To get started you need to be comfortable with a shotgun, either 20 gauge or 12 gauge.  Shooting fast and skillfully is the key.  Many women prefer a 20 gauge shotgun because the recoil is light and the weight of the gun is less than the 12 gauge.  Carrying a 7lb gun along with a vest full of shells through high grasses and marshes can wear you down.   I am always too optimistic and carry more shells than I ever need because my real worry is running out.  Having a comfortable orange cap and orange shell-holding vest makes a big difference in how long you will last out there. Having water for you and the dog is vital.  I have never used a 20 gauge because I believed the small 20 gauge would be a disadvantage. But a recent interview on a sports channel had 3 expert pheasant hunters who also represented ammo companies and they answered the shot shell and gun size question.   They believed that using a 20 gauge for this type of hunting was just as good as a 12 gauge because if you are shaky from the 12 gauge recoil, you are likely to miss.  They believed that the amount of pellet difference in a 20 gauge doesn’t  make that much difference if you have the bird in your sights.

Rule number one, aim with your eye on the bird, not through the gun sight,  because your eye follows the fast moving target and you are not shooting a stationary target where you need a sight to aim.

Rule number two, have the correct shot shell and choke for your gun.  You can experiment ahead of time by either going to a trap shooting range and asking to pattern your gun or at another area.   Using a huge piece of paper ,  try shooting with different chokes and different shot shell sizes.  Not all shot shells work the same in different guns.  The practice is called “patterning.”  

 

 

 

 

Pheasant tracks

 

 

When you will find that shot shells hit a wide area of the paper at 20-30 yds without big gaps between pellets then you have the right combination.   An improved cylinder choke allows for wider open spread of shells and is best for close shooting, but loses pellets going farther out.  A modified choke squeezes the pattern tighter, but goes out further.   The best shot shell is 4 and 5 in lead.  If you use steel shot it flies differently, too.  Pattern out for both on the paper to see the difference.

Shotguns: single shot, double barrel, OU (over and under),  semi automatic and pump.   A single shot is for those people who expect to hit a bird on the first shot, so it gives you no room for error.  Double barrel shotguns have two barrels side by side. The advantage here is that you can put a 4 shot shell  in one barrel and a five size in the other.  If you miss with the five, you might hit it with the four.  An OU, over and under, shotgun has a similar advantage, except the two barrels are top and bottom instead of side by side.   These shotguns cost $1000 or more.   The Semi- Automatic is gas powered and allows for several shots to be fired and automatically moves another shell up into the chamber.  You can really shoot ‘em up like that!  The semi-automatics are expensive and tend to jam in really cold weather.   The pump shotgun can hold several shells, but most states require that you have a plug preventing no more than three shells.  You manually must pump each shot shell out with the forearm slide.  I own four pump 12 gauge shotguns.  If the pump shotguns are good enough for police SWAT, then they are good enough for me. I don’t want jamming due to ice in an expensive semi-automatic.  I want to be able to pump fast and swing and shoot.  It’s not hard to pump out three shells as a pheasant flies.  Hopefully one will knock the bird down.

Dog or no Dog: A good pheasant hunting dog is a pleasure worth experiencing.  Many breeds are natural pheasant hunters either as pointers or as flushers.   Pointing dogs will freeze and point to you where the pheasant is.  But will the pheasant jump out of the grass and fly?  Only a flusher can make that happen.  Some dogs do both.  It doesn’t matter how big the dog is, but how well they hunt.  The Brittany and Springer Spaniels are the smallest dogs at around 40lbs.  They have plenty of energy and will go all day, well after the big Labs have gone back to rest.  The German Pointers and Shorthairs are high energy dogs, but excellent pheasant locators.    Can you pheasant hunt without a dog? It’s hard, but you will still flush birds just walking through the woods and grasses.  Certainly, you won’t jump as many as a dog will, since they can smell them and go straight for them.   A perfect hunting dog holds back and works circles close to you so that they flush a bird within shooting range.  It does no good if the dog is 100 yards ahead of you and flushes a bird that you are not in range to shoot.

My Springer at 13 weeks old out pheasant hunting. Get them out with scents early.

You can hunt at a hunting preserve and rent one of their trained dogs.  I recommend spending time hunting at preserves where you pay a fee for them to release 4-5 birds for around $80-100.  The land usually has birds that were not shot and this increases your odds.  Even if you can see them release the birds, don’t count on them being there when you arrive.  They run very fast and can out run you especially in circles by running back behind you.  Hopefully, they will hunker down and will jump to flight when you get there.  Shooting at a preserve can give you valuable practice so that when you hunt wild areas, you will be ready.   Every state has many pheasant hunting preserves. 

Chukars are another bird that is also released at pheasant hunting preserves.  They are smaller and fly similar to a pheasant.  Quail and Doves may also be available.

Pheasant hunting is a great sport for women who love fast shooting with their happy dog.

 

Author- Kathleen Kalina with Daisy- 3 yr old Springer Spaniel, 12 guage Benelli pump shotgun with modified choke and 3 chukar taken with Fiocchi Golden Pheasant- number 5 shotshell. 2008 Glencoe, MN. Photographer-Janice Baer.

Close up of rooster spurs.  This is 1 year old… notice rounded off spur. Kalina Photo

Rooster-Male on left.  Hen-Female  Pheasant on right.  Pheasant preserves allow you to shoot either gender. But state laws often allow only roosters to be taken on public land. Kalina photo.

Typical excellent prairie grasses for pheasant hunting.  Sunny with no wind is the best for dogs and pheasants. Wind makes it hard for dogs to catch the location of the scent. Wearing sunglasses helps cut glare down. State Land in Marshall Minnesota-2008.   Kathleen Kalina Photo

Daisy 6 yrs old in a typical pheasant habitat.  She has the scent and is starting to point.  However, she is more of a flusher than a pointer.  It’s common for dogs to do both.  However, the Master Hunter champion test requires that a dog being only one, a pointer or flusher.   In real life it’s okay that they can do both.  Carlos Avery state hunting area, Wyoming, Minnesota.  Kalina Photo.

Daisy beginning to flush a pheasant hunkered under grasses.  Without a dog, a human would have walked right by it.  Dogs will push into the grasses and force the bird to fly.  Minnesota State land. Kalina photo