Sure like to get that corned goose recipe. Yesterday, slow baked a breast from a huge old Canada my buddy shot after searing on both sides. Came out so tough that even my 100 lb GWP had to take it to his mat and chew on it.
Back to MN ruffed grouse, I shot my first one in '49 just SW of Tenstrike. With a double of course, a spanking new Stevens 311 with Tenite stock. My dad and his buddies built a nice deer hunting shack NE of Kelliher right after WWII. Lots of young forest in those days and lots of deer and grouse. They made special trips to the Lancaster area to hunt sharptails in the flax fields. Then the MN DNR liked the cabin area so much they made us move it to private land made a public campground on the site. Had a nice flowing well. I remember one trip when we were in high school in the early '50's. Four of us picked up 16 ruffed driving between Ponsford and Two Inlets. Mostly ground sluicing of course as we had no ethics and no dogs. Have only seen ruffed that abundant about three times since the late '60's, all in Manitoba where we have a cabin. Sometimes these peaks coincide with high sharptail populations. Then its a limit of ruffed (and a few spruce) in the morning and an afternoon with the sharptails to really give our dogs a workout. Back in those days we could bring back 36 grouse per trip; 12 each of the three species.
