Colorado Prairie Chicken!

[cedahm]

Was amazed to flush and harvest the first Prairie Chicken I've ever seen in the wild yesterday in CO. We have very few, and the annual limit is 2. 90+% of them live on private land in an area 75-ish miles south of where I was hunting pheasants yesterday, so it was a shock to see it get up.

I'd actually made a comment to my buddies last weekend when we were in South Dakota that we should cross the Missouri some time to try and get on some chickens there where they have quite a few. To be lucky enough to see or harvest one in CO was not something I ever expected. Sadly, #4 pheasant loads and my buddies young lab combined to do a number on the left side, so no taxidermy is forthcoming, but it will tie some nice wet flies for sure.

 

[kansasdad]

Congratulations on a first. That will be the darkest breast meat you will ever eat.

 

[LuketheDog]

very cool!

 

[NoWiser]

Very cool! I got a couple in Minnesota last year and they are really neat birds. Like Kansasdad said, very dark meat. My wife and I enjoyed them.

 

[Big Fin]

That and a Himalayan Snowcock from Nevada are two things I want to do before I retire to the rocking chair. Congrats!

 

[Trigger50]

Cool!

 

[1_pointer]

Super! One of my taxidermy regrets is not getting both the greather and lesser prairie chickens I had at one time. They are super cool birds. FWIW, the were documented as being in Indiana until 1970. I hope some of the folks doing some prairie restoration work try to bring them back.

 

[cedahm]

Congratulations on a first. That will be the darkest breast meat you will ever eat.

You weren't kidding about that. I figured it couldn't be any darker than Sage Grouse...I was wrong

 

[406LIFE]

That and a Himalayan Snowcock from Nevada are two things I want to do before I retire to the rocking chair. Congrats!

I am up for the Snowcock Adventure. I've been researching that one for about 3 years.

 

[cedahm]

I am up for the Snowcock Adventure. I've been researching that one for about 3 years.

I am in as well. I looked into it several years ago but couldn't get any takers - not the easiest sell - maybe my pitch below needs to get better

"Hey, want to drive 12 hours, climb a few thousand feet and look for this crazy bird that we might not even see and if we do, probably won't get a shot at as they launch off the top and fly 40mph down the side of the mountain 100 yards away?"

 

[1_pointer]

You mean these things?


These are a pards. I have went with him once. We saw some but didn't get any shots that year. I think he's killed 6 or 8 of them. You hunt them, at least he does, above the mtn goats.

 

[cedahm]

That's awesome, 1_pointer! I read somewhere that in 30 years, around 300 have been reported harvested...So your buddy may have 2-3% of the total

 

[jlmatthew]

Congrats! that's the last bird I need to bag to complete State slam

 

[Southwind]

Love prairie chickens, congrats!