jbhlsu2001
Pro Tracker
Reged: 05/02/06
Posts: 1450
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Well I am about 2 weeks out from heading on my 1 1/2 week trip to Montana!  I have heard that grouse and chuckar are not the best eating? Well, we are hunting pheasants, chuckar, grouse, WT and Mulie's. I have had pheasant before and its outstanding but a couple fellas I am heading with say that chuckar and grouse is not so tasty?? Any advice THF's b/c I will just about eat anything out there! Thanks  
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TXPH
Tracker
Reged: 10/06/07
Posts: 642
Loc: CEN TEX
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I think Chukar are as good table fare is anything. Grouse it depends, rough and blue grouse are great, sage grouse or Shairp tail are less adiquate. but Chukar are awsome.
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Ethics are what you do when no one is looking
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MaggieMTx
THF Trophy Hunter
Reged: 10/03/06
Posts: 5245
Loc: Burkett area in Coleman County...
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Chukar are like big ole quail. So I have heard, can cook them just like quail.
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11-8-08....10 pt....151 gross...170 plus lbs
Is currently at Damuth Taxidery in Brady, Tx
"LIFE IS TOUGH...AND IT'S TOUGHER IF YOU'RE STUPID"...JOHN WAYNE
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wigeon
Outdoorsman
Reged: 09/04/08
Posts: 65
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Chukar taste very good. The meat is milder than quail in my opinion. I have never tasted grouse though.
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helomech
Extreme Tracker
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 4425
Loc: Latexo, tx
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Don't have a clue how they taste, but just wanted to wish you luck.
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El Gringo (Gary)
Light Foot
Reged: 09/18/08
Posts: 16
Loc: Del Rio, Texas
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Like chicken, doesn't everything. Seriously though, ruffed grouse are FABULOUS, better than pheasant. I lived in N. Idaho for a few years and grew up in upper Michigan there were tons of ruffies. Mind you they're not prairie birds, they live in the forrest. You'll encounter them on the old logging roads in the mountains. Best just to have a .22 with you and plink them in the head. Of course you'll need to get out of the truck to be legal. gary
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"El Gringo" Taxidermy
Del Rio, 830-734-1407
P.E.T.A Lifetime Member
People Eating Tasty Animals
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nuprofessor
Tracker
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 773
Loc: Central Missouri
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I have hunted wild pheasant and quail in North Missouri. A few times we have kicked up & harvested chukars (escapees from a game farm nearby). I have eaten them,and personally think they are better than pheasant or quail. The meat tends to be more white & cooks up great. My wife bakes them just like we would a cornish hen.
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Children are our hope for tomorrow- TAKE A CHILD HUNTING OR FISHING TODAY AND INVEST IN TOMORROW!!!
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jbhlsu2001
Pro Tracker
Reged: 05/02/06
Posts: 1450
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Thanks everybody! I will see what happens. They tend to shoot a little bit of everything every yr. I have been waiting on this trip almost a yr! We are driving and its NE Montana about 25 miles from Canada!
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helomech
Extreme Tracker
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 4425
Loc: Latexo, tx
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Drive careful Joe.
How long of a drive is it?
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jbhlsu2001
Pro Tracker
Reged: 05/02/06
Posts: 1450
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around 26 hrs I think!  I think we are giving ourselves 2.5-3 days of driving each way though! It should be some beautiful cuntry! 
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helomech
Extreme Tracker
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 4425
Loc: Latexo, tx
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I bet it is going to be a great trip.
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topwater_elvis
Woodsman
Reged: 09/11/04
Posts: 194
Loc: North Metromess, Dallas area
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I've eaten a decent amount of grouse and they are EXCELLENT. The larger ones such as the spruce grouse that don't fly much are especially good. They are are a very white meated bird that are just excellent. Most I've had were killed while hunting something else. Rolled in a little flour with salt and pepper and cooked with butter in tin foil over a campfire, and were just awesome! Fried like quail would probably be even better.
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Sniper John
Pro Tracker
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 1883
Loc: Farmers Branch
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Blue Grouse are white meat. Hunted them for the first time last month in Colorado. I found them to be the best tasting game bird I have ever eaten. Have fun. I hope to hunt in Montana one day myself.
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I do not hunt to enjoy nature. I enjoy nature because, through hunting, I have become part of it
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Luv2Hunt
Bird Dog
Reged: 04/26/06
Posts: 292
Loc: Anna, Texas
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Sniper John,
Wow what an awesome picture! Those grouse birds look incredible. How did you cook those? I'd like to try on quail.
Another question, how hard are grouse to hunt? Do they hunt like quail and will they hold still for a bird dog? What type of terrain do they live in, etc?
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Be kind with your words, thankful to your Creator and generous with the meat from your hunt.
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cable
Woodsman
Reged: 12/12/07
Posts: 224
Loc: Proud Texan
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I was backpacking in New Mexico (Pecos Wilderness) two weeks ago and flushed up many a ruffled grouse. i didn't have a gun, but I wished like hell I would've. They are bigger than I thought they would be- and I encountered these birds as high as 12,000 ft above sea level.
I also really wanted to shoot one of those bighorn sheep too!
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where are the damn birds ?
no drug compares to the adrenaline rush of ducks lighting into the decoys on a frigid winter morning
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Sniper John
Pro Tracker
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 1883
Loc: Farmers Branch
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Quote:
I was backpacking in New Mexico (Pecos Wilderness) two weeks ago and flushed up many a ruffled grouse. i didn't have a gun, but I wished like hell I would've. They are bigger than I thought they would be- and I encountered these birds as high as 12,000 ft above sea level.
I also really wanted to shoot one of those bighorn sheep too!
Cable,
Those would have been Blue Grouse, no Ruffed Grouse in New Mexico. That is why they were bigger. Too bad you did not have a gun with you. They are great eating. Blue Grouse actually move up in elevation during the winter. When snow comes they spend the winter living in the trees.
New Mexico Blue Grouse is actually on my list of hunts I want to do. It is closer than Colorado and the season opens early so as to not conflict with big game seasons. I read that it is underutilized with only about 1000 Grouse hunters each season. It would make for a great week to spend hunting at the end of August or early September. Take a fly rod and I could easily live on Grouse and Trout for a week.
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I do not hunt to enjoy nature. I enjoy nature because, through hunting, I have become part of it
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Sniper John
Pro Tracker
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 1883
Loc: Farmers Branch
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Quote:
Sniper John,
Wow what an awesome picture! Those grouse birds look incredible. How did you cook those? I'd like to try on quail.
Another question, how hard are grouse to hunt? Do they hunt like quail and will they hold still for a bird dog? What type of terrain do they live in, etc?
Birds in that picture are simply deboned, marinated in Italian Salad Dressing, seasoned with black pepper and montreal chicken seasoning. Then grilled on a coleman camp grill. The foil has trout in it.
I also fried some of the Blue Grouse in peanut oil on the burner, same seasoning and it was just as good, but in the dark after a hunt, cooking on the tailgate, the grill was much easier. I upgraded this year from my ancient coleman stove to a new one that has both a burner and grill rather than two burners. It was great! They make a griddle top that fits in place of that grill and I am going to get it also.
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Sniper John
Pro Tracker
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 1883
Loc: Farmers Branch
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Quote:
Sniper John,
Another question, how hard are grouse to hunt? Do they hunt like quail and will they hold still for a bird dog? What type of terrain do they live in, etc?
Almost forgot to answer your second part. Blue Grouse are easy. But they stayed still for my dog, maybe only 1/3 of the time. I noticed a great difference in the birds reaction between past trips where it was just me hiking and this trip where I had a dog and a gun. I think people alon bother the birds less, but the birds freak out at the sight of a dog (predator). Usually Blue Grouse just fly and land in a tree when flushed, or if on a Logging road, "run". But with my dog, when they flushed, they usually kept going. Or attempted too. 
They live in open Pine Forest. I would say found at 8000 to 11000 feet normally during season. The birds I killed were full of berries, but I believe they eat pine needles in the winter. One area I hunted by walking closed forest roads and old logging roads. Basically I was finding birds that where near the road or on it graveling. Another area I was hunting off the edge of a meadow or park just in an Aspen Forest. The first bird I killed there had berries in it that stained my hands like blueberrys when I looked to see what they were eating. So I hunted near berries. But mostly you just get in the pines, I especially found them around the big ponderosa pines, and walk, walk, walk.
Go here if you want to see more about my grouse hunting this year.
http://www.texastradingpost.com/Hunting/20082009b.htm
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I do not hunt to enjoy nature. I enjoy nature because, through hunting, I have become part of it
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cable
Woodsman
Reged: 12/12/07
Posts: 224
Loc: Proud Texan
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John,
Thanks for the clarification on the grouse species that I saw. All of the birds that I flushed were close to the hiking trails that run up and down Pecos Baldy ( right next to Truches Peaks). This was the second year in a row that I have seen grouse way up there. Unfortunately, this trip is a fishing snd hiking trip with a bunch of guys I grew up with.
I do know that it is indeed bow season for mule deer in late September and that it could make for a heck of a week of hunting grouse and mule deer. Awesome pics!!!!!
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where are the damn birds ?
no drug compares to the adrenaline rush of ducks lighting into the decoys on a frigid winter morning
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Sniper John
Pro Tracker
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 1883
Loc: Farmers Branch
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That area has a special season I believe that opened August 23 and closed the middle of Oct. If not where I think it is, it would open Sept 1st. If I where to go, I would probably pick a week before bow season, take my dog, and do a combo camping, fishing, grouse hunting trip. More leasure than my recent colorado trip and stay in one area rather than bounce around the State. I would rather scout for a following year Mule Deer hunt and just focus on the birds and trout. It would be fun.
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I do not hunt to enjoy nature. I enjoy nature because, through hunting, I have become part of it
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jbhlsu2001
Pro Tracker
Reged: 05/02/06
Posts: 1450
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Wow that looks tasty Sniper!
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