Field Dressing a Grouse

[ICEMAN]

used the Iceman method today my self.. now for dinner 

Awwww shucks guys..... 

[Bigshooter]

I like to get old blue grouse cleaned as soon as possible.  There skin gets pretty tough after it cools making it hard to get off the bird.  For ruff grouse sometimes I wait sometimes I do it right away.

For cleaning I've tried a lot of different ways.  But the way I usually do it is to cut the head of then completely skin the bird.  Then cut off the wings, tail freathers and feet.  The way I get the guts out is to cut the thin layer of muscle just below the bottom of the breast like a smiley face.  Then grab the breast in one had and the legs in the other hand and break the back so the guts are more exposed.  Then I keep the heart, liver and gizzard.

[badcrc]

Grouse are excempt from the feathered head requirement..Case in point they are the only bird you can legaly shot with a high powered rifle, and you had better shot it in the head..

Hunterman(Tony)

I realize this is an old thread, I found it from a google search about this issue.  So for future reference, I just called WDFW about this and they said grouse are NOT exempt from the feathered head requirement.  They also said you shouldn't be using the step-on wings method and for transporting you have to have heads attached to the carcass.

[Stein]

Regs say the feathered head has to be on "game birds".  They have a section on the website for "other game birds" that lists grouse, so I would leave it on.

[Tiger1358]

Don't think those apply to forest grouse. I usually skin them, used to pluck the wild birds back in the days, not anymore. Just cut a little notch in the back of the skin, pull the skin and take it off. Simple and easy, and you can eat the whole grouse instead of just the breast. If for some reason a game warden asks for a proof, you can just leave the head on it till you get home and cook it.

[jkononen]

It also says you can't shoot more than 3 of a kind a day. So I would have to guess you need to leave a piece of evidence attached to show proof of what kind of grouse they are.