A boy and a dog
 

I took my grandson out for kids pheasant day today. We took my youngest setter as he has never worked pheasant, strictly grouse and woodcock. So, it was a first for both of them. No, he was not shooting a Parker. That will come with time. They both did well and grandpa had a ball watching.

Just curious, but is that Special Field a 12 or a 20? It seems to have sealed the deal nicely, whichever chambering it is! Congrats to all three of ya.

It's a 20.

Nothing else matters quite so much after seeing that it is a straight grip. Nicely done!





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Pheasants in the morning and squirrels in the afternoon. A pretty good day.

Gary,
I'm taking my grandson for squirrels tomorrow. I hope we have as good a day as you and your grandson had. He's not old enough to go for pheasants in the junior season yet. He'll be carrying a Springfield 410 double.

Squirrel stew with dumplings..... mmmmm.. mmm...

So being from the northeast and never hunting squirrels except off the bird feeders, are they really good to eat???? Mt wife says they are just rats with a good PR man:rotf:

I served in the military with a young fellow from Brooklyn (Panzarelli was his name, as I recall) who found no end of amusement in knowing that I ate "Sqwe-rruls" and teased me about it no end. It was the kind of long-running joke that made military life so memorable. Of course, the joke was on him when he claimed my "chicken" pot pie was the best thing he'd ever eaten. :rotf:

Yes, squirrels are quite fit to eat and taste pretty much nothing like chicken. There's a reason so many of us hunt them like we do, and poverty (as many seem to think) has little to do with it.

Just curious Gary but would they be similar to rabbit/hare in taste? ...my uneducated mind seems to think they would

Steve, cut the tails off before your wife sees them. They are a lot less rat looking without the tail. You know those squirrels harvested from your feeder should be first class, just like grain fed beef. Plus, eating them would be the ultimate revenge.

Yes, they are quite good to eat. To me they have a taste all their own, quite mild, not gamey at all. I like rabbit too Chris but squirrel, in my opinion does not taste like rabbit.

But, all this said, I'll take a grouse any day. One week to go until our season opens.

Cannot resist sharing one more photo of grandson Seth with his second pheasant. While he took this bird over my older setter Willie he wanted a pic with both of the "Hooligans" as we call them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I.

Steve go to " Hunting with Parkers " then click the wild game recipes , I put a Recipe on there called " Ralph's Squirrel and Gravy " ,Shoot a couple of Squirrel and try this out and report back....:rotf:!! Russ

I have never had squirrel but would like to try some time. but up here in Idaho you can not hunt tree squirrels at all.

Troy ,what is the reasoning to the NO Hunting of Tree Squirrels ,are they that rare that they need protected , it is not uncommon at my place to see a dozen at a time when I am Archery hunting ! I don't let any one hunt for Squirrel on my property but only because I enjoy seeing so many in Archery Season ,the neighbors can't believe they ask to hunt Deer and Turkey and most always get permission but when they ask about all those Gray and Fox Squirrel the answer is always afraid not !

Not sure of idaho's reason there just has never been a season that i have seen open. ground squirrels yes tree squirrels no :(

rabbit is much more tender than squirl...to me the tatse is not the same but both are very good to eat...charlie

Gary, how old is your grandson?

Allen, he's 13. Since this initial post I've had him out for grouse and woodcock a few times. It's difficult when school gets in the way. Anyhow, he found out that shooting in woodcock/grouse cover is a bit more difficult than pheasants. He is a respectable shot on the clays course but finding out that shooting birds is a whole new ball game. He's learning and likes to go so that is half the battle. Next year I may take him out of school for a few days and take him on a grouse road trip. He'll enjoy the whole experience and school will not suffer too much as he is on the honor role nearly every marking period.

The best kind of education!

Great Education. Thanks Gary. I have 2 grandsons, one is 8 and the other is 7. The 8 year old wants to become an avid hunter and is itching for me to take him out but 8 is still a little young yet. My near term plan is to take him to our skeet field and just let him watch for awhile. I'm getting a setter pup this Spring/early summer and he can help me with the setter also. I was 12 when my dad allowed me to go bird hunting in the field with him and he bought me a single shot Springfield 410 ga to use. I still have it but I have also have had Brad B. restore a nice 20 ga. Trojan that I think I'll give the lad when he's ready to hunt with me.

I have a Rem 1187 Upland 20 ga--24" barrel, straight grip that I won at an RGS banquet. I gave it to my son, and he shot his first pheasant with it. I recently lent it to my friends 15 year old to shoot sporting clays and he shot it lights out.

I have to admit that his 1100 points well. He shoots 3-4k rounds per year and that gun, providing it is kept clean, functions flawlessly. When he was just starting out at age 10 I loaded some super light 20's (.75 ounce at about 1000fps.) It cycled them without any problems.

Grandson does not know it yet but I have a 20 Fox SW out for some repairs. When it gets back it will be his. That is if I ever get it back. It has been out for 4 months for some relatively minor work.