doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sharptails!

Sharptails in December. Pretty rare. They can get very difficult to hunt when they get bunched up in the winter months. Where’d you harvest this bird? Nebraska?

LeFusil: South Dakota!

I was up at the Bobby Lowe's Birddog Bunkhouse for a few days. This late in the season made everything more difficult to hunt as it was very cold (single digits) and windy and the now well-educated birds (especially the roosters!) usually flushed way-out of range. I could have filled a pickup truck bed with hen pheasants however (which was kind-of fun). It had been almost 20-years since my last tour of that State and I felt like I needed to see it again. To say that South Dakota is game-rich would be an understatement. I/we encountered easily hundreds of birds and all of the plains species (Sharptails, Huns and Pheasant). I learned alot about the region I was in (north of Pierre) and am considering a return.

Karl: I happen to like bacon but I get your point. The bacon protects the meat from drying-out while grilling and I usually pull the meat before the bacon is fully done (to minimise that effect). Marinades also modify the flavor quite a bit in my experience, is the one you mentioned (Cumberland Sauce) your favorite?

Lloyd,
CZ introduced me to it a couple of years ago while hunting in the eastern U.P. of Michigan. We had a meal one evening at bird camp of wood duck and woodcock, it was delicious!
Karl

I soak my Sharptails and ducks in milk overnight in the fridge. The lactic acid in milk changes the protein in the meat eliminating the "liver" taste.

Sharpies are a favorite table fare.

Lloyd I'm glad you enjoyed your South Dakota trip. There is a learning curve for pheasant hunting. They are not a gentleman's bird but can be bagged each part of the season.

Well done on the Sharpie!

dukxdog: There sure is a learning curve!

But...I've never hunted a bird where there wasn't one. Thankyou for the milk-soak idea, I may try that. I can't take much credit for this sharpie as it buzzed the truck and then landed in a tree next to the very-rural road we were driving on. After days of not getting close to a legal bird, the temptation was too-much for me. Each State also has it's own rules for engagement and it takes me a while (now) to adapt. Non-toxic shot was a mandate on several of the places we hunted (to the tune of $50/box) and the shots were always at a significant distance. Hopefully, earlier in the season (& with more hunters and even better, with a dog!) it's a different game there.



This was over the door at the Bunkhouse. A nice thought, eh?

I take it a bit further with the milk. I use buttermilk for higher acidity and sometimes tomato juice mixed in as well for the overnight soak. Sharpie breasts are also great shredded into mashed potatoes and covered in a white sauce. Some old timers in Canada say they grow tired of eating ruffed before they tire of eating sharpies or 'bush chickens' as they call them.

Hal, are you sure your friends weren’t referring to Spruce hens? Commonly referred to in eastern Canada as Bush chickens.

“The Bush” where we ride is boreal forest, not plains, ie. mostly conifers and scrub Spruce, etc.

Karl or CZ:

Do either of you have a favorite recipe for that "Cumberland Sauce"? From my reading, it evidently goes nicely with venison as well (& I've been blessed with a freezerfull this year).

Lloyd,
CZ has a wonderful recipe that I've had. As for me, I simply purchase it from the UK.
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Karl

In MB sharptails are the bush chickens...only grouse in the spruce aspen forest that sounds like a chicken when flying away. They usually call spruce grouse spruce hens, but stick to partridge for the ruffed.