Down, But Not Out

Yesterday we finally had some pheasant hunting action. Up until this point, most of my pheasant hunting this year has not been much more than a long walk through wet fields. I had kicked up only a few birds, and those that had been kicked up were out of gun range. Yesterday was a different story. We found birds, and had decent shots at them. The only problem was that I missed a wide open shot at a bird! There was no excuse. We knew the bird was there, and it was in a wide open field. I just straight up missed. It was the kind of miss that's going to bother me until I get my next bird. If I don't get another bird this year, it's going to bother me throughout the entire year. Let's hope it does not come to that!

A second bird I shot at went down, although it was with my second shot. Me and another guy both shot at it, so there's still some question as to who actually hit it. Regardless, the bird went down. It was likely the same bird I missed in the field the first time. As we approached the area where the bird went down we saw a pheasant running. This bird had nine lives! Just after, we heard shots a short distance away. It's likely some other hunters took the bird off the ground. It was a slap in the face to down a bird after just missing one, but not be able to collect it. It serves me right for missing the first wide open shot.

The weather was rainy, but warm. I knew that the pheasants tend to sit in the wet weather, but I really had never seen just how tight they sit until yesterday. We got to within 5 feet of a bird, and it did not move. If it was not for some luck and an eagle eye, we likely would have just walked right past that bird. If you go out in the rain, be aware that the pheasants will really sit.

Despite the misses and the rain, you can't really ask for a better day pheasant hunting. We found birds, harvested birds, and had a lot of action.