Assuming that one of my two readers has never been pheasant hunting a bit of explanation about the process may be in order. It is largely peripatetic as the hunter walks through habitat, called cover, where the birds live. In this warm season they are often found in tall grasses as they do not need to avoid cold winds. This cover provides both food and security. They can hide from airborne predators like hawks and eagles. Mammalian threats like fox and coyotes find it difficult to catch them because they are very wary and fly from such threats.
As the hunter walks through the grass hoping to flush a pheasant he/she must be prepared to distinguish between a hen or a rooster. Only the boys are fair game and girls may not be shot. Shotguns are used in pheasant hunting (upland bird hunting). The maximum effective range of a shotgun is about 40 yards. Birds flying beyond that range should not be fired upon.
Pheasants are often found in the most dense cover and consequently the hunter would typically be on high alert. All this is of preamble to today's hunting experience. Walking in good cover a bird flushed. By the time I determined it was a rooster it was too far to shoot. Leaving the good cover I was walking in minimal forage for awhile. Totally unsuspecting it would hold a bird a rooster flushed nearby. Unexpected by the flush I was unprepared and the bird flew safely away. One more addition to many of memory that escaped in similar circumstances. Long gone are the days when success was measured by birds in the bag. This one who got away is perhaps a better memory.
Takk for alt,
Al
1 comment:
I am sure other readers of this fine blog have never been pheasant hunting, I found this to be helpful. Thanks
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