pheasants

[Jason Lewis]

i went on a pheasant hunt today with a couple of my buddies from work. they were using pump guns i was using my 20ga flinter. we had a great day! we killed 12 birds total with each of us taking turns so we each killed 4. i had no misses, misfires or hangfires. everytime the gun came up, a bird came down dead, no cripples. my modern buddies couldn't quite say the same. this was my first BP shotgun kill and my first pheasants all in one! it was a beautiful day in the 60's with just enough breeze to blow the smoke away instantly, i would draw up on the bird, swing in front of him, squeeze the trigger, glorious white smoke for an instant, then see the puff of feathers and the bird fall. fantastic! i'll never forget it.

 

[paulvallandigham]

ATTA BOY! How many of those are yours??? Just the one? I can't believe that.

I suspect that you will be the talk of the local hunters for years to come, as your hunting buddies tell people what they witnessed. That you use a BP gun is one thing, but that it was a Flintlock, and you never missed- that is going to have eyes glazing over in wonderment!! :shocked2: :grin: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Jason Lewis]

the four on the left are mine, to add icing to the cake, our guide came over after i shot the 3rd black one which was an angling shot away at i think 30-35yrdish came over and shook my hand and said "that was the neatest thing he'd ever seen"
thank you paul!

 

[paulvallandigham]

I am glad that happened to you. I use my DB 12 ga. percussion shotgun when shooting " Back Up " for fathers and suns/daughters who are shooting pheasants at the local game preserves, sponsored by our local Pheasants Forever chapter. The woman who owns and runs the preserve had her doubts when I took the gun out, but when I killed bird after bird with it, she finally had to smile and congratulate me. I didn't miss a bird, and I killed birds after the others shot and missed, at longer ranges than their shots were taken. She hated to admit it, but she was impressed.

I now have a fowler, and if I can get it shooting right, I am taking it to her preserve, and using it to shoot the Next time. If she thought a percussion gun was "different", I can't wait to see her reaction to a .20 gauge Flintlock fowler!

I also shoot a few clays at her range, and it never fails to draw comments from the other shooters. I offer them the opportunity to take a shot, but most decline. I think they equate the noise it makes( substantial Roar, compared to the Whack of modern smokeless powder shotgun shells) with recoil, and simply will not believe me when I tell them it really doesn't recoil much at all. I am hoping that a 20 ga. gun will appear less intimidating to the guys, and I can get more of them to try it.

 

[chance]

Nice shooting and great hunt!!

 

[Little Wattsy]

OUTSTANDING!!! :hatsoff: :applause:

 

[Jason Lewis]

thanks guys, the experience ranked right along with shooting my first turkey, it was really amazing and i can't wait to do it again next fall.
paul, good luck with your fowler, it really is an addiction!

 

[rabjr]

Good for you, thats got to be a blast, I wish I could experiance just one time. :thumbsup:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Just fantastic :thumbsup: Well done. Good ain't it :wink:

Any load details?

Brits.

 

[Jason Lewis]

i used 1 1/4 OZ of copper plated #4's over 1/2" fiber wad lubed with melted crisco with the excess squeezed out. an 1/8" over powder card and 80gr swiss 2F, prime was 30 year old goex 4F. the barrel is jug choked modified. the load chronographs at 1,000fps @ 10yrds.

 

[RugerDog]

Great shooting! I sure miss pheasants... Haven't seen any since I moved to Florida.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

SWEET! Been hooked on pheasants since I was a pup. Nothin like the sound of a rooster gettin up near your feet. Still kinda spooks me.

Good hunting. :thumbsup: GW

Are those darker birds mongolian?

 

[Jason Lewis]

i'm not sure what the black ones are, i've been trying to figure it out, no luck yet. they'll be good eating.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The Dark banded pheasants are simply a color variation to the ones with Green Bands on their necks, according to my local Game Preserve owner. She likes them for her release and shoot program, and they can be easily distinguished from the native green banded pheasants that mooch off her ground.

 

[Jason Lewis]

thanks paul, i was wondering. the preserve owner said he just puts a couple out to mix it up for his repeat customers, for our hunt he put abunch out because he's trying to get rid of his excess ones. they eat good though!

 

[paulvallandigham]

At least you are paying attention. Most of the men who were at the Pheasants Forever Youth Hunt didn't even notice the difference in the color of the bands around the bird's necks.

Yeah, they surely eat "good". :thumbsup:

 

[DanChamberlain]

Brings back memories. You'll laugh, but the best pheasant dog I ever hunted over was a full sized dachshund! It got into the heavy stuff and found the pheasant's trails through the tall grass. He wouldn't point...but you'd see the grass waving where he was walking and all of a sudden a rooster would explode straight up! Sometimes we'd laugh so hard we nearly forgot to shoot!

At the end of the day that dog was so foot-sore and his eyes were scratched something fierce from the grass. We'd put ointment in the eyes and give him an aspirin with his supper and he'd sleep like a baby. In the morning, he was ready to go again!

Dan

 

[Maestro]

Brings back memories. You'll laugh, but the best pheasant dog I ever hunted over was a full sized dachshund! It got into the heavy stuff and found the pheasant's trails through the tall grass. He wouldn't point...but you'd see the grass waving where he was walking and all of a sudden a rooster would explode straight up! Sometimes we'd laugh so hard we nearly forgot to shoot!

At the end of the day that dog was so foot-sore and his eyes were scratched something fierce from the grass. We'd put ointment in the eyes and give him an aspirin with his supper and he'd sleep like a baby. In the morning, he was ready to go again!

Dan

Thanks for makin' me smile, Dan! I got a mental image of a dachshund flushing birds... hot dog! :haha:

 

[Gotspark]

I believe that's about as cool as it gets,taking birds with a flint. I just started shooting one about two months ago and I'm already day dreaming about hunting grouse with one.I'm predicting one for shot in my future.To say I've become hooked this fast is an understatement. :grin: Congratulations on your hunt,well done sir...well done.

 

[Jason Lewis]

thanks gotspark, you gotta try it sometime, i will never forget it.