Capercaillie and Black Grouse Hunts

One of the most beautiful, exciting, and rewarding hunts is the combination Spring hunt for capercaillie black grouse and woodcock, which have a very high concentration in St. Petersburg and other Northern regions of Russia. This is essentially a trophy hunt, giving an opportunity to collect birds in their prime plumage.

Capercaillie is usually hunted after midnight by stalking. The capercaillie, which otherwise has very acute hearing, becomes deaf for very short periods of time while making its early-morning mating calls. This allows the hunter to approach within 20-35 yards to place a reliable shot. The hunt must be completed before the daylight so that the wary birds cannot see the approaching hunters. Among the two subspecies of capercaillie; the white beaked capercaillie is found across the entire country, whereas the black beaked capercaillie is found only in Siberia and the Far East.

Black grouse are hunted in the spring just before sunrise, from the blind, positioned close to a lek, or “booming” grounds, where dozens of cocks may gather. The spectacle of fighting cocks is unbelievably exciting.

Both, capercaellie and black grouse can be hunted in the fall with dogs.

Read “Grouse of Another Time”, a first-person account of Russian grouse hunting by Chris Dorsey.