Partridge hunting Success!

Ardent said:
Curious, where does this partridge speak come from, and which regions use the term? I've seen it a couple times lately here and my interest is piqued. Perhaps shouldn't say where does it come from, partridge is a Eurasian bird, but rather how did grouse get the name and who here uses it? Imagine there are some interesting regional considerations dating back to European settlers. Much more recent thing out here, the term likely didn't make it as such.
Click to expand...

Here in MB, only ruffed grouse are referred to as partridge.
 
Got another one today, didn't have a lot of time as I had to catch the last Ferry of the season in South Bay mouth at 3:50. We just departed.
We took 2 short runs off the trail, thought I heard wingbeats a couple of times but no luck. On the quad on the way out, sure enough a good sized hen right on the trail. Had time to dismount, unstrap the gun, load it and walked a short ways to where it was standing, just at the edge of the trail. Almost a clean headshot, 1 pellet went through the front of the breast. They are both in my trunk on ice, hope to cook them up on Tuesday for the family.

Been so long, anyone have a favourite recipe?
 
Mrs. Cannon makes partridge pot-pies out of them. Boils them first, then thinly slices/shreds them. Almost an a la King-style with potatoes on the top. Everyone has their own recipe, I'm sure, for pot pie. I don't know what we're doing with this batch of birds. Might preserve some spaghetti sauce.

Cannon
 
In Manitoba most refer to ruffed grouse these days as "chickens". The term "chickens" I believe likely came from years ago when oldtimers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan would refer to sharptails as "Chicken"...ie: "Were going to shoot some Chicken"... or "Did you see all those chicken". My vocabulary, ruffies or ruffed grouse, Hungarian or Gray Partridge are simply "Huns" and sharptails are "sharpies".
 
Reminds me of hunting with my Dad many years ago near Yellowknife. We saw a Franklin in a tree and stopped. Frenchman pulled up next to us and rolled down his window

"Are you goin after dat shiken?"

"Yup"

"Ho-kay"

And off he went.

We got the bird.
 
Thanks for the nomenclature explanations. Here in South Central Sask I grew up with far more Hungarian partridge than ruffed grouse in our immediate neighbourhood. So we call ruffed grouse and partridge by their real names, except the old timers, who still call ruffed grouse bush chickens and sharptails prairie chickens. But then a lot of local folks call walleye pickerel, while there are real pickerel in the East. Local wildlife naming habits can be strange.
 
Longwalker, my Grandpop from Wadena called them pickerel when I was a young lad too.
But, I knew them as walleye from the Skuttle Butt Lodge tv show back in the day...confused the hell outta me.
What the hell is a Franklin??? Is that a Spruce Grouse or a Fools hen???
Just cooked up some ditch chicken for dinner ( and they didnt come from a ditch ;) ) cut the meat from the breast bone and tossed some seasoned salt on them.
Baked in the oven for 20 minutes and they where mighty fine.
Had some beets and a plain green salad for starters.
Ted, those birds should be fine kept on ice till you get home...do you remember how to clean them?
That will ensure they do not spoil period ....
Best Regards,
Rob
 
FLHTCUI said:
Longwalker, my Grandpop from Wadena called them pickerel when I was a young lad too.
But, I knew them as walleye from the Skuttle Butt Lodge tv show back in the day...confused the hell outta me.
What the hell is a Franklin??? Is that a Spruce Grouse or a Fools hen???
Just cooked up some ditch chicken for dinner ( and they didnt come from a ditch ;) ) cut the meat from the breast bone and tossed some seasoned salt on them.
Baked in the oven for 20 minutes and they where mighty fine.
Had some beets and a plain green salad for starters.
Ted, those birds should be fine kept on ice till you get home...do you remember how to clean them?
That will ensure they do not spoil period ....
Best Regards,
Rob
Click to expand...

Had them cleaned right away. Kept the one from Saturday in the freezer, tossed it in a bag with some ice
for the ride home. Got home, cut the last wing off and cleaned them up really well. The one had a hole
about 1 cm deep from a bb, cut it open and rinsed it all out, nice clean looking meat. Tossed em both
if the freezer in a ziplock bag, debating whether to cook the 2 or wait till I can put on a good spread of em
for the family.
The 2nd one was tougher than the 1st to clean, don't ask me how, but one of the damn legs broke off
in my hand when I picked it up, was a clean headshot, so nothing could have hit the leg(I assume).
Was flopping around some before that, and still a little when I picked it up,
but my only guess is it broke it's own leg during the throes of death lol. Nothing to pull on the one side,
so the guts stayed in from the leg-pull attempt. Not hard with their soft structure though, withing a minute
had the guts out, was a LOT bigger breast that the first one I got, I'd imagine it was a much older bird vs maybe
this years hen for the 1st one.
Trying to wind down now, 8 hours to get home, 2 on the ferry, spent an extra hour dicking around cuz my stupid
cell charger broke, and my battery died. Haven't driven up that way to know the roads by heart yet.
Finally found an open walmart in Owen Sound, got my phone fixed up and back home by 9:30.
MMmmMMm can't wait to taste em. Damnit, it's bedtime and now I'm starving.
 
TedNugent said:
Just wondering if anyone knows of places to go hunting in and around the Orangeville area. Am definitely willing to travel, was thinking up near Penetanguishine(*sp) or Midland would be a good area to take a walk on back roads on crown land.
If anyone is up for a partner, I'd sure like to avoid driving up North every time I want to go. Have a friend way up north, and want to make a couple of trips up there to hunt with him, but it's an 8 hour drive, and would live to find a place within 2 or 3 hours.
Any tips on where to go would be greatly appreciated.
Aaron
Click to expand...

Hi there,

The closest spot to you would be Dufferin County Forest.

937501 Airport Rd
Mansfield, ON L0N 1M0
44.215983, -80.049043

You need to purchase a special permit to hunt there (~$35/year) at Dufferin County Museum and Archives (intersection Airport Road and Hwy 89).
It's only 30 min drive from Orangeville ;-). The area is large enough to get tired walking around. Good for grouse.
Cheers
 
Last edited:
Chuckbuster said:
Penetanguishene; Penetang, pronounced peh-nuh-tang, when I was growing up. Humorous for sure, but not sure what you mean by "cut to your card"...?
Click to expand...

I didn't think cutting to your card was that odd a term. Comes from playing cribbage with the old man and cutting the deck to the card you want, ie "luck".
 
Gattonero said:
Hi there,

The closest spot to you would be Dufferin County Forest.

937501 Airport Rd
Mansfield, ON L0N 1M0
44.215983, -80.049043

You need to purchase a special permit to hunt there (~$35/year) at Dufferin County Museum and Archives (intersection Airport Road and Hwy 89).
It's only 30 min drive from Orangeville ;-). The area is large enough to get tired walking around. Good for grouse.
Cheers
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for that. Was also looking at Bellwood Lake, they appear to have very much the same thing going on, buy a permit to hunt there. If you're ever up for a walk with a partner, let me know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom