Soft Hackle Economics 101: Grouse options?

[CreationBear]

I'm starting to put together another materials order and wanted some advice from those of y'all who tie with English grouse: are the wing pairs sold by Veniard a good deal in terms of numbers/size range of feather, or should I bite the bullet and save up for a whole skin? Lately, I've become really keen on "whole" skins for all my tying (much to my wife's chagrin ) but the substantial price difference ($7 for two wings vs. nearly $50 for a pelt) is tempting me to embrace the better part of valor.

Any thoughts appreciated!

[letumgo]

The wings are a good value with a nice range of feathers on the top and bottom surfaces. If your on a budget, get the wings. If you can afford a full skin, go for it! I went with the wing option and am still thinking of buying a full skin. In the end, I probably would have "saved" money by buying the skin initially.

[narcodog]

If you can go for full skin from Cookskill's. Or Bob Smith at http://www.northcountryflies.com

[hankaye]

CreationBear, Howdy;

I feel for ya bro.... Well, you could buy a plane ticket (make sure you have your passport), fly over, blast the bejeesus outa one, skin it, drag it all the way home.....
50 bucks sounds cheap that way dosen't it????? Try selling it to your wife that way ..... nope sounds like what i'd do. Could account for 4 ex-wives...
hank

[CreationBear]

Ray, Bob-- Thanks for the replies (or the "enabling," whichever term best applies... ) I must admit that a full English grouse skin would be lovely to have around and probably last a lifetime (although as Hank alludes to, some lifetimes are shorter than others. )

[tie2fish]

My strictly personal opinion is that the best soft hackle feathers on an English (Red) Grouse come from the neck/shoulder area, not the wings. My experience has been that you can tie only a limited number of flies in the 14-16 size range using the coverts from a pair of wings, whereas you can easily dress over two hundred flies of this size using hackles from other parts of the skin. Just sayin' ...

[CreationBear]

Tie2--thanks for the input...I seem to remember that the "upper" feathers can be a bit more orange as well, which bodes well if brookies are on the menu. (Not literally, of course!)

[willowhead]

ALWAYS buy full skins.....as long as something more important is not being neglected. You'll never regret buying a full skin.....whereas you most likely will, buying less than that.

[CreationBear]

Willowhead-- good advice, I think...a full skin really does give you an embarrassment of riches when you decide to sit down to tie a few flies. Might have to start looking for a bigger house, though...these circa 1920's Craftsmen designed gear-intensive pursuits...