Habitat is important but if you want game you must become game keeper like wonderful bro Englishman at fine estate in East Anglia. That means shooting or catching: corvidae, coyotes, foxes, turkey, rakoons and .....cats. That last one is controversial and I would not do it, but if you do be sure NO ONE is looking as people get very upset over stuff like that. If you seen pics on Misfires you know how adore small cuddle animals, but if you want little game birds you must shoot the cats. Remember in America when can gets diabetes they buy insulin and needles in Europe when cat gets it they get another cat or better yet dog that can bite as a replacement!
You seem to forget another big issue...raptors. Hawks and owls are extremely predatory on the Ruffed Grouse. Many times, I've experienced that once I scare an owl or hawk out of a tree while walking through a covert, I'll get a flush soon after. This may be a terrible thing to say from the perspective of bird lovers, but with the protection of avian predators and inability of farmers to shoot hawks predating on their fowl livestock, there seems to be an overabundance of raptors today. More so than I can ever remember. Growing up I can remember seeing a hawk every once in a while, but now driving down the road you'll see one every 10 minutes it seems like. Maybe it is just my hawk prejudice showing, but as a bird hunter, I don't really like the added competition. I suppose everything has to eat though...
