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Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 124 Location: Kansas City

A while back I was at my monthly gundog club training with my French Britt.. The trainer had planted a couple of pigeons for my pup. The first bird my pup pointed I dropped at about 20 yards. However, the second bird I let get way out there so the pup could make a long retrieve. When I shot the bird the trainer said wow that bird was at least 45 yards away. I told him yea and that was with my improved barrel. I didn't tell him the Browning chokes tend to be on the tight side. Anyway Sunday I volunteered to help on testing day. There were some leftover pheasant so I bought a couple and planted them. This was the first time I had worked my pup on pheasant so I tried to make it easy, didn't work out that way. Worked her to the bird but she didn't point looked like she was trying to bump it. She wasn't the bird had moved up wind and she was trying to track it. Anyway the bird flushed behind me heading to the next county. I spun around and tried to shoot but when I tried to push the skinny little Citori safety off it jamed in the middle between o&u. By the time I got the safety off the bird was a speck in the sky. If it had been a wild bird I wouln't have shot but I had $8 invested in that bird. I was amazed when he dropped, I paced off the shot at 52 paces not counting several yards for forward momentum. I figured I got him with the golden bb, however, when I cleaned him his wing was broken and he was hit in the back, chest and both legs. I was using 71/2 shot with the skeet choke tube.

Nice shot! 7-1/2's? One of our west-Kansas birds would still be giving you the raspberry this morning Very Happy

!

Fin

"Nice shooting kid... don't get cocky." Han Solo, Star Wars I. Wink

PS": I know of one college quarterback that built a profitable pro career on one successful "Hail Mary" pass. Have you ever considered becoming a gun writer? Laughing

PPS: Don't mind me. I've got a real b*tch of a head cold and the cough medicine has got me totally wacked and a tad giddy. I can't seem to even feel my feet. Rolling Eyes

I think its time for another dose.

Had a buddy, while hunting sage grouse (probably a third bigger than a pheasant) near Pinedale, WY, take a 50 yd shot on a crossing bird. Had to hit it in the head with one #6 as it dropped stone dead. Unfortunately, he thereafter thought any bird within 50 yards was fair game Confused

Muy malo

We're NOT picking on you Matt and this is a good story. Only trying to add a disclaimer 'DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME WITH WILD BIRDS' Wink

Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 124 Location: Kansas City

It was not a shot I would normally take but I only had 2 birds to train with and really wanted a retrieve. We train at a public lake near a RC plane field so we use small shot for safety reasons. I would of never got the bird without the pup none of the hits were fatal. With my pup being French I didn't think she would fight a live bird but it was a real cat fight. The bird had dropped on the other side of a rise and I lost sight of the bird and my pup. I headed there way and the pheasant kept popping up in the air all beak and claws, my pup would swat her down. When I got to her she was pinning the bird to the ground with her front paws. Heck shes not much bigger then a pheasant. Fin2feather this was one of those eastern KS pen raised birds when I head west I'll be sure to load up some 5 shot and no 50 yard shots.