Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Don't Forget the Hens!



We all love to hear the cackle of the rooster as he flies up out from cover and displays his majestic tail. The hen, on the other hand, gets overlooked. We do not shoot hens in the wild, and rightfully so! We need to try to perpetuate the species. The pheasant farm is a different proposition altogether. The birds are not normally going to survive. They are released to train our dogs and to shoot.

My pointing Lab, Gunner, does not care if that bird is a hen or a rooster. He is an "equal opportunity" pointer and retriever. He gets just as excited at pointing the female of the species as he does a cock bird! He loves retrieving!
 




Late in the winter, the pheasant farms run out of roosters. It becomes an all hen hunt. Some upland hunters decide to shelf their weapon for the year at that point. However, the "Suzie Bird" of the pheasant variety can be fun!

The one drawback to shooting hens is that sometimes they fly out rather than up! This characteristic makes it dangerous for the dog. I have had to pass on the shot because my dog was in line with the bird, but When it landed in our field when got a bonus flush.




Hens will get up, though. As you can see in the photo, this hen got up in the air quickly. Shooting hen pheasants is still better than watching hunting shows on television

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