looking for pebbles near roads.

Description: The capercaillie asked for help in finding the missing hunter. The hunter had to find the lair of the bloodsuckers. Judging by the available information, it is the bloodsuckers who are involved in all the recent disappearances of stalkers.

Quest issues: Capercaillie

Terms of issue: No

Reward: Title "Detective", 10,000 and coordinates of two caches.

Walkthrough: Before completing it, you can go talk to Tremor, who examined the bodies of the dead, he will tell you some details. You can find it on the second floor of Skadovsk. After the conversation, we go to the Sosnodub Anomaly, where we need to find the stalker. There was only a dead bloodsucker on the spot, and no trace of Hunter Danila, but Capercaillie reports that he found something interesting and asks to join him.

We are heading to the "VNZ Circle". The Capercaillie is waiting for us there and reports that he saw a bloodsucker enter the building. The lair of the bloodsuckers is supposedly located there. We go after the stalker, first we fight off two bloodsuckers in turn. After this, we go down through the elevator shaft to the basement. There lie three corpses with marks from the claws of monsters, but Danila is not among them. Next, our companion opens a closed door, behind which a whole flock of monsters is sleeping. The main thing here is not to make noise, move in a crouch or at a slow pace, and certainly not to catch the Sleeping Beauties, because then a fatal outcome is guaranteed.

Even if you are in the best equipment and with the best weapons, I am not sure that you will get out of there safely. If you didn't wake anyone up, you'll go through the tunnel to the surface near the swamp. We never found Danila, but Capercaillie has one idea, and for now we are offered to tell the people about the discovered lair of bloodsuckers. About a day later, the PDA receives a signal to meet with Capercaillie, but he is not at Skadovsk, we approach Beard, he says that Capercaillie left a message and we should meet at the port cranes. We arrive at the place and find Danila’s corpse in the house nearby. We go into the room and find Tremor, who is standing over the corpse of Capercaillie.

Trevor admits that it was he who killed all those stalkers. And here we can choose options:

1) We don’t want to listen to him, he shoots himself in the head very beautifully, and we need to go to Skadovsk and tell him that Trevor is to blame for everything, not the bloodsuckers. We tell the beard everything - we get recognition for helping out the entire camp, 10,000 and the coordinates of two caches in addition. And on top of that, he also has the title Detective in his PDA. It sounds proud, but let's see what the second option gives us.

2) And in the second case it’s the same, but we also learn interesting information about him and his strange illness. (Perhaps not all conditions were met, and the option was not fully disclosed)

Adviсe: Search Trevor's corpse, he was a medic in Skadovsk, there is a whole week's supply of medicines there;)

At the beginning of autumn there are quite a lot of wood grouse in mixed forests. They feed on berries, coarse grains, and pine needles. They can also be seen in wetlands and along rivers.

When cold weather sets in, birds move to larch and aspen. At the same time, they climb onto the larch after some time, when the needles become tasty and soft, and remain there until the last needles fall.

Near coniferous trees, carefully inspect the ground. You will need to look for signs of the wood grouse's life. These could be torn branches, bird droppings, or pine needles.

By the way, the hunting season begins in the last week of August or in September, it all depends on your area. By this time, males reach a weight of 5-6 kg, and females 2-3 kg.

As soon as you see the target, stop at a distance of 60-70 m, try not to make noise and walk very quietly. The capercaillie is a shy bird and can be frightened by any noise.
Take binoculars for hunting. Although the capercaillie is a fairly large bird, it easily camouflages itself behind tree trunks and branches.
It is preferable to hunt in cloudy and rainy weather, since the ground and pine needles will be wet and your steps will not be heard. Therefore, you should not hunt in the dry season, because the bird will immediately fly away when it hears extraneous sounds.

Hunting for wood grouse using the approach

The hunter needs to wear camouflage clothing; he will be invisible in it, since the capercaillie has good eyesight.
Find the bird's habitat and inspect the area, you can also determine it by sounds. They flap their wings loudly and click their beaks.
The bird is well camouflaged behind tree trunks, and without binoculars you may not see it.
In a mixed forest, choose small islands of larch or aspen.
Try to walk silently, and when approaching the wood grouse, fire an accurate shot.
To avoid spooking the birds, shoot at those sitting on the lower branches.
When you have fired a successful shot, watch where the bird flies. Even if a capercaillie is mortally wounded, it is capable of flying up to 300 meters.

Use of dogs

Various dog breeds are suitable for hunting wood grouse: huskies, spaniels, pointers. It’s just not recommended to take a puppy, because it can disperse a flock of birds.

1. In early autumn it is recommended to hunt with cop. She determines the movement of the brood and follows their trail until the capercaillies hide. Then she makes a stance, and the hunter determines the direction of flight, sending the dog forward. After shooting the birds, the hunter remembers in which direction the birds scattered and sends the cop there.

2. When wood grouse begin to be cautious, you need to take them hunting spaniel. It has a relative size, and makes its way through any bushes. This dog does not stand, but it chases, overtakes and lifts birds faster than birds. If you are a good shooter, then you can hunt with such a dog for a long time.

3.Laika. This breed of dog is universal. She quickly finds the capercaillie and lifts them onto the wing. Laika detects birds sitting in trees and barks at them until the owner appears. She distracts a flock of birds so that the hunter has the opportunity to get close to her.

During the autumn hunt for wood grouse, you can use other methods such as: make a hut, make a stuffed bird, hunt with cars.

In any case, this type of hunting can appeal to many people, where they can have fun and usefully spend their free time.