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The sage grouse season started in Colorado two weekends ago so I had a chance to put the Merkel to work on its first wild birds. I got a strange two shot triple on these big birds by dropping the closest bird on a going away shot, then dropped a crosser that hooked across about 30 yds out when another bird fell behind it that was making the same move another 5 yds behind it.

This last weekend, we hit the sharptail and prairie chicken opener in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The hunting was difficult and not real productive but my partner managed to knock down a sharpie and chicken. Here's his Sterlingworth 16 and the chicken.

Here's a pic of sharpies and a chicken. We met up with a fellow hunter from Arizona who got the second sharpie.

Hc

Member Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 113 Location: Arizona

Great photos. Looks like the Merkel, and you, did their job!

Highcountry, nice pictures. Makes me want to move back to Colorado. By the way, I just saw an advertisement for"Outwest Guides" for Blue Grouse hunting packages. The fellow in the picture looks a lot like you. Was it?

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

Good gun,good times and good hunting--what else could a guy ask for Laughing

High Country, how do those Sage grouse fare on a plate?

16gg - I haven't tried one yet, but word is, not the best. Looking for a good recipe.

Well, I was wondering. I've heard they're not real fine fare, but I've never eaten one.

A friend from Idaho once sent in this recipe:
One medium onion chopped coarse and two garlic cloves chopped fine sauteed until clear in olive oil. Remove and set aside. Clean, dress, and cut up the sage grouse into four pieces each. roll in seasoned flour and brown well on each side in the olive oil after adding a touch. Transfer the grouse pieces and the onions and garlic to a good sized stew pot, cover with water and add the pan scrapings. Add a cup of white wine and simmer for an hour, add in a couple of peeled and quartered potatos some peeled split carrots, a couple of brussel sprouts. Next add the boots you wore out finding the damn birds and the empty shells you shot, simmer until the boot soles are tender, throw out the birds and eat the rest.

I hope it doesn't come to that. There's gotta be a way to make them worth eating.

Nice gun, so besides being lazer guided pheasent killin machines, thier lazer guided grouse killin machines as well??? Cool.

The breast meat of young sage grouse, properly prepared, tastes like really good beef. The older bird breast is near inedible.
Breast out the bird and marinade the meat in Wishbone Robusto Italian dressing with lots of chopped fresh garlic. Grill over mesquite until medium rare. Great with a Jordan or Caymus Cab.

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

Nice wine choices. I could eat cardboard if I got to drink a good cab with it.

Jeff

I'd have thought the breast meat on a any grouse is white like a ruff or a fool hen. Is the breast meat on a sage grouse dark like goose? What about sharptails and praire hens?

Maybe they'd taste better if you shot 'em with a Browning. Wink

The breast meat from the Sage grouse I hunted near Pinedale, WY and the sharptails near Vivian S. Dakota were both 'beefy red.'

Did not know that. the wild ruffs and the stocked chukers locally have a very pale grayish cast to the breast meat, but the taste is very mild and usually delicious cooked any old way. Usually fry the young birds and serve the older ones braised and simmered, Marsala style with mushrooms.

For red bird meat, a cold soaking in lightly salted water overnight helps. Some type of teriyaki style grilled over hot coals and not overdone should be ok. Anything to reduce the strong livery flaver with the iron filings back taste should help.

However, I will not eat any type of fowl rare. Too much risk of salmonella. It must be completely cooked or I'll pass. I know of two people who were in the habit of eating red legged black duck breasts sliced and fried rare like a piece of steak. Both ended up getting deathly sick eventually. None for me thanks.

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

Cooking to well done is a reasonable safety measure. However if you simply must enjoy those duck breast filets pale pink it pays to know a little about Salmonella.

Salmonella is endemic in the intestines of all birds. Any bird with pellets in the breasts (or thighs) allowing "stuff" to get into the meat (intramuscular) should be cooked well done. No exceptions.

If the breasts are free of pellets holes you can cook them rare as the outside surface of the (solid muscle) meat should be hot enough to kill salmonella which dies at about 165 degrees.

Jeff