Hunting Dogs - Dogs Breeds

One of the dogs had his nose up into the wind as they moved through the remaining corn stubble.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of wings and a distinctly loud cackle as the big, green-headed rooster flushed from the thick cover.

With one quick shot, the wings of the long-tailed bird folded and he disappeared back into the thick dead grass near the hedge row.

Copper raced into the heavy growth and proudly fetched the multi-colored bird, making a perfect retrieval.

A couple of weekends, ago my son, Randy, and three of his friends headed out beyond Binghamton to hunt pheasants.

Pheasant hunting on a preserve has no season, so why not do an early spring hunt?

The guys got to the Ringneck Preserve near Candor early Saturday morning. A short while before they arrived, the owner had released 18 birds on half of his 400-acre preserve.

The farm is divided pretty much evenly into two sections by an old farm road. That way, two groups can take advantage of the great hunting.

Pheasants were introduced into this country back in 1857.

Unlike in the vast grain fields of the Midwest, pheasants didn’t do so well in New York. Part of that had to do with unsuitable habitats, severe winters and a lack of good food. But at the Ringneck Preserve, they are doing quite well today.

The preserve features hedge rows and wetland areas scattered among the many fields of corn, sorghum and witch’s grass. This perfect habitat has resulted in a great number of holdover birds.

Pheasants are raised in huge flight pens on the side of the lodge. Birds are released for the hunters at a cost of $22 each. If hunters are successful and take more birds than they originally purchase, they pay $10 for each additional bird.

Randy and his buddies have some great bird dogs. Their Labs flushed and retrieved 20 pheasants and a Bobwhite quail that day. Even though many of these birds were just released, they were tough to hunt. Several ran for a ways before flushing and others held tight for the dogs.

Anyone without a dog really struggled for success. If you don’t have a good hunting dog, you can pay extra for a guide and a well-trained retriever.

It was a great way to spend the day. Watching a good dog work and making some great shots with that little over and under all add to the enjoyment of the hunt.

Although I wasn’t able to go along, I sure enjoyed some of those pheasant breasts grilled up with a little garlic and butter.

I guess next time I’ll just have to go and shoot some of my own.

Source: TheDailyStar.com

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