Game bird hunting

In My Humble Opinion
1

A recent trip to Idaho, and the sighting of a couple of turkeys there, prompted me to ask in GQ whether wild turkeys are found in Idaho.

And that reminded me that, while I am not a hunter, I’ve always wanted to hunt, shoot, dress, cook, and eat a wild turkey. This isn’t anything I’ll be doing soon, if ever. But I’m curious about hunting non-aquatic game birds. What’s it like to hunt a turkey (or pheasant, or quail, or whatever)? Is a 20 ga shotgun the norm? Do you pick out the shot when you’re dressing the bird. or do you just spit them out when you’re eating? I’ve heard you get the feathers off by dunking the corpse in boiling water. Doesn’t this cook the bird a little? I’ve also heard that you use a mixture of boiling water and paraffin wax. Are there other methods?

As I said, I’m making no plans. Just idle curiosity.

2

I can supply a small amount of info, based on just having had a talk with a dedicated turkey hunter (which I am not).

For consistent hunting success, you’ll need to learn how to use turkey calls. It seems there’s some skill involved in aiming the shot - you want the turkey dead immediately, but no pellets in the desirable parts (breast). He seemed to indicate that this was not actually all that difficult.

Having killed your bird, its value as food will depend on how you dress and prepare it. He mentioned gutting it quickly, and (I believe) hanging it at 38 degrees for some time. No details on feathers.

He then soaks it in brine and smokes it. I can testify that the results are first-rate, and not in the least “gamey”.

3

Some states have different gun seasons for turkey, one for shotguns and another for rifle. I decidedly prefer hunting them with a rifle given the choice. A single bullet through the neck and there’s no spent shot or ruined meat to deal with.

I’ve found wild turkey to have a whole lot more tendon than what you’ll find in a bred for market, farm raised bird. For that reason I usually remove the major cuts from the carcass and then smoke or cook them, rather than going through the same process I would for a conventional bird.

4

My family shoots mostly ringneck pheasant, but my brother has shot a couple of wild turkeys (the population in Minnesota has really rebounded the last few years) and some family friends shoot anything. Here’s my answers to your questions:

What’s it like to hunt a turkey (or pheasant, or quail, or whatever)? Physically? A lot of walking through cornfields, which could be either good or bad, depending on the weather. Should you decide to hunt in Idaho make sure you check the laws. For example, if you’re bringing SD birds back to MN you need to leave the heads on the cleaned birds for ID purposes, just in case the DNR pulls you over (rarely happens, but rules is rules). The reason for this is that most states have their own rooster/hen limits.

Is a 20 ga shotgun the norm? 12 ga is pretty much what everyone in “our” group uses, but 20, 10, .410s are used sometimes.

Do you pick out the shot when you’re dressing the bird. or do you just spit them out when you’re eating? Both - but the more that’s done of the former the less that will have to be done of the latter. :wink: This is also the reason that my family likes to cook game birds with recipes that include the line “Cut the bird into bite-sized pieces”.

I’ve heard you get the feathers off by dunking the corpse in boiling water. Doesn’t this cook the bird a little? I’ve also heard that you use a mixture of boiling water and paraffin wax. Are there other methods? Never cleaned a turkey, but most game birds can be cleaned like a rabbit or squirrel for the most part - you just peel the skin off and the feathers come with.

5

I’ve hunted for pheasants and quail loads of times. I use a 12 gauge with a pheasant-specific load. It doesn’t overly-damage the bird. Yeah, you could get away with a 20 gauge if that’s what you already have available.

Shot - Lot’s of it goes right through the bird. You’ll also find some during the cleaning process, but it’s nothing you need tweezers for. Shot also gets trapped in the body cavity, so you’ll get rid of that when you gut/clean your bird. For a few more dollars, you can buy steel shot instead of lead. Some places mandate non-lead shot. A lot of waterfowl hunting is now non-lead only.

Feathers - The wax dipping has to happen before you’ve gutted/cleaned the bird. I’ve never bothered, but I understand that the point is to pluck the feathers and leave the skin. I skin my birds - so the feathers come right off with it. You can pluck the long tail feathers for decoration, too. I use strips of bacon to take the place of skin in a lot of my pheasant recipes. Speaking of which:

This brined roasted pheasant is the best of many different approaches I’ve taken towards the bird, and it’s a good introduction to the wonderful world of brining. Just make sure you don’t use an aluminum pot.
http://www.recipezaar.com/Brined-Roast-Pheasant-Outdoor-Wisconsin-Style-107369

The hunt itself:
I’ve hunted both with and without dogs. Hunting with some properly trained dogs is fun and easy. I walk a lot of grass and cornfields in general. Grassy waterways on farms are a big hotspot. Fence rows used to be back in the day, but a lot of the overgrown fence rows are gone now. Back to dogs, they sniff out in tight twenty yard circles in front of your party. Some dogs only point, then a party member often must flush the bird. I don’t care for pointers because it takes a lot of surprise out of the hunt. It feels more like a bird shoot. Labrador Retrievers almost always flush the bird. I love that because you’ve got to stay alert for the whole hunt and quickly track, aim, and fire. Pointers make the hunt a very leisurely affair.

I’ve hunted plenty of times with no dogs or with an untrained dog too. If you don’t have a dog, you’ll be doing a lot more walking. Flushing a pheasant sometimes only requires that you walk within ten yards of the bird. Other times you’ve got to kick the grass right next to them - and you will rarely spot a bird on the ground in ever moderate grass; their camouflage is tops. If you’re hunting with a rookie dog, fashion a 15-20 yard lead with some good rope. Tie the lead onto your belt. Some people use shock collars to train the dogs to stay close. I’ve always trained my dogs with clipped-off pheasant wings (feathers on) hidden in tall grass. They get the smell of the bird.

One last tip, a regular pair of plier-sized hedge pruners are super handy for cleaning pheasant. I clip the wings at the elbow and the feet and head clip right off too. A knife works, but if you’re cleaning more than one bird, you’ll want to use pruners.

6

I helped someone clean a wild turkey. Dunked it in scalding hot (not boiling water) for about 30 seconds and the feathers came right off. If it cooked it a little, it was just the skin that cooked. There were parts where the feathers weren’t coming off too good so dunked back in the water for a few more seconds.
Sounds much more difficult then it really is, they mostly come right off.