I think you guys are selling the spruce hen (Franklin grouse) a way to cheap. Boomer, I think they are much better than track soup!
Unlike the ruffed grouse, the breast are very dark, but they are larger breasted than ruffed. At least until cold weather and snow comes, their diet is very similar to a ruffed, or commonly called willow grouse. Even the ruffed grouse tastes like poplar trees, if shot in January or February, due to poplar buds being a favourite winter food.
The franklin/spruce grouse, called spruce hen, or fool hen, in many northern communities, is so stupid it's a wonder to me that any survive. And actually, there are far fewer of them seen in most areas now, than there was at one time, on a ratio with the ruffed grouse.
The big blue grouse are much more common in BC now, than they used to be.
Don't be shy with the salt, you'll be dumping it out with the soak water anyway. This bath makes sprucies edible for me, and if you do it with ruffues they'll be JUST like chicken with no wild taste whatsoever. I even got my picky wife to admit a bite of ruffie was tasty after the overnight soak and that's saying something.... Now if I can only convince her that my "forest chickens" are much healthier than all the hormone fed birds she buys at the store. 
