I have had MY limit multiple times without firing a shot. I say MY limit because any bird caught went in my bag because the other people in group didn’t fire a shot. This was on private ground and usually when it was cold and there was snow on the ground. Best eating pheasants are ones that are lead free.
Pen raised pheasant ,newly released are easy for dogs to just grap
I hunted yesterday on Idaho Fish and Game pheasant release area. The dumb pen raised Pheasant end up all standing in the road like a bunch of zombie pheasant . Takes them awhile to get field smarts and hide in cover
Yesturday My 3 year old DK was hunting and all the sudden game running back to me retrieving a pheasant. So I used that bird to do alittle field training with my Pup
I've noticed Some of the Pen raised pheasant are not to healthy when the Fish and Game releases them.