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Here is nifty way to clean them and cook them up over the fire.

Find some wild carrot and sprinkle over the breast meat and roast

Is the wild carrot that you are using the same plant as Queen Anne's Lace, cnelk?

If you get some water really hot, but not boiling, you can dip the bird in the hot water for a few seconds at a time till the feathers pull out easily. You can then pull the feathers off the entire bird in just a few seconds - otherwise it takes like 5 minutes. Cnelk's method is still pretty slick/quick though.

Ed

In Wyoming it is

As a NR just wish they would have included the Small Game license instead of the fishing license on the NR Archery Elk Combo. Would have eased the hassle wrt wanting to fish before license arrives or when waiting for the leftovers. I have ended up paying for two fishing licenses in the past.

Remember in CO you need your HIP number. Season lasts thru archery elk. Also remember rabbit season doesn't open until Oct 1st. Would love to include a rabbit in the skillet if the opener was mid-September!

So yes, you can kill grouse in CO during elk season...all of it. Just don't shoot a sharp tailed grouse unless you meet those dates and in those units.

The bastards should die all the times they nearly gave me a heart attack leaping out of the brush along the edge of a meadow as I scan for sign. LOL

I use a judo point, I had poor luck with the Small Game Head breaking too easily. I have become selective with my shots, only shooting when the backdrop makes arrow recovery likely. They aren't the smartest animal so if you are patient you can usually get a better shot.

Shed: I had to quit using the rubber things for same reason. Modern compounds and stump shooting do not mix. Went to G5 small game heads and problem went away. I now only shoot at birds on the ground without rocks or logs behind them. Also use Judo points for practice while in the field and no problem. Only shoot at pine cones stacked up on grass for field practice as well.

My learning experiences included shooting a bird in the tree with one of my elk arrows. Had a bad case of grouse fever and never considered I might lose the expensive arrow. Complete pass though, LOL!! Who knows where it came down. NR license plus arrow equals real high $$$/lb meat! Switched to game heads next year.

Next year made the mistake of thinking if I moved until I had the tree trunk behind the bird that the arrow would bounce off the trunk and I would recover it. Discovered game heads into hard tree trunks at any angle is real hard on inserts! Again high $$$/lb meat.

Being much wiser now I passed up this bird!

Jordan: I have lost several shot opportunities due to grouse flying up as I stalked in for a shot. Spooked the elk & scared the pants off me! Worst than a covey of quail.

I have run into several non-elk hunters going after grouse. Some carried 22LRs. Wing shooters carried shotguns. One pair of guys the Dad had a shotgun for flushing birds and the son carried a 22 for stationary birds.

I have always been interested in taking a red dot scoped 22 pistol with a silencer and using the quiet 22 shells. Unfortunately I could not confirm for sure if silencers are legal for game birds in CO.

Did you guys see the Meateater show where Steve went with his buddy and his dogs? Looked pretty cool. Since grouse are on the ground so much the dogs could smell them.

Finally one tip I have learned. Since they often come in pairs or threesomes once one flies up hold your ground and scan for another bird on the ground near where the one flushed. You can often see another sitting still or sneaking off and as CK points out with patience you can sneak in on the second bird.

In HI, Japanese furikake is pretty popular.

Cat arras work pretty well for grouse too.....

Try this though: Get some blueberries or huckleberries and mash them up in a pan/pot with 1/4-1/2 cup of whiskey (depending on how many berries you have. Use 1/4 cup for 1-2 people and 1/2 cup for 3-5. 1/4 cup for 1-2 handfuls of berries, 1/2 cup for 3-4) and mix in some powdered drink mix to cut the tart. Reduce over a flame till it's a thick jelly and dip the roasted meat in the reduction. It's absolutely incredible.

The reduction is also really good for squirrel/rabbit meat, but it goes best with upland birds.

but then... I didn't have any whiskey...... heheheheh....

I usually bring a piece of foil in case I want to skewer one over a fire midday...works better than charring the heck out of it over an open flame.

Any better ideas for cooking over open flames?

Burn the wood down to hot coals then cook over it.

Had good luck with the judo tips. Shot both while on the ground (fool hens), missed one in the tree (Ruffled) but made sure I had a tree behind it to stop the arrow. Jumped some blues also but they didn't stick around to get a second look at me.

I will continue to do this even at the risk of spooking elk. Besides I saw 20 grouse and zero elk.

oz

Did get a couple though, The Cajun seasoning packet in the disaster style MREs really worked well pan fried.