There are two kinds of hunters in the world. One will spend a half a day, considerable energy, and a pocket full of shells in the uplands and edges of marshland and arrive at a simple and definite conclusion: that he will never again be fool enough to exert himself this hard again chasing a pheasant. With the other type, desperation and determination go hand in hand. The more he misses and the worse he fails, the harder he works at it. Out of his confirmed resolution to find the successful combination is born a confirmed pheasant hunter.
One by-product of current anti-hunting sentiment is that hunting lore gets lost in the in almost all discussions and is increasingly forgotten. Pheasant hunting serves as a springboard for philosophizing on its controversial nature, funding, agricultural methods, dog pedigrees, property management, pheasant population and range status, and habitat; but in the process other facets of direct relevance to pheasant hunting is lost… We no longer talk about or feel the love of land, seasons, or times of day, sportsmanship, old traditional shotguns, imperfect dogs we love, and the styles and manners by which we live ... We have been corrupted…
One by-product of current anti-hunting sentiment is that hunting lore gets lost in the in almost all discussions and is increasingly forgotten. Pheasant hunting serves as a springboard for philosophizing on its controversial nature, funding, agricultural methods, dog pedigrees, property management, pheasant population and range status, and habitat; but in the process other facets of direct relevance to pheasant hunting is lost… We no longer talk about or feel the love of land, seasons, or times of day, sportsmanship, old traditional shotguns, imperfect dogs we love, and the styles and manners by which we live ... We have been corrupted…
The worst possible examples of using pen-reared pheasants for canned hunts do not define state pheasant stocking programs or pheasant hunting. Pheasants are worthy adversaries and should command a level of respect for their trickery in the uplands. Animals have adapted to a life of constantly running from death, and being killed by a human isn't all that far removed from their basic life experience. Pheasants are hearty birds. They seem to be constantly on the run, always avoiding becoming the next meal for whomever.
The ring-necked pheasant prefers to run rather than fly and can test the most skilled bird hunting dog with its hide-and-seek behavior. Pheasant will often run through dense cover ahead of hunters for a quarter-mile until it puts distance between itself and the hunters; then it will spring into flight many yards out of the gun range, cross the horizon, and appear to be a tiny dot headed for a distant galaxy. As a matter of fact, bird hunters need to realize the real trick to successfully hunting pheasants is not in bagging a limit of nature’s colorful escape artist. Instead, it is in relishing the satisfaction of those that end up in the game bag.
The ring-necked pheasant prefers to run rather than fly and can test the most skilled bird hunting dog with its hide-and-seek behavior. Pheasant will often run through dense cover ahead of hunters for a quarter-mile until it puts distance between itself and the hunters; then it will spring into flight many yards out of the gun range, cross the horizon, and appear to be a tiny dot headed for a distant galaxy. As a matter of fact, bird hunters need to realize the real trick to successfully hunting pheasants is not in bagging a limit of nature’s colorful escape artist. Instead, it is in relishing the satisfaction of those that end up in the game bag.
The pheasant you meet on opening day is a far different bird two weeks into hunting season, and changes even more during the third and fourth week. By the end of pheasant hunting season you won’t even recognize him. Most of the game birds you encounter each season are young birds, hatched the previous May or June and on average are about 18 to 20 weeks of age. These birds, known as “hatch year birds;” probably have already had run-ins with predators, but are quite ignorant of hunters and life during the gunning season, because they never been through it. However, as the season wears, the birds will take flight faster and spook more easily. Near the end of the season you might not even see them. They might need only the slam of a truck door to set them running. Running is a tendency that progresses as the season ages and with encounters with hunters. The first mistake you can make is to underestimate them. They are imbued with instinct that is more than a match for you. They learn quickly and hunters are their best teachers…