Like most serious grouse hunters, I'd love to own and hunt over the perfect grouse dog. Unfortunately, my living circumstances don't allow me to keep one. But disappointing as that fact is, there is a bright side to it.

Not having a dog has made me a better grouse hunter.

Hunting without a dog has forced me to develop manmade ways to flush birds and get high-percentage shots. After a lot of trial and error and a lot more planning and experimentation, I've learned that two hunters without a dog can frequently execute a successful "grouse drive."

The Four Keys
There are four keys to make it work. First, from a safety standpoint, you need a cooperative partner and plenty of blaze orange. Second, you need to know the cover well. Third, you need to realize that, in this type of hunting, success depends mostly on what you do before the bird flushes. Finally, you need to know a few simple patterns of travel in which one hunter will commonly flush a grouse toward the other.

1. Safety
Grouse drives tend to put some distance between two hunters. When you can't see your partner or don't know where he or she is, the potential for an accident increases. Wearing plenty of blaze orange is advisable. More important, perhaps, is that safety depends on having a partner who will stick to a planned travel route -- one designed to prevent accidents as well as flush birds.

If both hunters know the cover well, and agree to walk a route that eliminates the chance of shooting toward each other, there should be no safety problem.

Just about any quick-handling 12-gauge or 20-gauge repeating shotgun will do nicely in the grouse woods.

2. Know The Cover
Having a general idea where the birds are isn't enough. You have to think about how to approach the cover so that you'll get a chance for a shot. The terrain should also allow you and your partner to stay roughly 75 yards to 100 yards apart. If you stay much closer together, the grouse will flush away from both of you instead of toward one of you.

While no one can predict exactly which way a grouse will go, we do know that flushed birds often fly no more than a couple hundred yards or so before setting down. If you're the proper distance away from your partner when he jumps a bird, you can be in a good position for a shot -- occasionally even at a grouse that's slowing down to land instead of rocketing up to escape.

If you do hear a bird flush toward your partner, yell "Bird!" so he knows it's coming and can gain a second or two in preparation time.

It's easy to say that a flushed grouse will fly straight for the thickest cover, a stand of hemlocks, for instance, and you should know such likely escape destinations in a given area. On the other hand, I've also seen flushed birds cross surprisingly open areas such as field corners, logging roads, and streams.

Wherever the grouse goes, it's going to get there fast. When a grouse flushes, the bird and the hunter's gun go up almost simultaneously. It's the "almost" that dooms many hunters. This is why what you do before the shot is so important.

3. Before The Shot
I wish we could study the average length of time we have to shoot at a grouse. Even if the bird is in range for several seconds, it isn't usually shootable the whole time because it's hidden behind a curtain of brush or trees.

To help gain some time to shoot, try to move through openings in the cover as much as possible, so that you can spot the bird quickly and have some room to swing your gun. Of course, typical grouse cover often forces a snap shot rather than a swing. But even if you have to "snap," being a bit in the open will let you point either left or right without slamming the barrel into a sapling. Grouse cover is almost always tight, but if you look carefully you can at least avoid the most congested parts of a given covert.

Another edge is to take a tip from international skeet shooters, who start with the gunstock at hip level. They can't shoulder the gun until the target appears, so they devote a lot of practice time to perfecting a quick, smooth gun mount. Grouse hunters should practice the same thing. I don't know any grouse hunters who don't shoot trap or skeet to tune up for the field, but I know precious few who take an unloaded gun down to the basement and practice shouldering it. A fast, consistent mount will help get on the bird faster and lengthen the time you have to shoot.

The author says two hunters without a dog can frequently execute a successful grouse drive.

The way you carry your gun can be a factor, too. I've often carried mine at "port arms" with the barrel pointing up and to the left (I'm right-handed). This is a comfortable way to tote a gun, but you'll shoot more quickly if you point the gun out in front of you, keeping the muzzle about eye level. From this position, you can simply bring the stock up -- the muzzle is already in the same plane as your eyes. The quicker this coordination is achieved, the better. Holding the gun out in front of you also allows you to turn quickly in either direction rather than favor one or the other.

The way you walk through cover counts, too. We all know that you should stop and go, pausing frequently. The pause unnerves the high-strung birds, prompts them to flush, and better prepares you to shoot. Stopped, you're in position, looking and listening more alertly than when you are in motion. Another key, therefore, is to fight the tendency to get impatient and walk too fast. You should try to move with enough control to stop on a dime and shoot.

I don't think I've ever hit a grouse while I was walking or even slowing down. Another disadvantage to walking too fast is that, in typical grouse cover, you'll be watching your feet to keep from tripping instead of looking ahead to spot birds. Grouse often scuttle a step or two before taking off, and it's not impossible to see them or hear them a moment before they lift off.

4. Patterns Of Travel
The way two hunters pattern their route through cover can vary, but two things must be kept in mind: Never move directly toward each other, and once you agree on a route, don't wander from it. The following patterns have all produced flushes that gave me a high-percentage chance of downing a bird:

The Parallel Approach
Two hunters side by side, 75 yards to 100 yards apart and moving in the same direction, can often result in one hunter flushing a bird toward the other. Placing one hunter on the edge of cover, perhaps on a logging road or perimeter of an abandoned orchard, will often produce shots at grouse exiting that cover.

The "L" Pattern
In this pattern, one hunter walks about 100 yards ahead while the other stays on the right or left side of him and follows. In my experience, grouse don't always flush ahead of an approaching hunter. They may fly straight back from him, off to one side, or angle back from him. This formation often directs a bird to the hunter off to the side. Continue through the cover, trading places as desired.

The "U" Pattern
Two hunters can start off right next to each other, then move through a covert in a "U." Agree to go a certain distance or to a landmark before meeting and starting again.

These patterns also have worked often for me when trying to reflush a bird. If you flush a bird and miss it, wait a few minutes, go to the point where you lost sight of it, and try either pattern. The bird may still be jumpy and flush farther out, but if you're far enough apart, the bird will often present one hunter with a shot. If you're too close, it will probably flush from you both.

If there are birds in the cover, anybody can flush them. The idea of the drive is simply to plan a route so that a bird flushes toward one of the hunters. Granted, they won't always fly toward either, but in the 20 years I have been grouse hunting, I've seen drives work often enough to put a lot of faith in them. As in all upland bird hunting, safety principles such as zones of fire are vital. Grouse drives are as safe as any other form of bird hunting, if planned and executed with care.

Guns For Grouse Drives
Just about any quick-handling 12-gauge or 20-gauge repeating shotgun will do nicely in the grouse woods. Keep the barrel length in the neighborhood of 24 inches to 26 inches, and stick to improved cylinder, or at most, modified chokes. The tighter choke will be more useful if birds "flush wild" or if a second or third shot is possible.

Popular grouse loads include 2-3/4-inch No. 7-1/2s, although 6s and 8s will put birds down, too.