Any love for the timberdoodle?

warzaw said:
They don't do well with overcooking and if you don't like Liver you won't like them . Broiled with a little bacon works for me. I don't know how cute they are burned a lot of shells on them through the years and missed more than my share . i have taken them along with a mixed bag of Ringnecks ,Ruffies , and Wooducks on the same hunt in coverts that are now subdivisions around the farm . Glad I am old.
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I have very good memories of my youth. Some of the special ones involved woodcock hunts. That and the memories of waiting for first light, listening to the sound of duck wings beating the air as the flocks flew over. Good memories, but melancholy too. I remember my first woodcock hunt vividly. I was so tense anticipating the flush that I got a wicked headache. Still, one of the best days of my life.
As you say, so sad that they are now subdivisions. Progress, they say. I tell them where they can stick their progress.
 
Here are some good reads that I grew up on not sure if they are still published. Timberdoodle by Frank Woolner , The Book of the American Woodcock by William G sheldon , New England Grouse Shooting by William Harden Foster, The world of the Ruffed Grouse by Leonard Lee Rue 111 , Hunting The Ruffed Grouse by Nick Sisley. These classics got me hooked as a youngster.
 
I have always enjoyed shooting or shooting at these guys. A small guage S x S & small shot are classic
& my choice. Never found large fllocks , just a single or pair here & there, while grouse hunting.
Last Fall ( 2021) I shot one with my 20 ga. 1912 Ithaca Flues S x S with #9's. A passing shot about 20 yds
made a clean kill. My wife cooked it ( not overdone) & it was very good tasting. I look fwd. to more.
 
cooey43 said:
I have always enjoyed shooting or shooting at these guys. A small guage S x S & small shot are classic
& my choice. Never found large fllocks , just a single or pair here & there, while grouse hunting.
Last Fall ( 2021) I shot one with my 20 ga. 1912 Ithaca Flues S x S with #9's. A passing shot about 20 yds
made a clean kill. My wife cooked it ( not overdone) & it was very good tasting. I look fwd. to more.
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In the glory years we hunted resident birds early fall but into October early November the northern flights would migrate into the coverts ahead of a storm front . Action would really heat up dozens of flushes and a lot of spent shells. I was on a wing survey out of New Brunswick for a few years and we would get Canada wide data and the number were declining in the eighties more from habitat loss than hunting pressure. I missed more than I killed . Our gauges of choice were 28 and 20 double guns and pumps and autoloaders . Our hunting friends were Brittany's, Labs and a woodcock crazy beagle that was a killer dog that loved to retrieve the little birds. Best years of my life .
 
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As a kid we did hunt Woodcock (Timberdoodle) a few times, I'll agree with the others, they are too small to waste shot on. We just came through their breeding season here, and we've been listening to their odd mating behavior just outside the house here. We've even gone out and watched in the twilight. If you are careful you can get to within a few yards.

Look it up, I don't feel like typing.

It was one of these I was shooting at with an old Lakefield Mossberg 410 Bolt action when it went kaboom on me. I fired a shot, missed, worked the bolt at the shoulder. The first shot did not eject, and when the bolt shoved the next shell forward, it went off behind the chamber. I had burnt powder embedded in my hands and my ears rang for days. The bolt vanished, never to be found. Lakefield Mossberg would do nothing for it without the bolt, and as I had borrowed the shotgun, I ended up buying the guy a new one.
 
I absolutley love hunting woodcock. I hunt them in northern Ontario. While other guys are ground sluicing grouse I prefer being in the bush with my dog. I love the fact that you have to trust that your dog is pointing at a bird even though you will probably never see it. As for eating them, just love it and especially the legs. Yes I know they are a small bird with small parts but for me I then savour everything about the entire experience : the dog work, the shot, the preparation for eating, the wine and recalling a wonderful day
 
Enjoyed hunting the " little spirits of the gloaming " ( and ruffed grouse ) for some 45 - odd years. Sometimes with a dog, sometimes without, from the north shores of Lake Erie to the shield country adjacent to Algonquin Park and points
in between. I favoured No. 9 Skeet loads and used them in everything from a 410 Model 42 Winchester to a 12ga. Union Armera (Grulla) double. I had particularly good results with a 200E Ithaca 20ga, SxS. Nic to carry, quick handling and
very efficient. And yes, I found them tasty !
 
I have hunted woodcock since I was old enough to hold a gun, and they have always been a favorite outing for me and my pooches. I prefer a flushing dog that is whistle trained to hunt woodcock. I have used Labs, Goldens and Springers. The numbers are way down from 20-30 years ago. Back in the day, 50 flushes was common for an afternoon, and limits were guaranteed, unless you couldn't shoot at all. As for their table quality, I feel like they are actually quite good when properly cooked. I like them braised and still pink inside with a little salt and pepper and a dash of mint. Also, the whole breast wrapped in bacon and baked inside a sweet red pepper.
 
hoytcanon said:
I have hunted woodcock since I was old enough to hold a gun, and they have always been a favorite outing for me and my pooches. I prefer a flushing dog that is whistle trained to hunt woodcock. I have used Labs, Goldens and Springers. The numbers are way down from 20-30 years ago. Back in the day, 50 flushes was common for an afternoon, and limits were guaranteed, unless you couldn't shoot at all. As for their table quality, I feel like they are actually quite good when properly cooked. I like them braised and still pink inside with a little salt and pepper and a dash of mint. Also, the whole breast wrapped in bacon and baked inside a sweet red pepper.
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your recipe make me salivating ... i have to find out if there is some in alaska i doubt there are here.
 
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