collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!  (Read 3922 times)

Offline 253shotgunner

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Sep 2019
  • Posts: 170
  • Location: Puget Sound
  • Groups: NRA, GSSF, TSC
Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« on: November 17, 2019, 06:53:40 PM »
This is my third year hunting pheasants and I had never seen this before. My hunting partner shoots a hen (we were in western WA) and it drops like a rock. As we approach it, the bird's head pops up and it starts running away. Luckily, our dog saw this and held it until we came to pick it up. Does this happen often?
« Last Edit: November 17, 2019, 08:11:45 PM by 253shotgunner »
Turkey Geek

Offline BLH69

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jan 2016
  • Posts: 181
  • Location: manchester
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2019, 06:56:32 PM »
they are famous for it.

Offline jackelope

  • Administrator
  • Trade Count: (+29)
  • Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 50296
  • Location: Duvall, WA
  • Groups: jackelope
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2019, 06:59:55 PM »
Chicken with its head cut off ring a bell?
:fire.:

" In today's instant gratification society, more and more pressure revolves around success and the measurement of one's prowess as a hunter by inches on a score chart or field photos produced on social media. Don't fall into the trap. Hunting is-and always will be- about the hunt, the adventure, the views, and time spent with close friends and family. " Ryan Hatfield

My posts, opinions and statements do not represent those of this forum

Offline bobcat

  • Global Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+14)
  • Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 39203
  • Location: Rochester
    • robert68
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2019, 07:06:44 PM »
That's because it probably was only hit in the wing. That's why it's so important to always use a dog when hunting pheasants.

Offline 253shotgunner

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Sep 2019
  • Posts: 170
  • Location: Puget Sound
  • Groups: NRA, GSSF, TSC
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2019, 07:17:36 PM »
That's because it probably was only hit in the wing. That's why it's so important to always use a dog when hunting pheasants.

Thank you. A wing shot explains that situation for me. The bird was very much alive when the dog got to it. I just had never seen that before as all the birds that i have shot were dead upon retrieval. That was a great lesson to learn for my future pheasant hunts!
Turkey Geek

Offline CackleBird98

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jun 2019
  • Posts: 255
  • Location: Walla Walla Washington
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2019, 07:26:34 PM »
Oh yeah!  If a pheasant isnt dead or have a broken leg when it hits the ground, without a good dog you can kiss him goodbye!
That's why I always try to hit em again on the way down if they still look alive

Offline Birdguy

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2008
  • Posts: 3865
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2019, 07:55:57 PM »
Using a better load of pellets can help with this a lot. Those Prairie Storm loads are great for folding what you hit. Some pay to play places require it to prevent cripples. Dogs are awesome tools in the bird fields, beside amazing to watch work will recover many birds that would be lost without them!

Offline 253shotgunner

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Hunter
  • ***
  • Join Date: Sep 2019
  • Posts: 170
  • Location: Puget Sound
  • Groups: NRA, GSSF, TSC
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2019, 07:57:06 PM »
Yep, I would never hunt pheasant without a good bird dog. I use #2 steel (pheasant release site) and I have never had a runner. Hmmm I wonder what size shot my buddy was shooting? I will have to ask him!  :dunno:
« Last Edit: November 17, 2019, 08:10:14 PM by 253shotgunner »
Turkey Geek

Offline Hilltop123

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jan 2011
  • Posts: 2096
  • Location: Up on the Ump
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2019, 08:48:03 PM »
Sooner birds, is what dad called them. Sooner run, than fly.

Offline DOUBLELUNG

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Old Salt
  • ******
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 5837
  • Location: Wenatchee
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2019, 12:52:14 PM »
To quote a friend: "Run like a rabbit, die like a rabbit!"
As long as we have the habitat, we can argue forever about who gets to kill what and when.  No habitat = no game.

Offline Backstrap

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2009
  • Posts: 307
  • Location: Auburn, WA
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #10 on: November 18, 2019, 05:07:12 PM »
I watched my dog chase one down and catch it this weekend. Man those things can really bob and weave, circle back, and generally confuse the dog. This was an unwounded but obese bird that did not want to fly.
.
Step once, look twice...

Offline Birdgetter

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jan 2017
  • Posts: 578
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2019, 05:49:55 PM »
Chukars do the same thing, they really get up and go especially down hill.

Offline Fletch

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2007
  • Posts: 631
  • Location: Moses Lake WA
Re: Is this common? Pheasant down then runs like heck!
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2019, 01:13:04 PM »
always down hill  :chuckle:

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

3 pintails by hdshot
[Today at 07:10:22 PM]


Selkirk bull moose. by moose40
[Today at 05:42:19 PM]


A. Cole Lockback in AEB-L and Micarta by pianoman9701
[Today at 04:34:46 PM]


Willapa Hills 1 Bear by Alan K
[Today at 03:46:09 PM]


North Peninsula Salmon Fishing by Buckhunter24
[Today at 12:43:12 PM]


2025 Crab! by trophyhunt
[Today at 11:09:27 AM]


erronulvin trail cam photos by kodiak06
[Today at 10:19:35 AM]


Yard babies by Feathernfurr
[Today at 09:55:24 AM]


If you've been following.... by HighlandLofts
[Today at 03:03:24 AM]


Unit 364 Archery Tag by buglebuster
[Yesterday at 08:06:11 PM]


45 Winchester Magnum by poor_choices
[Yesterday at 07:01:02 PM]

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2025, SimplePortal