My First Pheasant HUNT

Opening Day finally came, and we all got up extra early, even though we could not start hunting until 9 am. We wanted to make sure we were ready though. At 9 o'clock Mommy, Daddy, Abby, and me went hunting. I was so excited, but I think Mommy was even more excited than I was!

We started out in the buckwheat field, then headed towards the swamp, and up through the woods. Me and Abby found lots of birds, but guess what? Every time we flushed one, Daddy and Mommy MISSED with their guns. Me and Abby heard the shots and we knew a bird was supposed to fall down on the ground, but they never did. Instead, they just flew away! All morning we flushed those birds, but Mommy and Daddy never hit a single one. My first day of real bird hunting ended with no birds.

We kept trying though, every morning and sometimes again in the afternoon we would go out and look for birds. Sometimes, instead of flushing, those birds would run away into the corn. Then nobody could shoot them cause they hid where we couldn't see them. But me and Abby flushed most of them and we kept hoping that one would fall down so we could go and get it.

After about a week we wondered if we would ever get to have any birds. Then, one morning, Daddy looked out the window and saw a whole bunch of pheasants standing next to the driveway, pecking gravel. He showed Mommy, and then we all grabbed our gear and ran out to see if we could shoot one of them. By the time we got there, the birds had moved into the field next to the driveway. Mommy told me to "find the birds" and boy, did I ever! I ran right out in that field and found where those birds had gone. Then I flushed one. Daddy shot his gun and one of those birds came falling right down to the ground! But I was so excited that I kept chasing those other birds and I flushed some more of them. Daddy shot again and hit another bird! Down it came and I ran right over to where it landed on the ground. It wasn't even dead yet, but I picked it up and started running around with it. Mommy and Daddy wanted it but I wanted to keep it. I shook that bird so hard while I was running around with it. Finally, Mommy came and got it and told me to "Go Find" the other bird. So I ran back to where I was standing when Daddy shot it, and I sniffed around until I could smell it, then I ran to where it was laying on the ground. I grabbed it and ran away AGAIN! It sure is hard to just give up after I worked so hard to get those birds! But after chasing me for just a little while I let Mommy have that bird, too.

Here is a picture of me and Daddy with my birds. It was hard for Mommy to even take the picture because I was still trying to "get those birds". I did not want Daddy to have them!

Mommy was sooooo proud of me for finally being a real hunting dog! And I was so proud of Daddy for being such a good shot!