Grouse..

[def90]

Ok, after having the shit scared out of me by grouse on pretty much every day spent in the field last year during elk season I'm bringing judo tips with me this year.

After field cleaning your grouse leaving you with the breast meat/rib cage and the thighs how are you packing the meat while you are walking around the rest of the day?

Was thinking I could bring a cold pack and a small lunch size soft shell cooler I have to put them in. What is everyone else doing?

 

[bat-cave]

I've never had an issue with the meat spoiling even after shooting a Grouse early on a warm Sept day in CO. One thing, check your regs as CO for example requires you to keep a wing attached while in the field.

 

[Marvin Sanchez]

Ice pack!

 

[LongWayAround]

Pull the breast out and use the wings to wrap it until lunch.

 

[Rob5589]

We use a small soft sided cooler if using the truck. Generally they're fine as long as not sitting in the sun all day.

 

[def90]

Are you just putting them in a ziplock bag or something that breathes a little?

 

[Wapiti1]

I hang them off my pack with paracord loops around the neck and clean them when I get back to camp. Some hang nearly all day and I've never had an issue with spoilage.

Make sure you have your HIP number in CO.

Jeremy

 

[bat-cave]

I put mine in a small game bag that I carry in case I manage to get a Grouse! In the area I hunt it seems to be every other year is either a bumper crop or bust!

 

[Rob5589]

Are you just putting them in a ziplock bag or something that breathes a little?

Inside the cooler whole or in the open air. I wouldn't put them whole in a sealed bag unless it was inside something very cold.

 

[Rob5589]

In the area I hunt it seems to be every other year is either a bumper crop or bust!

Same here. Last year we got a few. Year before we were eating them for lunch and dinner most days.

 

[Wrench]

Rip off head, step on wings, pull feet. Wings attached to breast meat is what you have. Toss in a bag and move on. 30 second event.

 

[def90]

Rip off head, step on wings, pull feet. Wings attached to breast meat is what you have. Toss in a bag and move on. 30 second event.

yeah, thats the technique for sure, just want to make sure that I don’t end up with bad meat after a day of walking around in the warm/hot temps of September.

 

[Squamch]

Rip off head, step on wings, pull feet. Wings attached to breast meat is what you have. Toss in a bag and move on. 30 second event.

If it's a big fat one I'll keep drumsticks too. Otherwise that's exactly how I proceed.

 

[duchntr]

Ill do it 2 ways depending how I feel. First way is just yank the guts out and leave the bird whole for processing later (helps cool the bird quick and will hang in mild temps for a long while without spoiling). Or if i'm going to eat it relatively soon Ill just expose the breast, fillet the meat off the breast plates and cut the legs off, put meat in plastic bag or whatever is handy. Be careful shooting at grouse in trees is addicting, and you will lose copies amounts of arrows so bring extras.

 

[mavinwa2]

I don't shoot grouse with arrows.....slingshot. Very effective at close range.
if hot, I just remove entrails, put in special cut remnant cheesecloth bag, hang on pack. Move it to shade if I'm sitting. Do the wing pull back at end of day or back at camp.

Onetime hung grouse cleaned, in small cheesecloth bag near a creek. Thought to come back on my way out and pick up. All that was left was the small cheesecloth bag, shredded to bits.

 

[ZC906]

Never had an issue pulling guts and letting it hang from pack when its still warm in Eastern Oregon. Although the ice pack and a game bag could help with the 10+ hour hunts.

 

[skyler_2010]

One thing I have found works really well for pulling breast meat is grab skin at base of breast bone and peel it away either up to the neck or if you are gonna hold it for the day just peel enough to remove guts then stuff cavity with cool moss. Then after skin is out of the way grab chest plate and peel it straight up from the spine till you hear a snap then you make a small cut to get meat separated. You can then cut the feet off and then "skin" the thighs the same way you did the breast and then pop the socket