Thread: Disrespecting the Pheasant

At some stage I believe your want or perceived need to kill game birds at all costs diminishes once you understand why you’re in the game at all .At some stage hopefully you come from blood lust to class lust .

For me a change of attitude and appreciation of why I shoot Pheasant came about through the love of working a pointing dogs.
For many years I shot 40 birds each season in cut over and was proud to compete against my peers who did much the same in less than easy shooting areas of cut over.
We appreciated dog work but hadn’t reached a place mentally where the dog work was everything and often shot what moved but still spoke about high quality work but let bumped birds go over the gun too having to up our numbers to feel competent.
Now, and for many years the kill has just been a reward for the dog rather than a numbers medal so I could say I had this or that quantity of birds.

I do not shoot birds at all now unless the dog work is of a very high quality, no accidentally flushed birds, birds on the side of the road or that get up wild, just birds the dog points well and works well.
It will be that until the day I put my Setter away for the last time.

Over the week I met a very nice chap who shoots a lot and I had the chance to see him shoot as he passed me with his dogs.
I watched his pointing dogs go forward to bump and flush 3 birds and he just let rip with his semi auto .Through the day I could just hear his gun blazing away as he hunted all the edges, hill sides and any other area he knew more pheasants hung out . We caught up a little later in the day and chatted and talked about dogs and hunting .As mentioned he is a very nice guy .Said person told me he shoots 300 plus birds a year –more than any other person I have ever heard of .Zipgavich in northland I have heard is a 200 a year man over his Setters and that once dropped my jaw .

Now in saying all this I have to ask is shooting this number of birds just treating the mighty pheasant as just a pest, a rodent with no worth? To have pointing dogs and to shoot a bird that is in front of you just because it presents itself just plain slaughter without a single drop of class being involved? I to could should a shit load of birds if I allowed my dog to run short and bump all in sundry.
One could argue what say if it was a lab or a spaniel, would you then shoot all that moved?
I think all types of dogs have their special abilities that a handler appreciates hopefully and would want the dog to achieve that before just letting rip .

If we don’t consider class and style when running a dog on birds are we not just treating the incredible Pheasant game bird just as a pest to fulfill some ego blood lust ?

Your opinion may be different to mine but lets hear them

I dont shoot birds but I like your opinion. Bit of respect for the quarry and also encouraging good behavior from the dog.

Hi EL B, i agree with you, have never got into killing for killings sake, being 57 now i know my attitude would have been different when i was younger, i would have shot everything i could point a barrel at!!!!!!

Same goes for Deer, when i shot a deer earlier this year, my mate who is still to get his first kill, put away his rifle as he had a share of mine to bring home, we are into the challenge & adventure, comradeship as much as pulling the trigger!!!

Same with ducks, never got into it for 'harvest'.....

Just my 2c.....

I'm surprised he can find places to shoot as most people I know would throw him off for cleaning out a property.

a nice post but my head is still full of your defence of running ya dog during the nesting period.... but thats just me.
for the record i'm happy if the rooster wins, it means my dogs can find him another day.

Be happy with one or 2 birds this year over my own dogs, finally. Limit here is one per day anyway

I'm don't really hunt for numbers anymore, more to be there and with the dogs. Sounds stupid but the truth.

depends what you are in the game for, I hunt to quench a thirst for obtaining my own sustenance and for the thrill of the hunt and chase
working over a well trained dog is an art in its self

you can get all caught up in the 'respecting the pheasant' if you like but it is just a glorified turkey with pretty feathers
I havent shot one in the last two years, even tho my property holds hundreds
I keep the cats down and they breed really well, as there is a ton of food here
when they are plentiful they loose their magic, and that is the gaps between seeing them when out hunting, the wait and the anticipation
basically all my hunting was done without a dog, and shooting over a pointer was allways uninteresting as the dog removes the excitment of the flushing bird as there is a big ol mutt pointing exactly to where it is going to come out of, cue flush of bird when you are ready and waiting - bang bird falls out of sky

Its interesting Bill to see the thoughts and perceptions of others and how they understand what is exciting .I have never thought of a classy pointing dog making a hunt boring myself ...

where I run my dog Kawhia in the weekends is over run by at least 50 or more dogs a day ,every single weekend running free exercising -every weekend -so whilst your intention may be good its just not correct given where it is and the fact that half of Auckland are there with every variety of pooch going mad exercising fido like myself lol

Originally Posted by Bill999

depends what you are in the game for, I hunt to quench a thirst for obtaining my own sustenance and for the thrill of the hunt and chase
working over a well trained dog is an art in its self

you can get all caught up in the 'respecting the pheasant' if you like but it is just a glorified turkey with pretty feathers
I havent shot one in the last two years, even tho my property holds hundreds
I keep the cats down and they breed really well, as there is a ton of food here
when they are plentiful they loose their magic, and that is the gaps between seeing them when out hunting, the wait and the anticipation
basically all my hunting was done without a dog, and shooting over a pointer was allways uninteresting as the dog removes the excitment of the flushing bird as there is a big ol mutt pointing exactly to where it is going to come out of, cue flush of bird when you are ready and waiting - bang bird falls out of sky

I wish it was that simple . We have bugger all pheasants down here , but the ones I've shot it's the dog that puts the thrill into them . Let's face it they are not the most challenging to shoot at wing .

hell munsey if you shoot as bad as me they are -check my new video right at the end -that bird is about 30 ft away lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ipO4rKsgbo

Your getting older and I think you mellow and appreciate just what your doing. I look at all things from many perspectives as to why/what i'm doing. Like Scouser, I would shoot anything that moved in my younger days, without any respect for the animal. My father once asked me "why I had to killed everything". I never understood. I do today and have for quite a while there's more to it, and I think there's more to life and you only get that deeper appreciation having lived a while. Might be maturity or old age, or Im just a soft cock!

No Maca, you now have the attitude all game hunters should employ in my opinion to preserve game numbers and to be a good example to those that don't shoot. Self righteous ANTI SHOOTING bastards would publicize every little fault they can in shooters where possible

yea mate I fully understand, I went to uni at lincoln. there are fuck all pheasants in the area at all even with the good cover and food supply
I think its just too cold and the numbers are too low to rapidly increase

My young years there was nothing more prestigious than shooting a pheasant while out in the field U/O in hand,
now with the freedom to shoot as many as I please I choose to only shoot the occasional one for the dinner plate
the dog makes it a shit ton easier as you just watch for excitement and the dog locking in on a sent trail, my springer spaniel is great to watch and she locks into a point on a rare occasion but mainly flushes at pace.

she is good to hunt over but I cant hunt on my property as its an orchard, and lead in the fruit is a major food safety concern
so I have only a few areas to shoot toward safely

I have a feeling reading back thru what I have said that im putting across my annoyance of hunting over poorly trained dogs rather than a well meshed team of man and dog

Have had both our boys out hunting over the dogs in the last week, and got a huge sense of satisfaction from seeing them handle the dogs and the buzz they got from having birds produced in front of them. Neither bought game home but they loved every minute. Our tally for the season thus far is dismal but there has been some outstanding work from the dogs....... the way Im shooting at the moment I still couldnt hit the back end of a bus LOL