Salute to the Soldier Hunter
Welcome to the forum and thanks for serving our country in uniform. There is alot of walking and gun bearing in pheasant hunting so a layer less or a weight lighter in clothing than is comfortable when standing around works well. I like light weight field pants with protective fabric on the facing of the legs (chaps too). Keeps the stickers off the skin and helps the legs move more easily through heavy cover. If I need something warmer, long underwear works. Tight clothing, particularly tight pants, are tiring, especially if you have to lift your legs in cover or over fences. While not required by law, a blaze orange cap or hat is a great safety feature as are shooting or some type of glasses to protect your eyes from errant shot.
Use no. 4 or 5 shot and shoot through improved cylinder or modified chokes on opening day. Later in the season you might need to tighten up the chokes for the more distant shots. When you approach a field, be quiet. Don't slam doors, laugh, talk, jack shells, or do other stuff in a loud manner. Hunt into the wind if possible. Use natural breaks in cover such as roads for blocks - hunt toward them in other words. Use hunters as blockers when natural barriers are unavailable. Enter the field in a skirmish line with hunters spaced about 25 yards apart and move slower than normal walking pace. Hunt the best part of the field first.
Finally, don't drink alcohol until the guns are put away for the day. Enjoy the hunt, the season, your new life, and . . . the refreshments.
