I got on a video kick the last 3 days. 1 video had a guy shooting at prairie chickens over his partners heads. Looked unsafe to me, but I wasn't there and realize wide angle lenses can distort things.
Saw another one with sitting stone kennels called SD prairie chicken hunt from last year. It was 10 minutes of slow motion b roll/sizzle reel. There were about 6 gsp's running fast through the field. Then there was a bunch of video of a guy holding a prairie chicken retrieved. I don't believe the flush or shot was even in the video. I don't think that guy knew what he was doing. I'm wondering if he shot 1 bird all trip?
One thing I realized for sure, and I think Lucas talked about it in an intro/outro one time. Show respect for the birds. Hunting is a bloodsport and the goal is to kill birds. But holding up a bird for an extended camera shot that is still blinking, bill gawking is a bad look. When the dog retrieves a wounded bird dispatch it immediately. I also saw a video where multiple birds are shot, and a guy throws a wounded bird at his buddy to put in his game bag. I'm not getting down on other hunters, but have respect for the birds, and when you wound one, dispatch it quickly.
I still get a kick out of the fact that I'm Mr. Average when it comes to hunting. Last week I went to SD grouse hunting. Saw all these guys hunting with multiple pointers who got a bird or two a day. I showed up with a flusher and banged out a limit every day in a couple hours at most. I'm sure I'll be humbled by the roosters many days this fall. Either way I'll tell the truth. And if Skye or Roxy bring back a bird still blinking, I'll wring his neck as soon as I can.
