doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shooting pen raised birds

Jerry, agree with most of the above. However, there are field trials that do not use pen-raised birds. Ruffed grouse "cover trials", for example. And at least some of the horseback trials are on wild birds. But they've even "supplemented" the wild quail population down at Ames for the National (although I don't know if they've continued to do that or whether the bird numbers have recovered sufficiently from previous releases), so it's not as easy to find trials run strictly on wild birds as it used to be. And no question that wild bird numbers, in general, are down from what they used to be--very significantly so in your home state of Missouri, and my former home state of Iowa.

Krakow Kid, Thanks for the kind word. There's something wonderful about getting a up before dawn on a cold crisp morning,making a pot of coffee, and taking a mug full outside to listen to the bob's calling as each covey awakes to the new day. Then as the dew leaves the ground and the birds start to move we put the hunting collar on the dog. It still has its tiny bell we no longer can hear but it's part of the hunt we won't change. With the dog at heal we move off toward the area where we heard the closest covey wake. As we get near we release the dog with a word and the hunt is on. After all these years, the heart still pounds and we still flinch at the first rise. Yes, I've been in heaven and hope my return is just the same. There is a God and he also is a bird hunter.

Down loading is a good idea. I'll give it a try. I can reload down to 7/8oz easily enough but I don't know if I can find shot cups that will let me go down to 1/2oz and I don't know how a 1/2oz will pattern in a 12ga.

Very well said, Bill. I am a kindred spirit to you, in my love and appreciation for "birds", especially the wild ones that are left. I take our little house dog out every morning to pee, and hear them calling in the first faint light of day. One morning recently I heard birds calling profusely and stopped a few moments to really take it in. In just a moment I realized I was hearing birds from four different nesting locations around my house. This is quite a concert, to get to hear that many wild birds at once, these days. I still have a "huntable" population (barely, and only a couple times a year). I've a buddy with a couple dogs that still chases wild birds and we hunt my place from time to time. Each time I kill a true wild bob, I take him from the dog and bury my nose in the feathers and drink in that wonderful aroma. In the world's eyes I am a sick man.

I'd rather experience one wild covey rise than fifteen with released birds. Another close friend, who owns the sunflower field I plant each year, releases about 1600 flight trained birds each year in August. I purposely wait until the last few days each season before going with him, to give them more time to "get wild".

I agree God must be a bird hunter, too. And won't be surprised if He uses a hammer-gun.

SRH

"And won't be surprised if He uses a hammer-gun." Yes sir!

Thanks Stan, I can smell the bird now. My little setter would sit beside me as I started to clean the days birds. She expected me to throw each bird a short distance as I pulled it from the vest. She wanted one more retrieve before days end.

Pooch, I have not gone that light yet in 12ga, but there are also 3/4 oz wads.

I like to hunt hard and feel like I deserve what I've killed. Maybe those days are past. They, like my youth, will be missed.

Cicumstances are very different in other parts of N.America. Alberta used to be the South Dakota for pheasants. We had a very active government program to raise and release birds into the wild. That started to peter-off in the 1990's as less birds were released. There was a healthy wild population but they had to be replenished each year because of our colder climate. Sometime in early 2000 the gov't greatly reduced the released birds. It had a dramatic effect on the economy of small towns. Small town restaurants and hotels closed up, Hunters from the US stopped coming to Alberta. Year after year the number of released birds dropped until this year I believe there will be almost no gov't released birds. There are very few and far between wild pheasants left and those are hunted hard.

That goes for all our upland birds. Intensified farming, pesticides, reduced cover have dramatically affected the numbers. Also Alberta population is increasing. Over a million new people in the last 20 years. In a province with about 3 million people that is a big change. All that is left is to buy and release your own or join a club. Clubs are expensive and the birds cost around $25 each.

I have joined a club and find it is good sport in January and February when there is nothing else to hunt. We use labs to flush the birds and depending on the climate of the day they may fly hard or require a kick with your boot. For wild pheasants I now have to travel to the US. I don't expect the health of the upland wild bird population increasing for a very long time.

Pen raised pheasants do have some flying ability, but the poor Bob Whites are rather lame and a hunt of pen raised Bobs is more like an Easter Egg hunt then a bird hunt. Once however we got some Tennessee Red Quail to do some training and not only did we find a number still around when we came out the next week they flew well enough to where we missed some and the ones we shot were still plumb and healthy. Unfortunately the supplier went out of business and we were never able to find another source those strong red birds.