FROM DUSK TO DAWN…PART 5The annual trip to Redwood Falls, MN was made this past weekend for some pheasant hunting. The location hasn’t changed in the past five trips, mostly due to the super hospitality from Charlie Nelson and his son Michael. Over the years the crew has changed slightly, but there has been a solid number of us Read More of the Story…
Don’t Forget the Pheasants…Besides being a beautiful bird and delicious to eat, the pheasant has one more attribute that endears it to Minnesota hunters: the season goes well beyond the closing of duck and deer hunting. The 2011 pheasant season opens on October 15th and runs until January 1, 2012.
Minnesota has a limited population of ring necked pheasants, and most hunters have to work pretty hard to just put up a few birds. Read More of the Story…
How Fast was that Bird?
Most birds can really zip along when they want to. However, their flight speeds don’t seem that great when given in miles per hour. For example, a mallard passing over the decoys may be going 55 miles per hour ( actually, they can fly faster, but this is an average). A duck moving along at that speed isn’t exactly loafing, but that rate of speed doesn’t sound nearly as fast as 75 feet per second, which is the same thing. It seems remarkable that a mallard flapping away at that speed will cover eight feet in the mere moment it takes a shot charge traveling at 1,000 feet per second to catch up to the bird at 30 yards range. It starts to put things in perspective, doesn’t it. Some other facts you might also find interesting are: a ruffed grouse will reach about 30-mph in flight, a ringneck pheasant can travel nearly 50- mph, and a canvasback duck may burn by your blind at over 60-mph!
Now don’t think you can simply convert these figures into feet per second, determine the distance to lead each bird, and deftly pop each one you shoot at. It’s not that simple. There are simply too many variables that make an accurate calculation of lead impossible under field shooting conditions. For example, how long does it take your finger to pull the trigger after your brain decided to do so? A well coordinated individual might do it in as little as two-tenths of a second – and that’s faster than average – while it might take you or I nearly twice that long. In two-tenths of a second a 50-mph ringneck will fly another 15 feet, and you or I could miss the bird by that much if we failed to follow through and swing while we pulled the trigger. That one factor alone can mess up any physics formula you want to apply to the art of wingshooting.
What this all boils down to is one thing: you’ve got to realize that it takes a measurable period of time for the shot pattern to intercept a flying target. The way to compensate for that time lag is to develope a smooth swing, follow through after the shot, and perhaps most important of all, give the bird a little more lead then
There’s Nothing Like A Faithful Old ShotgunToday the gun is worn and shiny, with a deep scar on the pistol grip and a gouge in the metal receiver. These marks are like badges of honor since they were earned in one of nature’s most terrifying phenomenon – a tornado. The in-laws home on Rooseveldt Lake was literally torn from the ground by the killer Outing tornado. Just before the house went over the lake and blew into a zillion pieces, the gun fell out.
Sportsmen have a peculiar tendency to become attached to inanimate pieces of hunting and fishing paraphenalia. Rods and reels, duck boats, fishing lures, duck decoys, many things all become special to their owner. But nothing seems to become a part of outdoorsmen like his pet shotgun.
Think about it. A shotgun has to fit you. It must feel balanced and smooth when you swing it on a bird. When you find a shotgun you like, you keep it and cherish it for years. My first shotgun was purchased with tip money from bussing dishes at a summer resort dinner club. I hated that job, but I hated not having a 12 gauge more. The gun I chose was a Remington 870 Wingmaster, arguably the most popular pump action shotgun of all time. I bought it from my future father-in-law for $65.
The gun is not fancy. It has no ventilated rib or fancy scrollwork, but I sort of grew up with it, and it fits me. Over the years I’ve field tested many new modern shotguns, and most are very impressive. But despite their fancier wood, interchangable choke tubes, 3-inch chambers, and advanced engineering, I shoot better with my old gun.
Each year when I prepare for my first bird hunting trip and take the old Wingmaster from its case, memories come flooding back. With it I shot my first goose up at Thief Lake in northwestern Minnesota. I also got my first pheasant with it – the first ringneck I ever shot at. Then there were the times when a five bluebill limit came with only two shots. And oh, yes, there were the misses. Terrible misses that can only be blamed on the shooter.
It’s no wonder that shotguns have a place in the heart of those that shoot them, especially when you shoot them for many years. You go through good times and bad, nice days and the worst weather in the world. If only most things in life could be as faithful as a shotgun.
Easy Pheasant HuntTo be honest, this story is not mine. I was at a dinner a few nights ago and sitting around the table were some avid hunters. We commenced talking about firearms which inevitably led to some great hunting stories. So, I am going to post one from a friend of mine named Howard. I will tell it, as best as I can recall, as he told it.”
“I used to live out on a farm and one day during Pheasant season, there was a light snow. It blanketed everything in an inch or two and was pristine. I thought that this would be a great time to hunt down a pheasant as we often had them on our property.
So, I climbed in my truck and drove slowly down the drive looking out both sides of the truck. Before long, I saw what I was looking for. A set of pheasant prints in new fallen snow.
I climbed out, grabbed my shotgun, and carefully followed those tracks. Before long the tracks stopped. It didn’t look like the pheasant took off, I’ve seen what that looks like in the snow. No, these tracks looked like they just stopped. So I started looking around. Right next these tracks there was a bush so I looked carefully inside and sure enough, there was the pheasant just sitting there staring at me.
On a whim, I reached in and grabbed it by the neck. Now what am I going to do with this. So I threw it up in the air and shot it!”
Everyone at the table busted out laughing!
“It was the easiest shot I ever made!”
