MJE2083
Well-known member
Just wanted to share a quick story from this mornings pheasant hunt. Dog flushed a rooster this morning and I fired off both barrels. I never saw the bird flinch, nor feathers fly, I was certain that I had a clean miss. Watched the bird fly off probably 100+ yards and land in the edge of the woods. My wife(only in her second season of hunting) says "I think you hit him". I said "No I'm sure I missed, he flew away". She insisted "the bird landed funny, I think you winged him". Just to appease her I said "ok we can walk over that way, maybe he will flush again". She goes in with the dog, and after a few mins I hear "We found him". Dead bird.
I was so sure that I missed this bird that if I was by myself I wouldn't have gone looking for it. I'm still not convinced that it was the same bird I shot at, but with the bitter cold temps(low 20's) this morning this bird was still warm when we found him.
It just goes to show that we should always follow up on our shots. We owe it to the animal to make a recovery. Also goes to show that no matter how experienced we are, we can learn something from a less experienced hunter. I was humbled for sure.
I was so sure that I missed this bird that if I was by myself I wouldn't have gone looking for it. I'm still not convinced that it was the same bird I shot at, but with the bitter cold temps(low 20's) this morning this bird was still warm when we found him.
It just goes to show that we should always follow up on our shots. We owe it to the animal to make a recovery. Also goes to show that no matter how experienced we are, we can learn something from a less experienced hunter. I was humbled for sure.
