Memories: Your Favorite Shot (and Mine)

My favorite was actually my son's first youth season hunt for pheasants. My old Gordon Setter went on point ahead and my son and two of his best friends who were also on their first hunt. They walked in on the point. There were 5-6 pheasants that flushed. My son was on the left and the first rooster flew to the right and he could not shoot, the other boys let plenty of lead fly but did not connect. A Rooster then flew to the left and my son killed it clean. A couple more birds got up as he was killing the first bird and the first one that flew his way was another hen. I was worried that he might shoot it, but I hear him yell hen. Just then another Rooster got up and came his way, and he drilled it. So he got his 2 bird youth season limit over point with two shots fired, his first time in the field. He unloaded his gun and help walk to get his buddies some shots.

Yep, I was pretty proud of him. He was safe and sure of his targets before he fired a shot, and when he did, he hit his shots.
 
Mine was in the early 80's on private ground in northeast Kansas , I was hunting at the edge of a small water hole that had a plumb thicket and cattails around it . With my ole 20 ga 37 Ithaca I shot a teal , rooster and a quail over the water . All birds where retrieved to had by my Brittany .
 
Mine was late 80's Iowa, my britt was working birds up a fence line and 3 roosters flushed 30 yards in front of her, I was able to drop all three with 4 shots, 870 wingmaster, first bird dead out right other two were winged. Adjacent property was a state park, winged birds ran into park. After retrieving first down bird, I took her to where I thought the roosters ran through the fence and lifted her over the fence and told her to fetch, 5-10 minutes later I could hear her coming back and she had a winged rooster in her mouth. She dropped it and I said fetch again, think what the hell, this time it took much longer and I had given up and also thinking she has ran off, my buddy yell "you won't believe this she has another bird" again a winged bird. I can see it just as vivid today as I did then. A great memory that I hope I will never loose.
 
KSBrittman said:
Mine was in the early 80's on private ground in northeast Kansas , I was hunting at the edge of a small water hole that had a plumb thicket and cattails around it . With my ole 20 ga 37 Ithaca I shot a teal , rooster and a quail over the water . All birds where retrieved to had by my Brittany .
Click to expand...

What a fun bit of hunting and great eating afterwards.
 
My all time favorite might have been the shot I didn't take.

It was my first season, and we were hunting with a large group from Louisiana. (they came up to hunt, we'd go down there to fish on Toledo Bend). I was 11, and Hunter's Safety was still fresh in my mind. We were within probably 60 yards of the blockers. A larger-than-life rooster broke from right in front of me, cackling and squawking, just daring me to swing up on him.

As I tensed when raising my gun, I saw an orange hat behind the rooster, right in my line of fire, so I brought my gun back down and watched the bird fly off. (I don't even remember if it was brought down by someone else). The blocker thanked me after the field for not shooting him, to which I didn't really know what to say as I thought I had just done what my HS classes had taught.

After the hunt, these guys all pulled my father aside and told him I could hunt with them anytime. My dad was pretty proud of me.

P.S. I did bag my first rooster later that morning, all by myself with my li'l single shot 20-gauge. Karma?
 
About 5 or 6 years ago a buddy and I were quail hunting in eastern Missouri. We had gotten into a covey of birds but it was so thick we couldnt shoot. So we started chasing the singles. I could see my 2 dogs and his on point ahead of us. We had to cross a fence to get to them. I had already crossed and was waiting on him to cross before we went up to flush. Just then a bird got up in front of the dogs and flew back toward us. The bird already had a head of steam and was flying high and fast. I pulled up and shot it well before it got to us. I see the bird coming down and I yell "heads up"! My buddy had one leg over the fence and was bent over getting ready to swing the other leg over and the bird hit him right in the back.
Funny part is, my setter picked up the bird at his feet then just sat down in front of him so he could get the bird from him. He said it felt like a brick hitting him.
I told him I was trying to drop it in his vest!
 
Easy. The first wild bird point, successful shot, and retrieve by my pointing lab Parker.
Tom
 
One of my best memories was when I was pheasant hunting with my Vizsla, Butch, in probably '94 in Western Iowa. In a picked bean field this grassy draw ran uphill for about a quarter mile and ended right at the crest of the hill. My dog didn't act birdy at all and was off playing or chasing bunnies, or so I thought. When I got to the top of the hill, I didn't see him so I turned to head back to the car. Figured I'd wait for him there. When I looked up, there he was, like a statue, with a rooster pinned between where I was and where he was. I must have walked right past the two. I stepped toward the dog, the bird got up, I let him get out a little, dropped him with a load of 4's from my Savage 16 gauge auto. I was never more proud of that dog than on that point.
 
Last edited:
Crossing shot said:
I shot well that year. He only saw me miss once that year. That year I shot a 20 gauge 870 express. The next year on opening day I shot a going away rooster about 35 to 40 yards away. He went down but we never found him. Should not have taken the shot. On November 1 it's too green for the dog to run down a rooster in very thick cover. So upset never picked up that 20 gauge again. Even sold it!

STUPID! Should not condemn a gun for one shot.
Click to expand...

I quit using a 20 on pheasant. After using an Ithaca 37 for two years and having to chase light hit birds or lose them altogether. My fault, not the gun but I'll stick with something that works better for me.
 
S.E. Nebraska late nineties, I was hunting with a friend and my farmer friend. It was our last hour to hunt before heading for home in GA. We agreed it was time to leave or we'd be late for work the next day. I had two in the bag, and I said as we walked to toward the field edge and our truck, "I'm going to get my last bird between here and the truck!" Of course, they laughed it off, because we were walking what we had just gone through. My Setter went on point right in front of me and I was off to their right about 30 yards. I bsaid nothing but just walked into the point and a big rooster flushed! Dropped it but is didn't fall dead and was running a stair-step pattern through the grass, and the grass moving was all I could see! It went throughabout six right angle turns traveling about ten feet to a leg and while the dog was rooting out the scent trail I had taken off directly towards the running bird. I was sight trailing and the dog was scent trailing. we got to it together as it just popped into a clear area of short grass. I held it up triumphantly and they had a good laugh. it was a beautiful day with the afternoon sun turning everything to gold with a bluebird sky! Looking back I think it might have been my dog's last hunt for pheasants, because she died the next October before we could go again. I guess it was meant to be something to remember. She took a part of me with her when she had to leave. Good times, great dog and great friends... It doesn't get any better than that!
 
Great story, one of my favorites was one I was not involved in but two of my hunting buddy's were. Monte wanted Bob to reload some 20 gauge shells for him for a up coming quail hunt, Bob kept putting him off and Monte was hounding him about this. Bob finally gives in and starts reloading him some. Bob pulls an old pillow out and fills all the shells full of feathers instead of shot. They all feel the same weight as the whole box was filled the same way. They get a big covey up, Bob drops three, Monte has feathers in the air, thinking he had hit them but not dropped them, they get the birds up again Bob drops two, Monte again nothing but feathers in the air, Monte is now saying how tough the birds are loosing all those feathers and still flying. Bob is about to die laughing. They get into another covey and Bob drops one and again Monte has nothing but feathers. Monte sees Bob out of control in laughter and then he examines the feathers and realizes he had been had.
 
Duck hunting with my dad and brother when I was about 13 or so. A couple Canada geese circled and came up behind and to the left of the blind. We let them come right up over us then we got up and shot. I hit two with my shot -- but my little brother had also shot, just a split-second later. Dad said we each got one, and I let it go at that. I'm sure he knew. We never talked about it, but I'm pretty sure he was proud of me.
 
David0311

Had a great big black male who was over 11 and could not bust brush rush any more--he was following along trying to do his best--

My younger dog put a bird up right over head that I was able to drop right at the old guys feet or a least very close --he picked it up and brought it to me as proud as you please--got down on my knees and hugged him knowing it was the last he would probably ever make--and it was-

Go forward about 9 years--

Same exact place young dog is now 12 and can just walk along-

Current lab who is now 9 put up almost almost same shot--bird dropped 15-20 feet from dog who is now the old guy who hobbles over picks it up as proud as you please --as I took the bird the prior situation occurred to me


And chocked me up as I hugged the now old dog--I turned to my hunting buddy and chockup telling him the story --forgetting he had been there years earlier

I sent the group,I was hunting with to the next field with out me --and spent time there with my dogs
 
Awesome memory David.:cheers:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top