Here, Pheasant, Pheasant, Pheasant

Okay, so I did not really try to call the pheasants during my first upland bird hunt, but I thought about it!

​In October, my husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law went on our first pheasant hunt at Rocky Mountain Roosters (“RMR”). We drove seven hours over multiple mountain passes to arrive at our campground. When we left our house, it was 60 degrees and sunny; by the time we arrived at the campground, it was 15 degrees with 20 mile per hour winds. The plan was to shoot skeet at RMR that afternoon so we could get acquainted with the location and practice shooting.

​The weather had not improved by the time we arrived at RMR. Also, I did not bring any gloves for the hunt because I thought it was going to be 60 degrees and sunny.

​To shoot, we stood on a big wooden bridge that overlooked the skeet field, about ten feet off the ground. That did not help the wind situation at all. We took turns shooting and felt pretty good leaving RMR.

We went directly to Big R to buy appropriate winter clothes. Armed with new gloves and wool socks, I was ready to hunt! We woke up early the next morning and went back to RMR. We met our guide, Lee, and his two great dogs.

I had never hunted with a guide or with dogs. I was really nervous. The thought of accidently shooting a dog was absolutely terrifying. We started walking through the reeds and ravines looking for birds.

​My brother-in-law shot a pheasant within minutes of starting the hunt. It flew out of a bush right in front of him and he nailed it. It was his first kill ever!

We continued hiking through the field and I took a shot at a bird. Luckily, Lee was standing next to me. He suggested that I might want to shoulder the gun before shooting next time. I got so excited about the bird that I did not have the gun in the right position. Duly noted, Lee. I will start shouldering the gun.
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Throughout the morning, my husband and brother-in-law shot many pheasants and chukar. I took quite a few shots and then circled up with Lee. I told him that I had shot at a lot of birds in my life, but never killed one. He wisely pointed out that I should not be shooting “at” the bird, but instead in front of it. Right, Lee, good advice. I will start shooting in front of the bird. 

About halfway through the morning hunt, I shot my first pheasant! I was beyond excited. As a good guide, Lee had been carrying all our birds for us. But, I insisted that he put the bird into my (brand new) hunting vest. It had a special little pouch in the back for the dead birds and I absolutely was going to use it.

​After a little hesitation, Lee agreed to put the bird in my pouch. He then walked away to help someone else and I panicked a bit. The bird was flapping in my pouch. I thought it was going to fly away.
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So, here I am in the field yelling “Lee, the bird is alive! Help! It is going to fly out!” He came back over and assured me that it was dead and just twitching. Great, Lee, you are right again.

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​After the hunt, we processed all the birds ourselves at RMR. There were feathers everywhere, but we left with about 15 processed birds. We have not cooked any yet but stay tuned.

​This was my first hunt where I killed an animal. It was really exciting, and I cannot wait to eat an animal that I killed myself. It is self-sufficiency at its best, even if Lee was a key component!