I drove out to SD a day earlier than normal, to allow me to go search for prairie grouse the Friday before pheasant opener. I called a CO out of Miller who was super kind, he offered to leave me a map at the sheriff’s office that he marked up a bit. I picked the spot closest to hwy 14, about 40-50 miles West of Miller. Very hard to access this public land, being surrounded by private land. I eventually decided to walk a section line that paralleled a winter wheat field, then turned North after 1 mile, and finished that 1/2 mile walk next to picked corn, the stalks of which were 3-4’ high. I walked in the pasture area for an hour or more…hilly, with sloughs in the bottoms, loaded with waterfowl…that water was a godsend for my 2 labs! Over 65, maybe 70 that day. Never contacted anything til I walked back out the way I came…dogs were quite birdy next to the corn…I did flush a rooster on the walk in…would you believe it, a covey of 20’sh or so sharpies erupted from that picked corn! Took me a second to figure this out! Dropped the first one I pulled up on with my Repro 28, mostly a straight away, and whiffed on #2, a crosser that was closer…darn that full choke 2nd barrel! I was elated, for sure. A minute after admiring that grouse, and getting it situated in my vest, my 5 year old was back in the wheat, very excited! A lone bird flushed out of range, maybe 80-100 yards where the covey had been….I watched it sail Westward, where I’d be walking the last mile to my truck. About 3/8 of that way back, a lone bird flushed from the very brushy fence I was walking next to…3’ of grass, brush, etc…I knew it wasn’t a pheasant, and the ounce of #5 lead took it down without any issue. I could tell it was a chicken when the dog was getting close on the retrieve…I was really thrilled! It was 10/18, and it had horns…5/8” I’d say, perhaps a skosh longer. Those 2 birds were appetizers 3 nights later, grilled rare after being marinated in Italian dressing after tenderizing them. Salt and peppered to taste…amazingly tender! They were medium rare after resting under foil for 5-7 minutes. The ribeyes we had next must have felt like the performer who went on after Hendrix or Joplin, who opened as very young performers! I eat lots of prairie grouse in September, as I spend a few weeks hunting them in a nearby state. Really enjoy hunting them, and dining on them…and that chicken was a real bonus! I shot my first on 1/3/24 in a different part of SD that is more oriented towards pheasants…that one was a female. Again, very special birds!
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11-12-2024, 09:41 PM
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