| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 19 SEP 2026 – 03 JAN 2027 | 107d |
As publishedSept. 19, 2026 - Jan. 3, 2027
Statewide, same season as ruffed grouse.No standalone spruce-grouse-only bag limit -- it shares the 5-daily/10-possession combined limit with ruffed grouse, capped at a maximum of 2 daily / 4 possession spruce grouse within that combined total.
Minnesota is unique among the Great Lakes states in still permitting spruce grouse hunting, and MN DNR runs a dedicated spruce grouse population survey, an annual spring fecal-pellet survey organized into 3 named Ecological Classification System sections. The Northern Superior Uplands section in the east (the Arrowhead) is the survey's dominant region by effort and detection (40 of 67 routes, 190 of 319 sites) and is treated as the species' core Minnesota range. The Northern Minnesota Drift & Lake Plains section, in the south-central part of the survey area, is explicitly the species' southern range edge, fewest routes/sites (10 routes, 44 sites), lowest and possibly declining pellet counts, the only section MN DNR flags as a potential area of population concern.
DNR's 2026 pellet-count survey found spruce grouse holding steady across most of their Minnesota range, similar to 2025 and well below the unusually high 2024 count. No statistically significant population trend has emerged over nine years of monitoring, though numbers may be trending softer in the Minnesota Drift and Lake Plains, the southern edge of the range. Unlike ruffed grouse, which shares the same forest habitat and took a hit from heavy June rain, spruce grouse don't show a comparable weather-driven dip this year.
2026 pellet-count survey shows the population reasonably stable statewide, with a possible soft spot in the Minnesota Drift and Lake Plains at the range's southern edge.
Join the waitlist and tell us what you’re working on — the planner reads it first once your access opens.
Free, invite-gated, unsubscribe anytime. See what it returns