Garry, pheasants are "stocked" by our PA game folks and these were undoubtedly put out at some point. Almost all stocked birds are taken by hunters but some do winter over as I've seen for years while riding quads in the summer and fall. This is a fairly remote area and there's a large and very thick and gnarly swampy area nearby this hunt location, that would give excellent cover from avian and other predators. It's possible these two cock birds and others we flushed came from there and were out foraging. Their long tails do suggest birds that have been out in the wild for a while.
Yes I do like Model 12 solid rib smallbores. It was a good day when i found this one.
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