Surprise flushes

wapsijim

wapsijim

New member
Anyone else have any old memorable or funny "surprise flushes" when you were least expecting one? I remember two or three.

One time my hunting partner and I, (we had no dog), had just walked a swampy area and sat down on a log to rest. After about two minutes sitting there, a pheasant flushes loudly right at his feet. ...After our hearts started beating again we just had to laugh.

The second one I remember, we had pulled the van off the road into a hay field earlier in the morning. After hunting a large field just across the road we came back to the van and broke out the lunches and coffee. Everyone, (there were 4 or 5 of us), was sitting around shooting the bull just enjoying the nice day. My dog was milling around among us and walked over to a small patch of short grass not 20 feet away. He goes on point. My buddy says "there can't be anything there". Shotguns still empty and leaning against the van, he walks over to prove it.....and a whole covey of quail flush in his face! We learned to trust that dog more and more....

The third one, early in the morning in a hay field the dog points a rooster sitting very tight (we can see it). My buddy says "here, hold my gun, I'm going to catch it". Bet you can guess how that one turned out....
 
Pulled off the road first thing in the am to hunt an abandoned RR track. Loaded my gun and took 3 steps and up comes a rooster at my feet. Missed that bird going straight away 3 shots. My son was 10 at the time (now 21) still teases me at least once a year. Dad, remember that time......
 
Stopped to take a piss one day after a day of hunting in SD. As I stood there peeing next to a patch of grass about ten feet square, I looked down and saw a half dozen birds collected together. I whispered to my buddy, who was driving, to grab his gun. As I reached for mine they flushed. There were 7 or 8 birds in that patch. We got none. Still a story that comes up every year
 
Last year hunting sharpies up in Nebraska I stopped to take a break have a smoke and pee. Had been on this bare patch of rock and gravel for at least ten minutes and the dog goes on point. She was pointing right at my foot. I started telling her how there was no bird where I was standing and up comes a single sharpie right between my legs.
 
Took my first pheasant from a surprise flush. Was blocking at the corner of an old plumb thicket on the edge of some corn stubble. Standing at the end of the thicket chatting, a rooster flushes from about 100 yards out in the stubble and flies straight at me. If I had quicker feet and wasn't in shock of taking my first rooster, I could have caught him as he fell.
 
my hunting buddy and I were walking down a row of trees in the middle of a wheat field. about three quarters of the way down, we both started thinking that we wouldn't see anything. we got to the end and rested our shotguns. The precise moment that we started talking where we should go next to, the biggest rooster I've ever seen flushed right at the tip of the brush, and we SAT there and watched it fly away. both of us simultaneously looked at each other and asked "why didn't you shoot that?" Just had to laugh...
 
In Kansas years back I was walking a fence line. The grass was about up to the first strand of barbed wire and was flowing about a foot or so outside on each side of the fence. I was brushing right along the wire when a rooster got up literally right between my feet. I actually felt its wings hit both of my legs as it jumped and it hit the lower edge or my hunting coat as it rose. I would guess it was about a foot or two in front of my face as it went up. I was literally so startled I just watched it go. Never fired a shot. In hindsight I would say I respected his cool to stay so tight right up to the last second. In fact, I was just too startled to do anything. It was something like a bomb going off right in my face.
 
about 2 years ago got a a wma early parked took a nap got out at the 9:00 am start time all ready to go got dogs ready started the about 60 yard walk along a fenceline my ol bulldog was with she decided to stop & drop a duce as shes in the middle of doing her biz my SM goes on point then a rooster flushes behinde me in front of the still pooping bulldog the look on that dogs face was priceless i got the bird after a 10 min search & the SM drop n her duce...
 
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david0311

small munsterlander owner said:
about 2 years ago got a a wma early parked took a nap got out at the 9:00 am start time all ready to go got dogs ready started the about 60 yard walk along a fenceline my ol bulldog was with she decided to stop & drop a duce as shes in the middle of doing her biz my SM goes on point then a rooster flushes behinde me in front of the still pooping bulldog the look on that dogs face was priceless i got the bird after a 10 min search & the SM drop n her duce...


prairie chicken hunting mn we had a group of 6 seen birds land in the prairie went after them walked wear we seen em land no birds on 1st pass we all stoped at end of walk to turn & walk it back the old guys wanted to talk smoke & bitch no birds got up bout 10 min we line up again to walk & 10 birds flush 60 yards out more at 80 the young guys ran up & shot we got 2 old guys cried we can run that fast lol taught them to keep moving smoke less lol them birds just watched us the hole time lol
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??60-80 yard flush? and you were able to run up to shooting distance?? You must be really-really fast:eek:
 
my wife insisted I take her beagle with me and my springer. stopped at the first quarter section and the beagle lets out a BAAAAR.....BAAAR. Birds started
"surprise" flushing all over the entire field. Wave after wave of them. probably the most birds I've ever seen flush at once.
 
thats very common if u hunt prairie grouse if u flush a bird wild get to that spot asap more may be there thinking there hiden...
 
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Very good thread. Enjoyed everybody's story's. Mine was I was 12 and in pa when I was 12 we didn't have very many pheasants but the first on I saw we were rabbit hunting walking through a field and it went right up at my feet I had no clue what it was and before I was done being startled my uncle had it on the ground wondering why I did shoot. I told him I was still scared from it flushing under my feet
 
Last year, rode my moutain bike way in to a large WMA with cased gun and dog looking for ruffed grouse; stashed the bike and was able to walk well away from the parking area... nothing seen or heard. Recased the gun, mounted the bike and rode back with dog. Final turn to parking lot and I have a birdy dog and a grouse sitting on top of the tahoe. Almost fell off the mountain bike laughing at all the hard work to get away from the parking area.
 
Years back the farmer who's land we generally hunt had an idea that there were some birds in some cut milo. He had it fenced off for the cattle to graze after we finished hunting. He thought that if he got his cattle and got them to trample through it towards the road and fence line we would get some pass shooting. So we proceeded to walk down the road and tie white grocery bags on the fence line so the cattle would know the electric fence was there. After we all walked up and back the road I decided to head down the road to a break in the "tree line" along the road. While waiting nature called so I tucked my gun under my arm and proceeded to relieve myself. Upon finishing I zipped up and suddenly right in-front of me (yeah almost peed on it), a rooster busted out. Boy were we all shocked and of course my buddies didn't see what happened until they heard a shot and a puff of feathers:cheers:
Apparently I petrified the bird when he saw my other gun:thumbsup:

Two years ago we were hunting a little draw the morning after a front moved through and laid down a blanket of sleet. The tall grass was mashed down about 1.5 feet tall. Suddenly I hear my Britt's beeper collar going off "on point" right near me. I can's see him at all. Then I think he must have lost his collar and started looking for it in the grass. I pull a tuft of grass back and he is crouched down in a tunnel pointing toward me, rock steady and will not move. I am baffled. After pulling him up a bird busts out just on the other side of me out of the tunnel. Yeah, trust the dog; of course I missed that one:cool:
 
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