Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Sharpies,....finally

Bane and I attempted to find some sharptail grouse early in Oct to no avail. Switched back to pheasant and quail afterwards and never looked back. Got an invite to try western Nebraska yesterday and jumped at the chance. It was quite a learning experience.

Thousands and thousands of acres of CRP ground and the sharpies were there. Albeit rather spooky. We walked many miles and suffered through some bad wing shooting on my part. Hunting partners were shooting better and we ended up with 7 total. I really enjoyed it and we'll take what we learned and apply it next year. That should be a wrap on the season for us. They are aging in the 44 degree garage and letting them go 5-7 days. Looks like perfect temps to do that in this week. And researching recipes as we go.

Nice!!!

Well done....

I love hunting sharptails though late season birds are tough. There are a couple leks a mile from our cabin which offer interesting sights in the spring. They are my favorite bird to run young dogs on in the early fall. Their habitat allows one to watch the dog work and the young birds hold well, especially when they are still in their family broods and not in the large flocks of later season.

Congratulations on a good hunt during a difficult time of the season.

Well done 30338 and Bane!

Very, very nicely done!

Awesome. Any day bird hunting beats sitting on the couch.

I keep saying year after year I'm going to go north and west for a bird hunting trip, something besides bobwhite quail and ring necked pheasant that I can get reasonably close to home. Sharptails, Huns, the other species of quail, chukar, sage grouse. Every year I let life get in my way. I've got a 5 month old shorthair and his daddy is almost 2 and they need variety as much as I do.

That looks like it was fun!

Considering two trips next year. One to the Sandhills in Nebraska for sharptails and chickens. The other is Montana for huns, sharptails and perhaps sage grouse. Both would be late Sept. Shoot me a pm if you are up for some exploring, be good to rotate dogs. If not, I'll go and sometime in the future we can get it together. Same goes for others here, would like to get some more dogs on the ground and no more than 3 or so hunters.

Cheesy, don't wait too long to start chukar hunting. It's a demanding sport.

One of my hunting partners, after a day of mountain climbing and watching the little chucklers whiz off to the NEXT ridge time after time, wanted to demand an air strike on 'em....napalm flash fry. They dump you just before your heart attack and then you hear them across the canyon doing their Three Stooges "nyuck, nyuck, nyuck, nyuck." With them, somehow the laugh is always on YOU!

First time for fun, all subsequent times for revenge. Isn't that how the line goes?

That's what I always heard! And felt.

I don't chase chukars any more. At 76, I'm afraid I won't remember where find the ripcord on my parachute when I fall off the mountain....

Living in No NV most of my adult life Chukar were the main game birds.

When the subject came up my hunting buddy liked to say your first Chukar hunt is sport.....after that it's pure revenge....I concur.

Not sure I have that in me. Kind of like long strolls on the prairie lol. I wouldn't mind a weekend ptarmigan or blue grouse hunt sometime just to add to the species list.

Himalayan Snow Cock...

That is my bucket list goal when I get around to hunting Nevada. If it is still open. I've seen them in the Rubies but not during the open season. Chukar were fun to hunt but were tough on the knee. That knee was fixed so I might have to give them another try.

Aged those sharpies for 5 days and just grilled the last of them medium rare. Very tender and great flavor. Hear a lot about them being tough and gamey, but thinking the aging must have really helped these. Hope to find more this year.

Yes, STs can be very good to eat. BTW, Eileen Clarke has a great upland game bird cookbook with several recipes that work well for sharptails and other prairie grouse, including sage hens. I highly recommend her excellent cooksbooks!

Here's the link to the Upland Bird cookbook: https://riflesandrecipes.com/product/upland-game-bird-cookery/

Thank you sir. I have her sausage book and it is very good. Will try that one too.

I freaking live here and can never find the time to spend a week trying to chase one down. Brother and I alternate years on big game hunts, Idaho/Nevada. One of these years when it's my turn, I need to do the Snow Cock. First need an antelope, whitetail, Muley over 200", more elk for eating...it is a conundrum and not getting easier the older I get...