Buzz - prepared properly, sharptail are a delicacy. They are delicious early in the season. They are equally delicious late in the season. All you have to do is take one look at the dark, rich meat to know that you can't cook them the way you would a lighter-fleshed bird, like a pheasant or ruffed grouse, or (God forbid) a commercially raised chicken. They have to be eaten rare, with a sauce or glaze (sweet or savory) that complements their rich flavor. I know guys who shoot stuff (sharptails, for example) that they have no intention of eating. For form's sake, they take them home, throw them in the freezer till they get freezer burn, then throw them out the next year. Game wastage is illegal in Montana, though nearly impossible to enforce. Still, it pisses me off when people shoot stuff they don't eat - especially beautiful native birds like sharptail grouse. If you don't enjoy eating it, just don't shoot it - it's that simple.
In answer to the original question that began this thread: 16 ga RST 1 oz # 6's: for everything, early and late: ruffed grouse, blue grouse, huns, sharptails, pheasant, chukar.
