Henry Rifle Forums

After several years of going on my own and then with my stepson, I finally got one today. I was with my stepson and he was training his English short hair pointer Tupper. Tupper was wild and mischievous up until a few days ago. I got Tupper a good training collar for Christmas. My stepson only had a few days use on it, but what a wonderful difference it made in that dog. He was focused, enjoying the hunt and soooooo much better behaved inside. I know it will make him a much better animal.

So we had time and the dog needed some training. I brought my hunting things and we set out in the late afternoon to look for grouse. He had pointed some and flushed some on walks. Now, he was focused and a pleasure to watch. He found one and pointed, but got too close and flushed it too. Neither of us saw it. We combed the property and went back to where they have been hanging out towards evening. As I walked towards my stepson and the dog, I flushed one. I never saw it or heard it. About ten minutes later, the predicted freezing rain started and we were calling it. I scanned the floor of the dense forest and saw movement. It wasn't a rabbit, it was a grouse sheltering near the base of a small tree. It was very dense, but at least I could see it. I decided to take it as he and the dog were not close by at all. That was it. First grouse.

I'm hoping to make a nice meal with it tomorrow. I think it was eating wild grapes for it's last meal. Lovely birds. I'm glad they like the stepson's property too.

Good for you DD. I grew up hunting grouse with my family back in the 70s. Nothing like the sound of a flushing thunder chicken. Sad to say the woods in Ohio have changed on the land we hunt to all mature hardwood now. Not good habitat for game birds. Plenty of grey squirrels but not much else.

congrats on all three .... the bird, the dog, and building memories with your Grandson

Your first picture with the dog’s nose on the bird is fantastic. Congrats on a successful hunt, particularly with a good dog. Freezing rain on top of that snow must have been “fun”.

I believe that grouse hunting is the most fun of all types of hunting.

Good for you, Dave. Our grouse population isn't what it used to be, either, since much of our forest has matured, due, in part, to people like us moving here for retirement. If you want decent grouse hunting, you have to find areas that have recently been logged. Oh, we still see a grouse or two in our neighborhood, every now and then, but it sure wouldn't be enough to train a dog. We actually have more turkey than grouse, now. Turkey were introduced in our area some time back. Biologists didn't think they had much chance of surviving our harsh winters, but I guess they underestimated the turkeys. One tough bird. They'll come right in the yard, sometimes.

Congratulations Dave! I can remember hunting grouse as a kid in the wheat fields of Idaho. That first picture is great.

Yup congrats Dave hope the dog gets a bite to.

Congrats Dave!
Appears to be a most rewarding outing for all!

Update,

We only breasted the grouse. My stepson wanted to use the rest of the carcass for training Tupper. We cut the fan off and my stepson will mount it for me.
I cooked the breasts in a cast pan. Cut them in half, seared in bacon grease. I had chopped and onion and celery and cooked it with rosemary and thyme. They were cooked down a bit in the bacon grease until softened. I wrapped the breast halves in bacon and baked them for 30 minutes in the cast pan with vegetables. I added a bit of white wine as they baked.
They came out first rate. I only lacked mushrooms and ultimately, didn't miss them.

If you’re going to breast the grouse here’s a tip for you. (You may already know this)

A great way to process a grouse is to do the “pull” method. This only works on a fresh bird just shot so if you want pictures of a daily take later don’t do this after some time has passed.

Place the bird on it’s back feet towards you. Put each foot on the wing right next to the body join. Grab the legs and pull firmly and steadily towards you. This will pull all the innards out and leave you with only the breast and both wings attached. For Washington State this is legal for species identification should you go thru a game check station or be checked by a warden. You lose the legs and the wings but with a ruff grouse that isn’t much. Now a Blue Grouse, that’s a different story. I don’t pull Blues.