OntarioHunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2020
- Messages
- 5,980
Today has to be the most miserable day of bird hunting in my life. Yesterday ranked in the top five nasty but today blew it away ... literally! The windchill when I left town about 10:00 a.m. was -24 (-31 C) and it didn't warm up. If anything the wind picked up even more. I hunted the north end early with both dogs and drew a blank. After a couple of miles and seeing only four hens I was back at the rig to warm up. Went to the south end. It usually gets hit hard but no one has been out in this weather for days. Maybe I can find something there. My Britt's feet had trouble with the cold so I left her in the vehicle and just hunted my Lab. We were into birds right away but not getting any shots. They were bunched up and surprisingly jumpy. I couldn't keep track of Ellie in that crap with a hurricane blowing and she couldn't keep track of me. Pheasants had been running all over the place making it even more confusing for her. I estimate we saw at least 150 different pheasants in a couple of hours. It was incredible. Only one shot but I didn't have the gun shouldered properly. Three other missed opportunities because either the gun or my fingers were frozen. But all was not lost. I've hunted this place for years and I knew where all those birds were headed. We worked north until they stopped flying, then with about forty minutes to end of shooting hours, we worked east to the big bullrush patches. They are blown over now and a bitch for man and beast to navigate but that's where the birds went and I knew they would hold tight that late in the day. Best part was the wind would now be at my back. That meant my hands would be sheltered by my body. Maybe I could keep my trigger finger operational. Also, when the wind blows that hard flushed pheasants tend to initially jump into it for a quick lift. They should fly to me. It worked perfectly. Within a half hour I had my limit of three roosters in three shots and none were lost in that jungle. The second one was a cripple and gave Ellie quite a workout in the thick stuff right in front of me. Amazing how she encircled and herded that rooster and then tightened the noose. The first one was a fairly long shot but I was pretty sure he wasn't going anywhere. The wind blew him down about fifty yards from me. I marked it and started floundering through the bullrushes. Ellie was somewhere behind me. Danged if I didn't kick up two more roosters on the way to it. Would have been easy shots too but I had to find the downed bird first. Didn't want to lose the mark. Before I could get there Ellie was bumping into my legs with a dead rooster!
Though the weather was the worst, the hunting was about the best. It's been years since I've seen that many pheasants in an afternoon. Never saw another hunter (not so surprising!). Had the whole place to myself. And I did some fancy shooting in the most adverse conditions. Crappy day but a great day.
In just the time it took to pull the other two birds from my vest after shooting the third and snap a photo, my fingers damn near froze. Tried to get Ellie to pose with the birds but she would have none of it. Busy digging a hole in the snow for a makeshift bed. She was pooped.
Though the weather was the worst, the hunting was about the best. It's been years since I've seen that many pheasants in an afternoon. Never saw another hunter (not so surprising!). Had the whole place to myself. And I did some fancy shooting in the most adverse conditions. Crappy day but a great day.
In just the time it took to pull the other two birds from my vest after shooting the third and snap a photo, my fingers damn near froze. Tried to get Ellie to pose with the birds but she would have none of it. Busy digging a hole in the snow for a makeshift bed. She was pooped.
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