The accidental pheasant hunter

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
As a 40 year old, I started chasing pheasants by accident 3 years ago. I moved next to a trap club and borrowed a shotgun from a good buddy. I shot clays all summer and my buddy invited me duck hunting in ND on the condition I bought my own gun. I bought a gun the next week, and had zero idea the guy who sold me my gun was going out to ND hunting with the same party I was with! Later that year in MN I walked a WMA without a dog and flushed a few roosters that I missed. The following year a dear friend took me to Iowa with his brother's lab, and we flushed a few late season birds that we failed to hit. Tragically that friend came down with a fatal brain disease which took his life in short order. I think of him to this day, and wish he were here so I could tell him of my first pheasant. Later that season a buddy asked me to babysit his dog and I asked him, "can I take her pheasant hunting?" He said, "yeah man, go get em!" Reading this casually I can understand this seeming like no big deal, but I can't say how much this meant, first my buddy taking me hunting, and second my other buddy allowing me to take his dog out hunting wild birds alone. We learned together, the dog and I. That first day we hadn't seen anything for hours. I remember stopping, in some barren cover and she put her nose down, and she was sniffing in the sparse grass, pressing her nose down, and suddenly a hen flushed out. It doesn't seem like much to an experienced hunter but to me it meant more than I can say. I had the opportunity and the honor to learn with this dog. She has since learned a lot about Phasianus colchicus, and I count myself lucky to hunt behind her. I'm not saying she's perfect, but I love to hunt with her. All bird dogs go to heaven, but I've got a soft for spot for field bred goldens. Anyways the point of my post is to get others into upland hunting. Whether young, old, or in the middle. If you are an experienced hunter or a land owner, please keep an open mind to bringing new hunters into the sport. Two weeks ago I took a young buck out and he got his first wild rooster. He was really excited. I was too. I hope this sport continues for a long time. And I hope everyone gets at least one chance in their life to see a good bird dog work.
 

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I too have a soft spot for field Goldens! I need to do a better job of finding new comers although I suck at this so it would probably push them the wrong direction at the end if the day.
Good stuff Bob
 
Nice post Bob. You do look young for 40...maybe this is the young buck you speack of. We all have different stories on how we got started in this addiction. Pass it along, it will stick with some and not others. `
 
Have enjoyed following your stories over the year, thanks for sharing!

I grew up never hunting, or anything gun related. Moved to South Dakota for college and made a few local friends. We would road hunt, looking back - some of it illegally, it interested me a little bit. Then I got invited on a REAL hunt with a good dog, and the rest is history. I was instantly hooked. It's been a fun journey for me, from never hunting as a kid, to getting into it a bit as an 18-20 year old, to it becoming my passion in my 20s and into my 30s now.
 
Bob, Good story. Now you need to started hunting the King. Hunting Ruffs is very addicting also. You are surely close to Ruff hunting.
 
Bob Peters said:
Later that season a buddy asked me to babysit his dog and I asked him, "can I take her pheasant hunting?" He said, "yeah man, go get em!" Reading this casually I can understand this seeming like no big deal, but I can't say how much this meant, first my buddy taking me hunting, and second my other buddy allowing me to take his dog out hunting wild birds alone.
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That's the most remarkable part of a story that's great for many reasons.

I think most of us are pretty protective of our dogs. For me, that would have been a HUGE ask. I'm not sure I could give anybody a "yes" on that question. There are several who I trust completely as hunters and dog handlers in general, but I'm not sure I trust my dogs to respond to them. They'd respond to my wife, but she doesn't hunt. They might respond to my 21 year old son and he's a good, safe hunter, but he's not a dog handler and he suffers from the typical 21-year old malady of inattention to things that his parents find really important.

Sounds like a separate thread...
 
I have turned around 10 people on to bird hunting so far. I get satisfaction in teaching other people. It's always kind of risky taking newbies into the field.
 
remy3424 said:
Nice post Bob. You do look young for 40...maybe this is the young buck you speack of. We all have different stories on how we got started in this addiction. Pass it along, it will stick with some and not others. `
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Yup Remy, that was the youngster I took out, he just turned 14 a few weeks ago.
 
Thats a great story Bob. Maybe we can get some other guys to tell their story. Mine is much different but I remember that feeling like it was yesterday.
 
I have a pretty similar story of accidentally becoming a pheasant hunter later in life. My dad grew up on a farm in western KS but was never a big hunter so when I was growing up in Kansas City pheasant hunting never came across my radar.

About 5 years ago when my grandparents passed we inherited some of their farm land including the plot with their old farm house. I always enjoyed going out to the farm and shooting guns as a kid and knew there were some pheasants out there so I figured I would give it a try since I had a place to stay and some land. I had never taken my hunter safety course as a kid so I had to knock that out first at the ripe old age of 32.

First trip out there I took one friend who enjoys duck hunting but had never been pheasant hunting and another friend who had been pheasant hunting twice with his father in law. We had no idea what we were doing (besides making sure we didn't shoot each other) and had no trained dogs. We just started walking some CRP and Milo Fields.

The first pheasant that flushed in range was all it took for me to get hooked, the whoop whoop crackle crackle as the bird explodes out of the grass was intoxicating. I don't think any of us killed any birds that day but I fell in love with the sport.

3 years later I have read just about every piece of info on the internet about pheasant hunting, acquired a GSP and have become an extremely average pheasant hunter. I usually get out about 10 days a year and am still learning something new every time I am out.
 
Haven't done it for a few years but I did the Pheasant Forever youth hunt where the club introduces a young man or girl pheasant hunting. The club invites several volunteers with their dogs to guide. Awesome experience for all. Should get back to that event again. A good dog work is needed to get these kids into the flush. Last week I took my neighbor and his son and grandson on a game preserve hunt. Again they were so appreciative but I enjoyed it the most. I just guided. Its always to get lots of complements on the dog work. Reina my GSP IS A SHOW OFF 😄😄
 
I was an accomplished quail and duck hunter when I went on my 1st trip. I've forgotten hundreds of roster flushes since, but I will never forget that first one! I can still see that tail waving and that cackle!
 
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