Parkers in Alaska
 

Went down early to Anchorage last Saturday for a mining convention where I presented a paper the following week so Trigg, his brother Mark and I could help his new preserve out with their problem of having too many birds left for this time of year. We spent all day putting out 40 chukars and letting his cocker and GSP hunt them up. It was all we could do to take care of that many birds before the sun set. I used a 26" VH12 that I had not ever shot yet. Trigg had a Piotti 28ga, a Ferlib 20ga, and an incredible 6# 30" side lock Geiger with a horn trigger guard and butt plate. Mark brought his $200 church sale VH12 with a dbl pinned stock head and a very nice D grade 12ga so Parkers were well represented. Trigg had brought home 40 chukars from their tower shoot on Saturday so I got all the birds - thanks guys... I think. Took me parts of 2 days to get them cleaned and into the freezer. What a project. I feathered up my hosts garage pretty good. Now I have 15# of very expensive chukar filets in the freezer! That should do me for a while. I forgot the camera so no pics unfortunately. It was a long day of 10 deg temps but big fun nonetheless. Friday night I joined Trigg and the Anchorage RGS board crew for a game feast that featured salmon, cod, venison and some grilled bacon-wrapped woodcock breasts that were to die for... all washed down with some great wines. I had to come home while I was still able to buckle my belt... Great week.

How do you keep your fingers warm?

richard you know its been good when a fellow has to unbukle his belt....woulda like to have been there just dont know if i could cut that 10 degrees though...charlie

People in Alaska wear shorts when it's 10 degrees outside. It sounds like you had a good time. Thomas

Roger that; it was fun. It was a bit cold but not really cold enough to need gloves for most of the day.

40 birds is a lot to clean. I have taken to the practice of freezing them intact, feathers and everything. They go from the game bag to the freezer. This method has several advantages, 1) No freezer burn with the feathers still on the birds, 2) Easily identifiable for later consumption 3) faster refreshment time:)

We will miss you again over Thanksgiving but rest assured Gunner's Parker will be at the Hay Marsh and we will shoot a few birds for you.

Not a bad idea to freeze them whole Rich - some folks do that with salmon up here also. I'm having lightly freezer burned ptarmigan for dinner tonite. It was a project to clean that many birds alone. Made a hell of a mess of the garage! Looked like an explosion in a feather pillow factory. Some of these birds were pretty pellet ridden from both of us shooting at the same time and connecting. At least #8 shot doesn't pull as many feathers or bruise the meat much. I got 15# of filets from the bunch and only had to toss a few legs that were beyond salvage. I think I'm going to have to try the bacon wrap and grilling of them like the woodcock we had in Anchorage. That was incredible.

I can only think that grilling woodcock breasts would tend to over cook them. They should be cooked to 'rare' at the most for the best texture and flavor.

In any case, it sounds like a wonderful day and a great feed... all except the cod (maybe I've just had too much cod in my life, living in coastal Massachusetts the whole time).

10 degrees isn't so bad if you keep moving...

You fellows are tuffer than this KS farm boy.

Rich ,Sounds as if you Guys had a Great Time ,Last fall before regular Hunting season ,I wanted to get my Dog on the Ground on some Live Birds ,I put out 20 Chuckers here at home and a Buddy of mine and I got together and let the Dogs work and shot up some Ammo , I used the Parker 410 and my Buddy has an old Fox Model B ,410 which he inherited from his Late Uncle ,we had a Fun time ! As for the Belt Buckle years ago I took my Dad to a Game Feed and on the way home he complained he had eaten so much , He Didn't Have Enough Skin Left To Blink His Eyes !:rotf: