storytime: A day in the field looking for pheasant

I bet you have seen those outdoor shows with a group of guys and a group of dogs walking a corn field hunting pheasant. The corn stalks are about knee to waist high, the dogs run left to right at times disappearing in the brush using all that "dog sense" looking for bird scents.

It looks like fun. But I don't exactly live near the world famous corn fields of South Dakota. So if I want to try this what do I do?

Well you do a little looking around, go to the outdoor shows like the ISE in San Mateo, and you'll see that just a little drive north of the Bay Area are fields you can walk, dogs you can rent, and birds that can fly!

This past Saturday I went up 505 to Quail Point Hunting Preserve and hoped to do some pheasant hunting. I had reserved a field and a dog for the day. When I arrived some other hunters were checking in, and dogs were on the porch of the clubhouse anxiously waiting to hop in a truck and do what they love to do. We paid our fees, read the rules, signed this and that and got a quick lesson on dog control.

There are just a few commands that you need to know to run the dogs. The dogs really know what they are doing, they do this all the time. You just have to worry about not letting them get too far away. If they flush a bird way out you won't have a good shot or any shot. Bye Bye Birdie!

We were lucky to get "Molly" a 4 year old hunting veteran. We were pretty excited to go, and so was Molly. She sat next to me on the short ride to our field. She was quiet and excited, and shaking just a little. She was ready to go. I hoped we could keep up with her.

We had 55 acres to walk. It was far from ideal weather conditions. The wind was howling, the grass was bone dry. Molly was a trooper and worked the field left and right. She would slow down at times and slowly walk up to a grassy patch and freeze. The 3 of us were right behind her ready for the first bird to flush. It did. We were a little rusty...

After the dog spotted the first bird and it flew up it was bang bang bang, we all took at least a shot each, and we all watched the bird fly away. It got into the wind and glided about 100 yards away up and over a hilltop.

Ha ha we sucked!

In the field it sounded just like this
"bird"
at least 3 or 4 shotgun blasts "bang bang bang bang"
silence
3 guys swearing
3 guys laughing

Even the dog looked back at us like "what is with you guys?"

Well we got our skills tuned up on that one, and got a little better during the next 2 hours. Molly got to bring us 7 birds, and we all watched 5 fly away.

It was a great day in the field. In the heated clubhouse we had our birds cleaned and ate lunch from their grill. Chatted up the friendly owners a little, then hit the road to drive back and be home Saturday by 1pm. It was a nice way to spend a morning. Oh and the wild pheasant dinner Sunday wasn't too bad either!

So how do you do this?

You need to take a hunters safety class, get a license and the proper stamps, get your own shotgun, (nobody around here rents guns that I know of), then find a place. Try going to one of the outdoor shows and see what options are around.

You'll love the challenge, working with a skilled dog, and the time away from the nonsense of a busy crowded Bay Area.