[Terry G]

KInd of a dreary day, low 50's, light rain. I did my Saturday chores gathering up the garbage, hauling it to the dump, and cleaning up some brush. I felt "cabin fever" setting in and it's only October. So I thought I would get out of the house for a while. I took my Browning "sweet sixteen" and my trusty hound to a woods a couple of miles away that is usually pretty good for Grouse. I lucked out. I didn't walk more than 200 yards and I flushed one for a straight going away shot. Went down immediately and Fido (Starlight) retrieved like a champ. (Didn't have to blow in her nose for a release, thanks, RIKA, I'm still trying to get the dog snot off my hat.) I walked about 100 yards farther and kicked up another one on a going away, crossing left shot. Nailed that one too. (Allright, Dammit, it took me two.) I couldn't find the second Grouse, and Starlight was doing what dog's do in the woods so it was a while before she found it. I field dressed both birds and went home and de-winged and plucked them. I'm not plucking wings for a teaspoon of meat. Cooked them both in a slow oven with a bacon strip across the breast. Cholesterol be damned, everybody got to die of something.l made a side dish of rice pilaf. I fried up some Walleye fillets that I had caught in Canada for my Wife. (She won't eat game I've shot, but fish are OK, go figure.) The grouse were so good I couldn't believe it. Moist, tender, and, well, there is something about obtaining you food with your own hands. The whole meal I GOT with my own hands, except for the rice. I saved the heart, liver, and gizzards for the dog over rice. Very, Very Satisfying.

 

[ASPHALT COWBOY]

I've never had grouse, but you had walley and did'nt invite me, I'm gonna go sit in my corner and pout!


Sounds like you had one outstanding day, a day in the feild, two birds in hand, and a fine meal with family. Outstanding indeed.

 

[Magnum88C]

Good job there Terry. Ever try deep-frying them in peanut oil like a turkey? Wondered if they came out good that way.

Boy do the dogs love getting their share of the spoils too, eh? I know psycho puppy watches me with great intent as I prepare his gutpile for him!

 

[Terry G]

Asphalt Cowboy, you've never had Grouse? Great game bird. Very similiar to Rock Cornish hen, but, well, BETTER. THe Canadian Walleye are a real treat. They basically live all year in cold water so their flesh is firm and tasty. The yearly trip cost's about $2400.00 for my Son and I to eat about eight pounds of fish for supper and bring about sixteen pounds of filets home. Easy math, $100.00 a pound for Walleye. I was never accused of being smart. Magnum88C, never deep fried them, they taste so good baked I don't think I could improve on it. Tried a wild turkey deep fried. My son's father in law shot it and put in the deep frier. It looked great, and tasted like you were chewing leather. I've heard the wild Turkey's run so much that they toughen up and you might as well throw the legs away. It was a big bird, 25 lbs. dead weight, and the breast was edible but still tough as hell.

 

[Magnum88C]

Thanks for the report Terry, never tried deep-frying a wild turkey. Works great wth store-bought turkeys, they're tender and juicy.

 

[Ankeny]

Grouse, yummy. What kind do you have? Blue, ruffed??

 

[Terry G]

They are Ruffed Grouse in my area Ankeny, Usuaally a tough hunt. I have walked all day long and flushed none. If you don't have a dog, don't bother hunting. You'll walk right over birds and lose the one's you hit.

 

[Ankeny]

I have seen a grand total of one ruffed grouse in Wyoming. We have the good old "fool" chicken or blues. Much easier to hunt.

Gotta love those labs. Extremely versatile dogs aren't they? Waterfowl or upland game, they just love the hunt. I used to sit on the river bank reading a book listening to the dog sitting next to me breathing heavily. When the breathing stopped, I'd look at the dog to see where she was looking and there were the ducks. Awesome critter. The only thing I hated about the dog was the looks she gave me when I missed. Man she used to get disgusted with my shooting.

 

[Terry G]

Labrador's have moods and character's like human's. Try going hunting (deer hunting) without them and their PO'd at you. If I pull my boat out of the garage, my dog is yelling at me to go with. Not attack dog's (wouldn't want them to be) but if they sense danger they will put themselves between it and you. Wouldn't be without my "Partner."

 

[Ankeny]

Ever notice how much you can tell about a Lab just from looking into their eyes? Just from the pic, I am guessing yours is bright, alert, loyal, and loving. Nailed it didn't I?

 

[Terry G]

Ankeny, you hit the nail on the head alright. She's my fourth one. I had two at once for 14 years, but my wife suggested we drop down to one after the two passed on. I wouldn't have another breed. Very smart, faithful, and avid hunters. Also great with children. My current one my children bought for me when I lost my last one. She was 7 weeks old and took a whole three day's to housebreak. Also, she won't "GO" in the cut area of my property, she has to go into the woods. Maybe she's modest? I get a kick when my daughter visits and brings her two Basset hounds along. They are probably the dumbest breed of dog alive. They took almost a YEAR to housebreak, and when taken off a leash they disappear into the sunset. I alway's show off by using just hand signals to get Starlight to sit, go out, fetch, and retrive. It drives my daughter crazy. Now if I could just get her drop ducks.... (the dog I mean, not my daughter)

 

[RIKA]

Labs are not aggressive but protective. Many times I've had my Lab, Boo, with me and she has always given a low warning growl when someone came up that I didn't hear. Once she was riding asleep on the floor on the passenger side of the car when a bum came up and knocked on the window wanting money. She came up barking and growling like one of the Dobes. The bum tripped himself trying to get away.

I love Labs.

RIKA

 

[KJUN]

Good job there Terry. Ever try deep-frying them in peanut oil like a turkey? Wondered if they came out good that way.

I've tried duck and coot that way. Doesn't work worth a flip - especially the duck. I just do chicken and turkey that way now.

You can actually do a turkey breast (bome and all) inside in a fry daddy if you get your act together first. It's the best part of the bird when fried, sop that works great for us! Less oil "wasted," too. Easier to burn yourself, though.

KJ

 

[Guppi]

Well, I've been reading through some of these threads for a few weeks now and decided to go ahead an pipe up. After reading a lot of the SHTF forum, I know andy, 223, gunkidd (sp?), and a couple others are the bsers on here and so long as they stay out of the way, the chats are actually intelligent and entertaining.

Back to the subject at hand, however, I WAS going to buy one of those turkey friers, but I watched a guy use it and quickly decided I like my own skin raw instead of golden brown, juicy, and deep fried. Knowing my family, my son'ld decide to try using it when nobody was watching and burn down my house.

Also, I've heard that coot is one bird you should try very hard to avoid eating because of their diet. In Kansas, you're allowed to bring in 15 of them per day, so if they're decent eating, I'm sure I could find a use for them once I pick up a new shotgun. (Had to sell my last one.)

 

[KJUN]

Also, I've heard that coot is one bird you should try very hard to avoid eating because of their diet. In Kansas, you're allowed to bring in 15 of them per day, so if they're decent eating, I'm sure I could find a use for them once I pick up a new shotgun. (Had to sell my last one.)

When people tell me that directly, I want to shake them and slap some sense into them. Coots eat seeds, submerged aquatic vegetation, some insects, etc. Sounds very, very similar to what those "delicious" mallards, gadwalls, and other "good" birds eat, doesn't it? The diet is pretty much the same. Axis versus cows, white-tails versus feral goats, etc. eat very similar diets, but taste very, very differently. Why would some turds believe that ducks and coots MUST eat differently for them to taste so different, but shovelers taste different for some other reason? Don't believe them, Guppi.

Diet isn't the reason, but coots do taste differently. They have a MUCH larger gizzard and ingest larger sizes of grit on average, so I assume they eat more seeds (or larger/harder seeds), but I don't think that has anything to do with why they taste bad to many people. (Turkey eat more, larger seeds, and taste better than any duck IMO....lol.)

Coots can be an aquired taste, but so can most wild game. Just keep an open mind. They taste awesome in a gumbo, and I like the gizzards for rice dressing.

KJ

 

[Guppi]

See, when I was taking my Hunter Safety Course, the guy teaching about migrating birds said that the coot eats trash and such from the water, which was why they taste terrible and that the wood duck ate a lot of nuts, which was why they are his favorite. If I can find some recipes for them, I might try some as they are quite plentiful around here.

 

[bcfos]

Every single lab I have ever owned was a great dog. They are not attack dogs that is for sure, in fact if anyone ever broke into the house they would sue due to the fact they tripped over the beast. But as for hunting they are great in their element which is upland fowl. I remember one time while in a blind and having a bad day shooting my lemon Gin would look at me every time I shot and nothing dropped from the sky like "Why the hell am I here anyway". But let one fall and she was all over it. The hardest one to train was my chocolate Coco. She was bull headed and could not learn to have a "Soft mouth" on the ducks. But by the time she was 2 I guess she grew out of chewing on ducks on the retrieve thank god..