Prepping grouse feathers for tying (new hunter)

Finn

Finn

Steelhead
Hi folks,

My buddies and I are planning on giving grouse hunting a go this fall season. Should we be successful, I would like to add some grouse feathers to my tying material collection. I've done some research, and I'm now familiar with the freezing/borax process for curing/drying the skin. Where I'm not so confident is the skinning process. Where do I cut? What portions of the bird are worth saving for tying? Should I skip the skinning process and just pluck some feathers into a ziploc? Given that we're on a flyfishing forum, I'm hoping some of you may have some experience with this subject.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
 
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As a taxidermist in my high school and college days it is a simple skinning job. Slice throat to asshole along the breast. Peel away the skin carefully to remove from carcass. Clip off legs and wings without takeing too many feathers from the pelt. Lay flat and try to remove any fat from the skin. Dry and cure.
 
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Mike Cline said:
As a taxidermist in my high school and college days it is a simple skinning job. Slice throat to asshole along the breast. Peel away the skin carefully to remove from carcass. Clip off legs and wings without takeing too many feathers from the pelt. Lay flat and try to remove any fat from the skin. Dry and cure.
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Clear instructions, thanks for your help.
 
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Do not, under any circumstances, pluck a ziploc full of feathers and hope to use them later. Removing one feather from the top removes at least 10 from the bag, and selecting the pretty one you see from the side? Essentially impossible.

Most of that grouse will come up with your hands, just make the cuts @Mike Cline suggested and slide your hands between the skin and the flesh. Cut wherever that doesn't work.

My dry and cure process is 50/50 kosher salt and borax. Scrape the flesh/fat off the skin, staple it stretched out to a piece of plywood, rub the cure mix into every piece of flesh, then cover with a liberal amount of cure over the top. Put it in a sealed box and forget about it for 3-6 months
 
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