Comments on: Killing the Unkillable Pheasant

By: Kevin_J.

Kevin_J. — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:03:39 +0000

Great website!! I found it today while Googling info to preserve pheasant capes for fly tying supplies…

I first found your info on hanging/aging the birds – great info there and worthy of a bookmark!!

I had to read the unkillable bird story since my hunting partner and I had our own experience with a couple of tough ones this season.

A couple of Sundays ago, neighbor and hunting buddy Paul showed up in the AM after hunting the local release site with his awesome bird dog, Bob (black lab). Had one in the game vest and got shots at a couple others. He asked if I wanted to join him for an afternoon hunt in the same area – of course!

When we got there, Paul asked if we could spend a few minutes looking for a bird he had knocked the be-jesus out of in the morning, but that he & Bob could not find – a pretty brushy and swampy area. We gave it about 15 minutes of brush beating, but nothing. We then headed out for our planned hunt.

We made a big loop of the area and came to the south end of the thicket where we searched for the downed bird – about 200 yards away from where we looked. Bob indicates he’s on to a bird and we ready the scatterguns. He dives into the brush, but no bird flushes. Bob is crashing around the brush patch, and we can hear him heading deeper into the thicket.

After a couple of minutes we can’t hear Bob anymore and start calling him – once in awhile we hear him, but he’s not close. I head up the fence line and call every now & again. After another five minutes, I hear him getting a bit closer and call, offering a cookie this time

Another minute or two passes, and I see glimpses of Bob walking out, rather slowly like he expects a good scolding for running off. When he gets close enough, I see that he has a live, but injured, rooster in his mouth!! Good boy Bob!!

Heaps of praise and a cookie for Bob – he found another cripple a week later on an afternoon hunt that we did not shoot – nice to save ammo that way!

By: Birdchaser

Birdchaser — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:49:28 +0000

I hunt Illinois public lands and one place I hunt seeds pheasants every morning. I was lucky enough to get drawn for a spot that morning and I was by myself, so I committed to only shooting roosters (you can shoot both sexes on controlled lands, as they put both sexes out) and only if my Shorthair pointed and held as she should.
Unfortunately, she pointed and held two beautiful roosters in the first five minutes and I shot them both as I has resolved. Upon her retrieve of the second bird (my limit) I took the not-quite-dead bird from her and carried him back to the truck. Upon placing him in the truck I wring his neck quite satisfactorily and his eyes closed.
In Illinois you have to tag your controlled birds at the check station, so I returned there to check out. I exited the truck and locked it, with my dog securely inside. As I opened the tailgate I pulled the two roosters to the edge and the proceeded to remove my requisite back patch from my vest.
Once my hands were occupied the not-quite-dead rooster rolled off the tailgate, hit the ground, rose to his feet and took off wobbling away from the truck. As I went after him and gained on him he picked up speed and was rapidly outrunnning me. I ran back to the truck and grabbed the door handle to release my frantic pointer who was watching the whole thing. Except, I had locked the damn truck and the keys were deep in my pants pocket.
I turned back just in time to see the rooster loop back towards me and run into a 14″ by 30′ long culvert pipe that ran under the parking lot. Onto my hands and knees to see the rooster headed out the other end. I ran to the other end just in time to see the rooster hit reverse and head back the other way.
Five times we did this when suddenly the rooster stopped, wobbled and fell down dead in the three inches of water in the pipe and 12′ from the end. I had to enlist the help of the State employees to fish my wet, bedraggled and now, quite-dead rooster out of the pipe and had to explain how he got there in the first place. Now I make sure that they are good and dead when they go in my vest.

By: T. Michael Riddle

T. Michael Riddle — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:39:19 +0000

That story is as hilarious as it is amazing Hank!
I also have seen how tough and hard to kill those birds can be.
Enjoy your hard earned harvest, every mouthwatering bite!

By: Audrey

Audrey — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:32:53 +0000

I love this story. You want the hunters to get their bird, but you can’t help cheering for the bird, too.

By: hank

hank — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:28:55 +0000

Elginite: You know, that’s a great idea! I love Brillat-Savarin, too — and I now have health insurance…

Heather: You are not the only one I have heard rush out of a car to grab a pheasant they’d whacked! And pheasant feathers would be gorgeous in a wedding headpiece — it must have been lovely!

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:26:21 +0000

What a hilarious story! Intrepid hunters, truly.

And how true is everything you said! The closest I’ve ever come to landing a pheasant was when I smacked one with my windshield. I quickly pulled over to grab it (I’d smacked it pretty good, and was ready to wring its neck and take it home for dinner), but it got sucked into a ditch! It was really rainy and it just got washed downstream or sucked into a culvert or sommat. Ditch chicken indeed.

I had pheasant tail feathers in my wedding headpiece. It was from a bird that succumbed to a hawk.

By: elginite

elginite — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:16:14 +0000

“I have never seen anything compelling to tell me the feathers and guts do something good to the meat”

Woodcock??

Have you thought of preparing the pheasant according to Brillat-Savarins specifications? That would make for an interesting post.

By: hank

hank — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:13:39 +0000

Adele: You bet I will post it up. Prolly later this week.

Duckfan: Thanks a heap! I’ve had hawks dive-bomb my shot ducks, too. Good thing we’re bigger than they are…

Peter: Not a bad idea. I’ll see how Rebecca does it…and congrats on the Japanese book. Reminds me, I need to get back to it. Hunting season has me distracted.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:44:26 +0000

Maybe you should take up falconing- then you could drink beer while you raptor does all the work.

I just got the Japanese cookbook for my birthday, based on your recommendation, along with an insane bounty of ingredients fresh from Japan.