Chris' story of the head shot snipe reminded me of the rare occasions that I have shot a bird and a pellet hit it in the head (by chance of course). On each occasion -- and it's happened with grouse and quail -- the bird towered very high, straight up, and then plummeted straight down...dead. I believe the bird was "dead, but didn't know it" as my father used to say. It's an interesting phenomenon.
I've also shot birds that have flown on as if not hit, only to discover them (well, the dog discovered them) some distance away, quite dead. I remember an Iowa pheasant in particular that I shot at and, not thinking I'd hit it, followed up with the dog to see if we could get him up again. I'm sure that bird flew at least 400 yards and we found him quite dead with no sign of a hit.
In another "weird shot" incident, I took a Hail Mary shot at a flushing Fall turkey with my Ithaca magnum 10 gauge. The bird dropped dead at 77 paces. I never did find where it was hit. My wife told me that it probably died as a courtesy to my "reputation."
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"Doubtless the good Lord could have made a better game bird than bobwhite, and better country to hunt him in...but equally doubtless, he never did." -- Guy de la Valdene (from A Handful of Feathers )
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
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