I was reading some of our blog's, and when I came to The Hunt, I decided I had better finish the season. Was she successful? Did she shoot a pheasant? Was it on the fly?
An old hunter (Papa) can tell by the expression on his student's face that she (Emma), wasn't a happy hunter. We had been out hunting most weekends, and the only success for Emma was that raccoon Papa thought had rabies. I knew that she was getting desperate. One day while we were driving to hunt she said, "Papa I have dibs!" Now the mentoring starts. I have a student that wants to learn, and needs a success so she will want to hunt again.
In South Dakota we can road hunt. That means you can drive down a road, and if you find a pheasant in the roadway it's legal game. I find a country road with grassy ditches, let Chance out of the car, and he hunts the ditches. He is a pointer, so when he smells a pheasant he goes on point. We get out of the car, and the hunt begins, that's fine for a guy that has been hunting for 50 years, but too fast for a beginner. As I had been observing my student I knew she needed some of my 50 years of experience, (that are legal) and can give her the edge she needed.
It was the last hunt we were going on, and I said, "If we get a bird today you have to shoot it", she agreed to the terms of the hunt. I gave her some tips on how to improve her speed, and still be safe while hunting skittish late season birds. Some opportunities were presented, but Emma was just a little slow yet didn't get a bird. Then we came over a small hill, and at the bottom there were roosters all over the place. I picked one out, and gave some last second instructiona. She raised her gun, took a shot, and bagged her first bird! Everything happened so fast, I don't know how it happened, but there were two pheasant roosters down. There was the one that I told her to shoot at, and another one on the other side of the road. All I could figure out she must have caught another bird in the pellet pattern, and got a double her first shot. We picked up Emma's game and came home, when I asked if she was going to clean them, I got a resounding "NO"!
We love the taste of pheasant! I have a way of cooking it that is a tradition, Daina, and Jon, came over and we ate Emma's first pheasant. There were some leftovers I had for lunch a couple of day's later, as I was taking my last bite, I could see in my mind the smile on Emma's face after she got that first bird, or birds. And I still get a tear in my eye when I know that it will always be a memory I will cherish for a lifetime.
I told her if someone asks if it was on the fly, just tell them "Not after I shot it"! Was it? Only the mentor, and the student know. Thanks Emma it was the best hunt ever!
An old hunter (Papa) can tell by the expression on his student's face that she (Emma), wasn't a happy hunter. We had been out hunting most weekends, and the only success for Emma was that raccoon Papa thought had rabies. I knew that she was getting desperate. One day while we were driving to hunt she said, "Papa I have dibs!" Now the mentoring starts. I have a student that wants to learn, and needs a success so she will want to hunt again.
In South Dakota we can road hunt. That means you can drive down a road, and if you find a pheasant in the roadway it's legal game. I find a country road with grassy ditches, let Chance out of the car, and he hunts the ditches. He is a pointer, so when he smells a pheasant he goes on point. We get out of the car, and the hunt begins, that's fine for a guy that has been hunting for 50 years, but too fast for a beginner. As I had been observing my student I knew she needed some of my 50 years of experience, (that are legal) and can give her the edge she needed.
It was the last hunt we were going on, and I said, "If we get a bird today you have to shoot it", she agreed to the terms of the hunt. I gave her some tips on how to improve her speed, and still be safe while hunting skittish late season birds. Some opportunities were presented, but Emma was just a little slow yet didn't get a bird. Then we came over a small hill, and at the bottom there were roosters all over the place. I picked one out, and gave some last second instructiona. She raised her gun, took a shot, and bagged her first bird! Everything happened so fast, I don't know how it happened, but there were two pheasant roosters down. There was the one that I told her to shoot at, and another one on the other side of the road. All I could figure out she must have caught another bird in the pellet pattern, and got a double her first shot. We picked up Emma's game and came home, when I asked if she was going to clean them, I got a resounding "NO"!
We love the taste of pheasant! I have a way of cooking it that is a tradition, Daina, and Jon, came over and we ate Emma's first pheasant. There were some leftovers I had for lunch a couple of day's later, as I was taking my last bite, I could see in my mind the smile on Emma's face after she got that first bird, or birds. And I still get a tear in my eye when I know that it will always be a memory I will cherish for a lifetime.
I told her if someone asks if it was on the fly, just tell them "Not after I shot it"! Was it? Only the mentor, and the student know. Thanks Emma it was the best hunt ever!
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