Canadian Ruffed Grouse question

[thunderflash44]

I've seen quite a few videos of ruffed grouse from Canada and I can't help but notice a huge difference in the birds' behavior from those here in most of the states. Ruffed grouse up in Canada are way more calm, they just seem to sit in trees or on trails and they definitely don't flush or evade hunters like they do here. Guys up in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick walk right up to the birds and shoot them on the ground or out of trees for the most part and the birds don't seem to fear humans. Here, I've rarely seen birds to just sit there, let you walk up ten feet to them and shoot. Is it possible that their less exposure to human contact makes them behave this way and the birds here, having been exposed to hunters much more often cause them to be so challenging to hunt? I've seen plenty of people hunt them with.22's in Canada because they just sit out in the open and rarely flush even when hunters are just a few yards away. Could it be that the instincts of the birds here have become as such due to much more often contact with humans? I've had conversations with our Canadian neighbors discussing the ruffed grouse and many of them we're amazed to hear how hard it is here to hunt/hit a ruffed grouse. Most of them said how easy grouse hunting is in much of Canada and here it is completely the opposite. Also there is a big difference in ethics as in Canada, it's not looked down upon to shoot a bird standing still on the ground whereas here it's considered dishonorable to "ground swat" a grouse. However anyone bags a bird doesn't really matter to me personally, I am just amazed at the difference in ruffed grouse behavior. Any thoughts?

[bowbum]

Hunting in Saskatchewan I've shot them with single shot .22 at 5 to 10 yards and less many times while walking along logging roads.
They are the same bird but have not developed the fear, born of many years of being hunted in every clump of brush, as our birds have.

[thunderflash44]

That's so cool. I'm no biologist by any means, but I just find it fascinating how the birds here are born with the lightning quick flight instinct and incredible ability to evade predators and hunters alike. Its really an example of how the grouse of the lower 48 have adapted and reacted over the centuries of human exposure and hunting pressure. In Canadian provinces and in areas of US states where very few people live they just sit and allow hunters to come within only a few feet proximity and don't flush. Here and in most other places, it is the complete opposite. I mean I have had birds flush within only a few feet of me, but they weren't in plain sight and were basically just trying to hold out as long as possible not to take to flight and spend the energy. It takes a lot out of a grouse to take off, especially when evading a hunter. In the majority of my experience chasing grouse through the thick woods tangled with thorn bushes and heavy cover, I have to say most of the time on a wild flush, I've only heard them take off and not even see them.