Thanksgiving and the Pheasant on the Hill

[Pheasant Slayer]

Originally Posted by Russ Jackson

William ,That was a great story and wonderful pictures ! Did you happen to decide to have this Beautiful Trophy mounted ? I imagine with most of the guys on the forum being hunters ,most probably ,have one hunt or particular Game Bird that stands out in their mind . I have a similar tale but not with the thorns involved ! In our corner of Pa. in the mountainous areas we have huge rocks that jut out and make some very unique hunting situations ,in the Laurel Mountain area where I hunt for Ole Ruff ,it is very steep in places and very Rocky ! One morning ,Maggie and I were hunting a steep hillside with Mountain Laurel and a few Beech Nut trees ,as we came upon this huge boulder ,she went above and of course I took the easier route and went below as I came around the corner of the Huge Rock ,lo and behold she locked up above me and Mr Ruff blast out of the Laurel and nearly took my hat off ! I couldn't believe what I had just seen ,it was a Silver Phase Grouse ,the first and only I had ever seen as they usually don't live this far south ,and all I had to show for it was two smoking barrels ! Well over the next few weeks Maggie and I played this scenario out three more times with the Silver Grouse ! Then I got to thinking ,I can't hit him coming dead into my face like a bullet ,I will get him going by ,well the next hunt ,again I made sure Maggie was higher than the Huge Rock and I hurried to the lower edge and just waited ,I could hear Maggies bell tinkling above me and she was coming down on what I figured was the other side of the rock as soon as she hit the far side ,I heard the thunder of wings and here came the Silver Grouse about twenty five to thirty yards out ,flying from my right to my left and just as the Bead passed him ,I touched the trigger on my little 20 Ga. Browning Sporter Side by Side and all I saw was a huge puff of feathers and " Ole Silver " falling to earth ! Man what a beautiful Bird , I had planned too well and hit him with those 7 1/2's dead center ,I had my heart set on having him mounted but it was not possible ,I mounted his Fan to remember him by ,just like in your story a great feeling of accomplishment to connect but also sadness in knowing he was gone ! With that ,enough for that day ,I loaded Maggie and drove home !

Russ as we speak "Phil" is chilling. As soon as I got him that was the first thing I thought about was a wall mount. Don't think that will happen again! Glad to hear I had the chance to experience a hunt very close to yours and Maggies. It is one that will stay in my memory for some time. It was really something else. Kinda funny when you think about it. Grown men tryin to out smart a chicken, but I can say one thing, I will be right back at it next year. It is in our blood. That is what brings guys like us together and to this forum. A good gun, a good dog, friends and a great place to hunt.

[Pheasant Slayer]

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

What a great story William! I had a grouse like that Russ! I was down in this bad boys cover 4 times, alone 3 time and with a friend once. Kicked that bird up each time and never got it. Trigg and I finally took his GSP Dodger there with a plan. We pushed the bird to the upper corner of the cover and trigg got him when he blasted out with his gorgeous and rare 24" PHE 16. The bird was the biggest ruffie I've seen outside of my back yard, a magnificent specimen that we should have had mounted out of pure respect; he was a survivor. I actually regretted shooting him after seeing what a bird he was. Would have rather left him to keep breeding. It sure was an excellent hunt though. I haven't seen another bird in that cover since.

Thanks Richard, Looks like Russ is correct. I guess we all have our little encounters while hunting. That is what makes it so great. I believe it was you and I last year talking about the Melanistic Pheasant. Still waiting to get that one back from the Taxidermist. Should be anytime. I will send you a photo when I get it. Would love to get the chance to take another poke at a few grouse. I have to try to find a location in my area that still has them. When I was younger they were everywhere. Now, Thanks to the turkeys I have not seen one in years...

[Pheasant Slayer]

Originally Posted by Thomas L. Benson Sr.

Bill: I would love to hear about your dog a little more.Were did you get Benny from and Is there a differance between English springers and just springers. Benny seems to have a very pronounced head and some dogs seem to have smaller heads or is that just the differance between male and female. Thomas

Sent you a P.M.

[Brush Buster]

William ,I am pleased you are going to have that old Bird mounted ! Don't do as I did ,I had a Big Long Tailed Rooster mounted once and made a lamp out of an old three rail Grayed up Fence Post ,sawed the post in half ran a piece of copper pipe through it glued it back together then mounted it on a three foot by three foot pedestal ,I had the Taxidermost moss up the base we put a small piece of rusty Barbed wire fencing on it ,I bought a beautiful Lamp shade " EXPENSIVE " and topped it all off with an acorn with a threaded insert to hold the shade on . THEN we mounted that Gorgeous Pheasant to the base ,MAN what a sight to behold !! WELL ,Maggie thought so too and every time she passed by it in my Game Room it about drove her crazy ,WELL ,we went away for the evening and when we got home ,Maggie was no where to be found ,I went into the Game Room and there was the old Rooster with all of his " FINERY ripped off of him with the exception of one tail feather ! WE finally found Maggie under my Daughters Bed with a sheepish grin on her face . I knew she knew better but she just couldn't seem to help herself ! Not much to do at that point ,soooooo we just drug her out from under the bed ,I forgave her for being so bad ,she forgave me for being so stupid and life went on !!!

[Autumn Daze]

Russ, I am sittin here picturing this whole scenerio and laughing my a** off...Sorry but......

[Brush Buster]

Dave ,I just wish I had pictures ,it was unbelievable ,the only thing left was a white plastic Pheasant form ,mutilated and One Tail Feather sticking out its Butt !

[TARNATION !!!]

A dog alone with a mount at nose level was not a good combination for me either. Dad did my first Canada goose in a feeding position. A mount like that looks right when on the floor. One day, I came home to a sheepish dog and goose feathers and down everywhere. The body was string wrapped excelsior (wood fibers) in the days before plastic forms. I was left with a web footed "straw" goose. I think Kay was secretly pleased to not have that goose gracing the living room floor any longer.

Cheers,
Jack

[Big D]

A friend of mine was storing the swag for a Trout Unlimited banquet, and came home to find that his young GSP had gotten into a brand new Metz #1 neck, and had turned a $50 item into a feather duster

[charlie cleveland]

boys im hurtin rite now...only thing i can add is my boss man some years back gave me a english bulldog puppy.. painted front of my house came in next evening and bulldog bout chewed front of house off...i wasnt to happy needless to say...one week later jumped in my wifes then new ford focus and it would not crank..checked the firing and it would not fire..so off i go to parts place spent a hundred on a coil pack.. put it on a guess what still would not crank...friend came up and asked what i was doing told him what was giing on..we lookes a little more and discussed a little more all of a sudden he starts laughing he said look like your bulldog likes wiring too...that rascal had tore all the wires up on that car from the bottom side...3 hours later she cranked up...well i didnot what todo with this wire chewing paint hater dog...2 days later my problem was solved the bulldog pup always run with my other dogs they got after a rabbit and believe me or not that little bulldog ran so hard and got so hot that he had a heart attack...thats why my boss man gave him too me vet said he had a heart problem so my wife and grand children were very grief striken over the little bulldog pup...but me i could never seem to be able to shed one tear...... charlie