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I killed a pheasant today.

Monsterbuck

Monsterbuck

Active Member
Driving the kids to school this morning and a beautiful rooster takes off out of the ditch along the highway and flys right in front of my truck.

"Nooooo!!!!"

He hit the grill then bounced off and into and over my windshield. Feathers flying.

In my younger days I shot a lot of pheasants. Heck I pretty much expected to fill my three bird limit every time out and usually did. And those things were delicious.

But now I rarely ever see a pheasant. I haven't hunted them in a decade and haven't eaten any in at least that long. Right now I feel about as bad about killing that pheasant as if it were a bald eagle or a trumpeter swan.

So sad to think how much things have changed the last 25 years. I hope and pray that the deer don't go the way of the pheasant. How tragic will that be?

Rest in peace Rooster, rest in peace...
 
We went out yesterday, froze our tails off, but came back with 5 birds. I actually shot three of them within the first 20 minutes. We saw a lot more though, especially hens. This was somewhere between Perry and Jefferson. I don't really know where because I'd never been there before, and I wasn't driving. My pointer did awesome though. Probably the most proud of him than I ever have been. He held in point really well, and after he used up his initial burst of excitement, he was slow and methodical tracking the scent until he went on point. So much fun to see him work. We saw about 50 hens all day, so that looks good for next year if they all don't die on Monday with the -10 degrees forcasted.



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i have seen more pheasants this year then I have seen in the last 3 combined. I usually scare them out of the ditch just so no one else kills them
 
Don't feel bad...killing roosters at this time of year is a good thing. If winter feed gets tough to find it's common to see roosters bullying hens away from life saving food sources, so killing that rooster may have very well saved several hens.

NWBuck
 
I killed a couple the other day. I figured there was 1 left in the state after that SO, with your kill, I think pheasants are now officially extinct in iowa.
I had to walk all day to see 10 birds in a "good area". found 3 piles from predators of dead pheasants.
 
Sligh1 said:
I killed a couple the other day. I figured there was 1 left in the state after that SO, with your kill, I think pheasants are now officially extinct in iowa.
I had to walk all day to see 10 birds in a "good area". found 3 piles from predators of dead pheasants.
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If numbers are that bad then why do you still hunt them?
 
I think thephatchef accounted for 50% of this years harvest. LOL!

I hope the population does rebound. I have seen a rooster from time to time just up the gravel from me. I planted some acres in bird buffer on our property so maybe some will nest here.

I remember when you couldn't drive 5 miles of gravel without seeing a pheasant in the morning or late afternoon, now you're lucky to see any. Don't know what the population is like in NW Iowa, maybe they still hold a few.
 
Monsterbuck said:
I think thephatchef accounted for 50% of this years harvest. LOL!

I hope the population does rebound. I have seen a rooster from time to time just up the gravel from me. I planted some acres in bird buffer on our property so maybe some will nest here.

I remember when you couldn't drive 5 miles of gravel without seeing a pheasant in the morning or late afternoon, now you're lucky to see any. Don't know what the population is like in NW Iowa, maybe they still hold a few.
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I've seen several in corn fields while driving around coyote hunting. More then usual. But they haven't been hunted hard here.
 
You should of called a Taxidermist.. I have a pheasant mount, and It's amazing how beautiful pheasants are..

Main thing you can do now is try to get people to plant habitat wherever they can. Also, Educate the younger generations as much as you can about conservation. Get em in the sport, treat them right and watch how much of an impact they can truly make.

Treat non hunters with respect. It's amazing how much of an ego we can be tempted to develop from hunting. What really drives me nuts is when people treat peta people like their not even human.. I can understand not agreeing with what they believe, but try to at least gain an understanding where their coming from or other people who are not hunters.. Show that you value and respect the animals you hunt. I know how easy it is to get caught up in our emotions regarding other peoples politics or beliefs.. It's something I need to work on too...
 
I didn't stop and look for it. It was on a busy enough stretch of two lane highway without a decent shoulder to pull off onto plus I had to get my kids to school as we were running late (first day back from Christmas break).

They are beautiful and would like to do a mount someday. Not sure that one would have made a good mount, he lost a lot of feathers hitting the windshield.
 
Monsterbuck said:
I didn't stop and look for it. It was on a busy enough stretch of two lane highway without a decent shoulder to pull off onto plus I had to get my kids to school as we were running late (first day back from Christmas break).

They are beautiful and would like to do a mount someday. Not sure that one would have made a good mount, he lost a lot of feathers hitting the windshield.
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I'm sorry to hear that.. Did you have any damage to your vehicle?
 
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