Grouse Hunting in Montana - Day 7

Photo By: Karen Thomason


Big storm last night. We watched lightning pound Pillick Ridge from the window at Amber Bear Inn......http://www.amberbearinn.com/ Nice dinner show! It was soaking wet this morning and we walked some logging spurs this morning with no results. "Jack" looked birdy a few times and "Annie" covered a lot of ground but went birdless. It looked like it might clear this afternoon so we drove up the canyon trying to find some grouse for 10 mo. old "Annie" but it rained the whole time. All we saw today was a chipmunk and this beautiful rainbow, that Karen took from the back porch. The weatherman says 74 and sunny tomorrow. I sure hope so! We have some catchin' up to do. DWT

Best De-Matting Tool for Gordon Setters Long Hair

The BEST GROOMING TOOL I have found, without a doubt, is the Matbreaker De-Matting Tool 3001 by Orrco Inc. and available at Amazon. There is a link in our favorite products list. There is nothing we have found that does a better job than this little tool. It will detangle the worsts mats and will go all the way to the skin, a little at a time. I don't have to worry about cutting my Gordon with scissors, and forget about getting a comb or brush through matted hair. You'll be surprised how much matted, dead hair, you'll remove and how much better your Gordon Setter will look and feel.

Brushing the Sticks Out

Photo By: Karen Thomason

"Happy", only after a few hours of hunting!



I know when you guys get home from chasing Grouse and Gordon Setters, you are tired and ready to have some grub and just kick back. But don't forget your furry friend who lead you to all those birds. Most likely, he will need a little brushing out. With the Gordon Setter's long hair, it's important to keep it brushed out. Even a shorter hair cut, will need some grooming. There are hundreds of tiny seeds, sticks, and "stick tights" out there and Gordons pick them up. I have found that if you comb them out the day they pick up this stuff, it comes out way easier than waiting until the next day or later. If the seeds and brush aren't removed, it will tangle the hair and eventually can become a real problem. For good skin and coat health, brush them often, and especially after a days hunt.

"Weavey" ~ The Tri-Colored Gordon Setter

"Weavey" ~ As a puppy, at about 8 wks. old, with Melayne, and at about age 13, and blind.



















Photo's By: Karen Thomason

Weaver, "Weavey", was a little tri-colored Gordon Setter puppy who came from a breeding of Peat and Aspen. Sweet, gentle, and loyal. Our best friends, and Dan's hunting partner, Mike & Melayne Stevens, took Weavey and gave him a lifetime of love and hunting birds. As breeders, we are always grateful for our clients who love our puppies so much. Last summer, Weavey's old body gave out on him and he passed away. I know as Michael beats the brush with his other Gordon's this bird season, he'll be remembering the days when he and Weavey hunted together. A Gordon is never forgotten. We will miss you Weavey.

Delicious & Easy Spicey Grouse Recipe

Photo By: Karen Thomason

This is as easy as it gets! Our friend Steve made this and it's delicious!


You Will Need :

1. Cleaned Grouse Breasts (filleted)

2. Olive Oil

3. Zatarains Blackened Seasoning


Pat dry, cleaned breasts with paper towel.
Brush olive oil on all breast.
Season with Zatarains, as much or as little, as you like.

Grill breasts on med high grill for about 3 - 4 minutes a side (depending on size of breasts).
Serve with veggies or rice. Spanish rice is good with Zatarains flavoring.


NOTE : For an extra kick, had some of your own favorite hot spices.

ENJOY!

Grouse Season in Montana - Day 6

Photo By: Karen Thomason




Heavy overcast this morning. We got in a hour of hunting before the rain started. It cleared up a bit this afternoon so we went to Platt's farm and his grandson, Justin, came along for his first Grouse hunt with dogs and shotguns. My friend Steve went on point when he spotted a grouse running away under a pine tree. "Grouse! Grouse!" he shouted. 4 more flushed and he downed one. Grace had 2 points and I got Justin in a good spot and the bird flushed his way. He forgot to thumb the safety and the bird disappeared in a hurry. 7 flushed and one down. We quit early and Steve took us to dinner at Amber Bear Inn. (Which we highly recommend) Karen works really hard taking care of all the friends that come hunting with me. She puts up with muddy boots and barking dogs better than most wives would and we all appreciate her efforts to keep us well fed. Thanks Baby! DWT

HOW TO FIELD DRESS A GROUSE IN 6 SECONDS!

With Grouse, you only keep the breasts.
So, follow these simple directions
for a swift removal.

All Photo's By: Karen Thomason

1. Lay the grouse on the ground, breast up, wings spread.
Place each of your feet on a wing, straddling the grouse.





2. Take both grouse legs firmly in hand, close to the birds body,
Pull Upwards until the only thing laying on the ground is the
breast with 2 wings attached, as in picture.






3. Use pliers or a leatherman tool to clip the wings.
And there you have it!






Questions? Leave me a comment.

Grouse Recipe ~ Quick, Easy & Delicious ~ On the Grill

Photo By: Karen Thomason


For a quick, easy and delicious way to cook grouse, try this recipe.


You Will Need:

Grouse Breast ~ clean thoroughly, there are NO feathers in this recipe!

Favorite Bacon ~ thin sliced

Favorite Seasoning Salt

Small amount of Butter or Cream Cheese (your choice)

Toothpicks

After cleaning grouse, pat dry with paper towel.
If the grouse breasts are large, I cut them in half.
Season grouse with seasoning salt. I like Lawry' Seasoned Salt.
Put small amount (about 1/16 spoon) butter or cream cheese on inside side of breast. Which one you use, is just a matter of preference.
Cut about 2/3 piece of bacon , enough to wrap around breast. Roll breast up then wrap bacon all the way around a time or two, until it is covered. Do not overlap. Try to cover most of grouse, "stretching" bacon slightly. You want enough bacon to keep the breast moist, but not so much that the cooking time is so long that it over cooks the grouse.
Place 2 toothpicks in each piece, one on each side to hold the bacon in place.
Place on Med-High grill. Turn often to keep bacon from burning. Keep a close eye, the bacon grease will cause a few flare ups.

Cooking Time will vary, depending on the size of the breasts and the thickness of the bacon. When bacon is done, so are the breasts. About 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve with your favorite veggies and you've got a great meal!

NOTE: I prefer to soak the grouse breasts in milk overnight when possible, but it is not necessary. Soaking tends to take that "gamey" flavor out.

Grouse Season in Montana - Day 5

We went up Bull River to hit some creek bottoms. We put Happy on the ground first. He is 12 1/2 yrs. old now and in great shape. We walked a logging road and "Hap" was working the brush. He got a little far out and I called him in. No response. He was doing his "Deaf Dog" routine so I knew something is up. We turned in his direction and his beeper went to point mode. He was at the edge of a thicket and Steve worked in behind him. "Happy" broke point and circled behind the brush and things just went crazy. The first bird to flush nearly took Steve's hat off. One blew out over my left shoulder and I spun around and knocked down my 6th grouse in 6 shots. Steve took the next one and the others went into the trees and cover upstream. As we skirted the brush a big bird flushed and I was carrying my gun open so I didn't get a shot. But I know where he lives! We moved a few miles and I dropped Steve off at the uphill end of a road and he hunted "Jack" while I followed behind in the van. I heard shots up ahead and moved up to see the birds Steve had taken. More birds flushed and Steve blew some holes in the ozone layer. I watched him miss 2 birds and he turned to me and said" I lifted my head to see the bird". I saw it too. He raised his cheek from the stock. God gave us a cheek bone to rest on a shotgun stock! That's the only reason I can think of to have one. After lunch I brushed out "Happy" and Steve got some grouse ready for the BBQ. We took the afternoon off are kickin' back this evening content to flush 16 grouse and add 2 to the grill. DWT

Grouse Season in Montana - Day 4

Photo By: Karen Thomason




We started the day in one of my favorite Aspen groves. Only one grouse flushed, far in front of us. The single birds this time of year are almost always mature males. This guy made a thunderous roar and was definitely a very big grouse. I know where he lives and he and I will meet again. We moved to a creek bed I hunt occasionally. We met a Forest Service employee who said he had not seen any birds that morning. I explained "Happy's" beeper collar and how we shot the grouse on the wing rather than the traditional Montana method of shooting them in the road with a .22. I gave him my number and invited him to hunt with the dogs anytime. We changed dogs at the end of the road and started up a logging spur. A grouse ran across in front of us from right to left. As we eased our way towards the bird, 2 flushed from the right side into some trees. I worked past Dick and Steve to try to kick them out when 4 or 5 birds flushed right in front of me. The sky was full of birds and I had a rare chance at a double, but someone forgot to thumb the safety off......?? Nothing happened on the trigger pull. I did gain my composure in a hurry and managed to scratch down the last one. "Jack"made a long retrieve. Nice Jack! We took the afternoon off. The blowdowns were getting a little harder to step over and we ended the morning with 10 flushes and one in my vest. DWT

Grouse Season In Montana - Day 3

Photo By: Karen Thomason

Dick, Dan & Steve, with "Jack and Annie", Dick's Gordon Setters & 4 Grouse

Today we headed up river about 15 miles and hunted a very pretty creek bottom. You couldn't design better grouse cover. We hunted Dick's Gordon Setters in the morning and Jack pointed 2 coveys and Annie had her first grouse point on a great big bird that hopped up on a limb right in front of us. It flew off in a direction that didn't allow a shot from any of us. Can you imagine that?! We flushed 13 and gathered 4. We headed up the creek this afternoon and put up 11 grouse. Dick and Steve each got 1. Total for the day, 24 flushes and 6 in the freezer. We finished up early because Karen cooked all afternoon and we did not want to be late for Grouse Wrapped in Bacon cooked on the BBQ and Grouse and Dumplings. More on that later... DWT

Grouse Season In Montana - Day 2

It was wet this morning from last nights rain. Beautiful blue sky but nothing was moving. No tweety birds or squirrels. Nothing. By the time it dried out it was nearly 90 degrees again. We found a couple of singles and 1 covey of Grouse. Steve tried to scare one to death with a close shot, but no bird. Dick came in this afternoon with "Blackies" brother and daughter, "Jack" and "Annie". We hit Elk Creek for a couple hours and Dick got an adult male. Real nice bird. We quit early and went out to dinner at Amber Bear Inn. Great food at the end of a dirt road. Tally for the day was 12 flushed and only one in the game bag. We are going into a private creek bottom tomorrow morning and it is supposed to be cooler. The temperature really cuts down on the hunting time. I won't run the dogs when it is this hot, and it has been Hot Hot Hot! DWT

5 Grouse in the Driveway PIC

Photo By: Karen Thomason

I took this picture of 5 grouse in my yard and driveway. 4 on the left side of the driveway and 1 on the right. Dan and his hunting buddies are out somewhere hunting for grouse.

............now ain't that just like a man?.......Out hunting for something that's right here in his own back yard!

Opening Day ~ Grouse Galore in Montana!

Photo By: Karen Thomason

Steve, Dan & Michael with "Happy" and 6 Grouse before 11:00 a.m.

We hit Platt's farm at 8:30 this morning and it took awhile to find a covey. Finally, "Happy" found a bunch of Grouse and pointed, looking right at us. Birds went in every direction and I hit one. Steve fired on my left and downed another. A bird flushed Michael's way and he connected. Another blew out of a tree above me and I made a lucky shot. 4 shots, 4 birds down. What a way to start things off. We headed down to the creek bottom and "Gracie" got real birdy. Steve moved in . Birds went up, shots were fired and birds came down! Steve got another bird and Mike got a shot off but missed. More flushed and Steve got his third grouse to finish his limit. Way to go Steve! 3 up and 3 down, is really good shooting! Steve is shooting a brand new Franchi 20 ga. S x S . A perfect Grouse gun. (Obviously) It got really hot by 11:00 so we headed in for lunch. Flush count was 17 with 6 shot. Best morning in many years. It was 88 degrees at noon so we napped away the afternoon and headed up the creek at 5:00 p.m. . It was still 88 degrees but we did find a covey and I got my 3rd bird and Michael got his 2nd. Total count for the day; 28 flushed and 8 in the bag! Steve and I both went 3 for 3 which is pretty darn good. Michael hit 2 in 4 shots which is darn good too. I'm patting us all on the back!! Thunder storm and rain right now. If it clears off by morning I expect cooler weather and much better scenting conditions. We are going on the north side of the river in the morning. I'm expecting another great day! DWT