This is getting silly. I guess we all have are different standards & it is easy to justify some of the things we feel like doing at the time.
Where does it stop? Is ground swatting a covey of quail sitting huddled in the snow OK just because we have been hunting hard, have an empty game bag & a taste for quail & gravy? How about shooting ducks sitting on pond, yellow bottom ponds, bated dove fields & spottlighting deer. It's a slippery slope & all easy to justify in the effort to fill a limit or game bag.
Re. Ted's old man story, while I'm sympathetic & I'm aware of North country Grouse harvesting culture (that is why Savage made those .410 barrels for the takedown 99's I think) I sure as hell hope that the last grouse (or other game bird) I shoot is not ground swatted! What a legacy to leave!
& to the Barron: If you have concerns about shooting a grouse off a limb w/ a .22 hand gun I assume the .22 prohibition would mean squirrels must be shot with a shotgun. In my hunting culture only young children shoot squirrels w /a shotgun. Men shoot squirrels w/.22 rifles & I know a few who use .22 handguns. If the background is unsafe they don't shoot.
