Elmer Keith and others have described shooting blue/spruce grouse with a handgun. This was legal then, where they were.

Is it still legal to shoot these birds out of trees with a rifle or a sidearm?

Where? He was in Montana and in Idaho. Is it legal in Oregon or Washington? Any other states?

If you've shot grouse this way in the wilderness, how did you prepare the meat? How does it compare to, say, chicken?

Thanks. I've been curious. Do the bullets tear up much meat? Which calibers and loads have you used for that?

It is legal in Wyoming to take blue grouse with a handgun and I have done so many times while hunting elk. Usually the hangun was a .22 but sometimes something larger, once including a limit of 3 with a Colt Commander .45 ACP. We usually just removed the breast and fried it. Blue grouse are delicious, sage grouse much less so.

Was there much meat damage from the bullet? Did you use the normal 230 grain RN FMJ bullets?

How far up trees are the birds? Is a 50 foot shot a long one?

When I was in high school (1957 or so) we had been out shooting in a local gravel pit. On the way back to the car a darn grouse flushed up and landed in a tree across the road. Unfortunately we had shot up all of our rifle and shotgun ammo. All I had left was two mags of .45 ACP and an old loose 1911A1.

I think I knocked most of limbs out that tree. The grouse had enough sense not to move or he might have run into a bullet....

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I don't know about grouse, or out west, but here in Florida it is legal to shoot quail with a pistol, on the ground (or in a tree, if a quail got in a tree). They are just "game animals".

Some might not consider it "sporting", but it's legal.

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I always take precautions

Might not be a lot of quail to eat if hit with most handguns...

Head Shots! I keep telling you-head shots when the quail are sitting on the ground! Are you deaf or something? Jeeez!

When quail hunting, I carry either a 38 or a 32 loaded with shot rounds. Sometimes the quail are hit, but can't fly, no need to obliterate them with a 12 gauge, the handgun at close range makes head shots easy.

Don't think I would try using a handgun on a rising covey, though.

We are swamped here with Collared Doves; an introduced and invasive species that is heavily impacting our native dove population. It's open season all year long with no bag limit. They are fat, slow and tasty. CCI .22 shot-shells take them easily from my old H and R model 676. I suspect it's not kosher, but take them on my own land so nobody bothers me. I haven't found any regulation that prohibits handguns. Isn't a revolver loaded with shot-shells effectively a "shotgun"??

I don't have to ruin meat by shooting grouse with handgun. The
rear of my house is bordered by a hollow full of grape vines. The
way the patio door and picture window in front room line up must
look like passage through vines to grouse. Many a time a grouse
will thump into glass door and break its neck. Sadly the influx of
coyotes has put a strain on my "free lunch" program.

WYO mentioned Sage Grouse not being as good as Blue Grouse.

Recipe for preparing Sage Grouse is put the grouse on a shingle over a bed of coals. When the grouse is done, throw it away and eat the shingle.

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Eccentric old coot

Never got a shot at a grouse so can't say about it. In Alabama it is legal to hunt turkey with a centerfire handgun. Iron sight only, no scopes or red dots. I've taken turkey with a triple-lock and a reg mag. Tried with a 1950 target 44spl this year, but the birds would not cooperate A solid cast or jsp at medium velocity punches a hole and does little damage. I aim right at the beard if it's coming straight on ( that way I usually don't hit the beard Great fun and challenging too, a little bit of a balancing act with a box or slate call! Migratory birds can only be hunted with shotguns or bows, all other game birds can be hunted with handguns.

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PTLAPTA!

The laws regarding which firearms you can use to take grouse vary from state to state. Here is Utah you can use a shotgun or a handgun shooting at least a 1/2 oz. of shot. Taking grouse with a rifle or handgun using slugs is against the law. Still, I suspect here in n Utah more grouse are killed as camp meat by big game hunters using rifles than dedicated grouse hunters with shotguns.

Idaho allows forest grouse (ruffed and blue/dusky grouse) to be taken with a rifle; making what is the reality and illegal in Utah, legal.

I'm not sure what the laws are in other western states.

I'm a pretty dedicated ruff grouse hunter. I'll stick to shooting them with a side by side shotgun, over the solid point of a good English Setter.

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Bill Bates

Meat damage with the .22 and .45ACP (230 FMJ) was pretty minimal. Same with standard loads in the 45 Colt and 38 Special as long as solid bullets are used. I have taken a couple, though, with full power .357 Magnum hollow point loads and those were not so good. Blue grouse are actually awfully stupid. They don't usually go very far up a tree, maybe 20-25 feet, and I've killed a lot of them on the ground including a couple that I whacked with a stick. We're always on the lookout for them as they really are very fine eating!

at one time it was illegal to use a handgun for taking game birds in Missouri , I'm unsure if it still is...Back in the '80's I'd picked up a Contender in .45C/410 to use in bird hunting and one of our Mo. Dept. of Conservation agents showed me in the book where it wasn't allowed.. so the pistol hit the road.

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be safe,enjoylife,journey well

Legal to shot forest grouse in WA with centerfire and a big game license. Might need a small game license if you're not hunting big game at time. I think MT and WY are pretty much the same.

Have shot lots of ruffed grouse with 44 mag, not always head shots. Body shots with a SWC do wreck some but not as much as one might expect. Have shot quite a few with 338WM too but have to do head shots here because there is really nothing left with a body shot. My son shot his first ruffed with a 30-30.

It makes an awesome meal to cook a grouse on a stick over a fire sitting under a tree.

I've not tried it myself but my buddy did shoot a ruffed grouse with his old model Super Blackhawk once. Bob took aim on it's head and surprised himself as he blew it clean off with the .44 mag.
Not a handgun but I did witness my brother shoot a pheasant out of the air with his bow. Arrow went clean through it but it did a slow glide down and we retrieved it. He had it mounted with a fox also bow shot by him and looked real nice until his German Shorthair ate it.

I'm fascinated to find that a .44 Magnum doesn't totally wreck a grouse. But if they just fly 25 feet up a tree, head shots seem a good idea.

I think a .38 Special SWC at 850-900 fps might be a good grouse pistol that could finish off wounded elk without the violence of doing that with a rifle.

We learned here that sage grouse aren't tasty. What about sharptails or chukar partridge?

Jeff Cooper mentioned taking a rising pheasant with a .45 auto, on a dare. But I think his favorite game bird story was about using a .38 Super to kill a flying duck, in Mexico.

Chukar are delicious!

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PTLAPTA!

Chukars and Hungarian partridge, a/k/a huns, are fine eating. Don't recall I've ever eaten sharptail so I can't comment on them. A .38 Special does indeed make a good secondary weapon for hunting elk, both for finishing shots and for grouse. I've often carried one on such occasions. I also have a 2" Kit Gun that I like to carry 'cause it's smaller and lighter. Never have liked to use an elk rifle for grouse. I guess you can try to shoot heads off, but it's noisy and messy if you miss. I'll just stick to my handguns for that.

what Iggy said is gospel. The same can be said of a duck. Cook it on a board in the oven. Throw the duck away and eat the board.

Ducks can be delicious! Most people overcook them, which is a bad mistake. Duck breast cooked medium rare with the skin crisped is wonderful.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I have missed grouse with a .357 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk and a
Contender with a .44 barrel choked for CCI Hot Shot shot capsule loads.

Was going to shoot at what I thought was a rabbit under a pine with my S&W 649 once. Then it turned into a grouse and flew away. Awfully
loud for a rabbit, eh?

A friend shot a grouse off a log with my old .45 years ago. The 230 grain
ball load killed it, going through the back and out the top of the breast.
Made a .45 caliber hole right through the bird but did no other
damage.

I have harvested grouse with blue, spruce, ruffed and sage grouse with 22, 32 long, 38 and 45 lc. Most will poke a hole all the way through. I have also shot some with rifles where the only ethical shot is to remove the head.
I find young sage grouse in their first year OK to eat, but all grouse can have a piney taste at times. I breast grouse and have roasted thighs and drums over coals. I suspect in Elmers' day it was more of having some meat to eat than taste preferences.

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Front sight and squeeze

I'l list my flavor preferences for upland game birds.

1 Ruffed grouse
2 Chukars
3 Pheasant

If I could keep a years worth of my top three in the freezer I would never eat chicken

4 wild Turkey...beats a Butterball.

5 Quail

and three I could take or leave

6 Blue/Dusky grouse but they are a long way from my favorite the ruffed grouse...not nasty as sage grouse but getting there especially older birds

7 Sharptail and Sage grouse well maybe in fajitas with enough season to cover up their natural flavor. I eat them when shot but that is out of some duty to eat what I kill.

I've never tasted Hungarian Partridge but hear they are very good.

You could toss doves somewhere in the middle of the list.

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Bill Bates

That's pretty much how you "plank" a shad around here.

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John 3:16 .

Or a Brittany.





Years back I was on my annual trip to the UP. A buddy of mine had come up for the first time. He had flown in for a week and my other buddy flew home the same day.

Jeff was an experienced bird hunter but had been away from the sport for years. I picked him up at the airport in Ironwood. I had his gun etc. with me and we went for a quick afternoon hunt. My old Rebel dog had him on a bird within 10 minutes and Jeff killed his first grouse since he was a kid in Tennessee.

On the way back to the cabin we stopped at the little diner in "town". My other buddy and I had been in there a couple of times during the last week and the waitress didn't wait for us to order, just brought out a couple of beers. She was a high school girl whose mother managed the place.

She said to Jeff, "Hey, you ain't da same guy!"

I said, "Nope. He went home. This is Jeff."

"Did'ja go huntin' today?", she asked.

"Yep. Had a short hunt after Jeff got in. The dog did real well."

She said, "Me and a friend of mine skipped school yesterday and went huntin'! I got two!"

"That's nice."

"Yeah, Id'a gotten three but my stupid friend couldn't get the window rolled down fast enough!"

Jeff was in the middle of sipping from his bottle of beer. He looked like he was about to drown. Beer was coming out of his nose.

"Whats'a matter with him?"

"He's from Tennessee. Not used to drinking."

"Oh! Well, he'll get better!"

I told her "Darlin', you're so dang cute I might just take take you home!"

As long as she was our waitress I never paid for another beer in that place.




That's the way the locals hunt. They think we're crazy feeding a dog all year. And wasting bullets shooting at flying birds.

Ruffies are fie table fare. I also love the dark meat birds like ducks and woodcock. Like Shoulda said cook it rare...

Blue grouse are quite common in the Colorado high country. I have taken many with .22 rifle, .22 pistol, .38 revolver, .30-30, .30-06, and most recently with a 101 year old 1892 Wincheser .25-20. Most were taken while roosting in trees, but quite a few while feeding on the ground. Perfectly legal as long as we observe the proper hunting seasons and have a valid small game license.

Preparation: Only thing worth cooking and eating is the breast. Lay the bird on the ground, on its back, place one foot on each wing as close to the body as possible, grab the feet and pull slowly straight up. The breast will pop out neatly and the lower legs can be snipped off. Remainder makes a nice treat for a coyote or bobcat.

Split the breast in half down the middle. Dredge in flour, salt and pepper. Place in preheated skillet with a little oil. Brown thoroughly overall. Dump a can of cream of mushroom soup over, cover pan and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve over wild rice or egg noodles. Full grown grouse will feed two, younger specimens make a meal for one.

Hard to tell the difference between grouse and chicken. Chickens are part of the grouse family.

Just about any wine will do. Most will prefer a white wine with fowl, but I still like 'Road Kill Red" or "Dago Red", both locally produced.

No wine? No problem, just chill a 6-pack of your favorite brew.

Well, I'm a pretty good shot with my guns but would never shoot upwards with a handgun. Even a .22 can go a long ways if you miss. Can't wish a bullet back...

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I'm Proud To Be An American!

58 years ago......................

My brother and I had a single shot 22 that we would take turns with. He fires a shot then it was my turn. Did a lot of rodent damage back in those days but every now and then when our father would take us up to the Duck Club, we would walk the fields and kick up a pheasant or two and if lucky, come home with supper.

Picked off a few big bull frogs too at high noon that were trying to get a sun tan.

I have carried a pre war Colt Woodman for many decades while hunting and wandering the mountains of the west. Many grouse fell to this 22 along with many other game animals and fish as well. I fried most of my grouse. In every vehicle I own, I have a small frying pan and a small pot. You just never know when a grouse will fall over dead. It was after years of wandering the west that I found out there was a season on grouse. I just assumed that if you had a 22 and you saw a grouse, it must be season.

Found some pictures of 30WCF and 44 killed grouse. Regarding cooking them be carefull to not overdo it. They'll dry out quickly and get tough. In my opinion grouse (sharptail, blue, ruffed) all taste great and better than chicken. Canadian geese yum. Ring Necks dry. Ducks yuk!

I'd have to say that grouse tastes like a cross between Bald Eagle and Spotted Owl. [now that is a joke....]

Like to add that I shoot only 250gr SWC (Mt Baldy & Dry Creek) in 44 mag over 19gr 2400. I would suspect different and undesirable results in a hollow point. The 250s have worked great from target to grouse to deer and an elk finisher.

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Blue grouse are not the smartest critters in the bird world. Lots of the old timers call them "fools' hens" because they will freeze and rely upon camouflage while someone walks up to them and knocks them down with a stick. In the high country the grouse will pay little attention to humans within 20 yards or so, continuing to feed on the ground or roost in a tree until you come very close, and even then they seldom flush like most game birds.

Others have commented on large calibers, heavy bullets, and hollow points, but my experience has been that there just is not enough to a grouse to cause these projectiles to be overly destructive. They just punch right through the 2 lb. to 3 lb. bird and that is that.

I do remember one tough old grouse that I took with a .22 rifle at about 20 to 25 yards, sitting on a limb of a tree. It took 5 rounds of high velocity .22LR through the body without a quiver before it let go of the branch and fell to the ground. All 5 shots were through and through the chest cavity and the entry and exit wounds were plain to see.

I actually prefer a .38 Special with semi-wadcutters for grouse. One shot through the body will usually put bird in pouch for supper. Rifles chambered for big game cartridges do much the same, punching right through without upsetting or expanding, just one hole through and through. I wouldn't worry about destructive effects; there just isn't enough mass to a grouse to cause any bullet to do anything other than punch straight through.

I would much rather eat small game or birds taken with a rifle or pistol bullet than anything pumped full of small shot pellets. I have spent far too much on crowns and partials to bite down on a #7 pellet at the supper table.

YMMV.

Our Sunday chicken dinner, Curlew.

Some think they taste like chicken, I think they taste like crawdads.

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Dum vivo cano

I used to hunt grouse around here (WA) with a dog and a shotgun. Too many deer hunters in the woods anymore to feel safe so gave it up. I think you can shoot them with anything you want during the season. Most deer and elk hunters around here carry a .22 just for grouse. I've eaten quail, pheasant, huns, chukar, dove and grouse. There is nothing better to eat than a ruffed, blue or Spruce grouse in my opinion. Most hunters I know won't pass one up for dinner cooked up over a camp fire.

Upland Bird Hunting - Forest Grouse | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

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That's just somebody talkin.

As I read this thread, all I can think is George Bird Evans is rolling over in his grave...okay carry on.

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Bill Bates

Excellent!
"A gunners paradise lies within himself" [G.B.E.]
I visited the Old Hemlock Foundation a few years ago.

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Halfway and one more step

The model 48 is a very legal and workable arm for the Eurasian collared doves in Texas.
(Headshots of course, as befitting an expert handgunner)

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Halfway and one more step

Sirs---my only experience is shooting at birds with a handgun !
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Whooping Crane are good, they're big, so....easy to hit, the head is a long way from the meat, too. Flavor? Somewhere between Spotted Owl and Bald Eagle.....

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Halfway and one more step

OTM--I'm sure you know there's a season on Sandhill Cranes in some states, Tennessee being one. I've never hunted them but have some buddies who have. They're supposed great on the table. The knickname is "ribeye of the sky".

Having said all that I don't have a lot of interest in shooting them. From what the guys have told me there's not a lot to it if you're in a good spot.

Wouldn't turn it down on the table, though. I've eaten ostrich which was a lot like very, very good (read expensive grass fed) beef.