As my love for deer hunting has grown considerably over the
years, so has my love for hunting birds. Most recently I have taken up
pheasant, dove and crow hunting and found that I enjoy that just as much as I
do hunting deer. Not only has it
expanded my time in the outdoors, it introduced me to a much more relaxed and
carefree hunting atmosphere, which I found is much needed after months of being
so serious about deer hunting.
Last November I went on my very first pheasant hunt in
Kansas. I didn’t really know what to
expect but to prepare myself I shot skeet as often as possible throughout the
summer and weeks leading up to opening day. Looking back, I feel that it was a
good way to prepare and found that pheasants fly very similar to a clay pigeon
being thrown out of a skeet thrower, starting at the ground and flying up. Not
many birds were shot due to the previous years’ drought taking its toll on the
population, but this will be a hunt I look forward to each November from now
on.
Dove hunting was a slightly different story for me. They are much smaller, much faster, and fly
totally different than a pheasant. The best way to prepare myself for dove hunting
was to actually go dove hunting. I will admit that I spent a lot of time in the
dove field last season and came home each time without a single dove. I feel my biggest mistakes were not swinging
through the shot & leading the dove, and just getting too anxious &
forcing a bad shot. Dove season starts
this Monday and I feel much more prepared this season after my experience with
it last year!
A less common type of bird hunting that has quickly grown to
be my favorite is crow hunting. Like pheasant and dove, I also began crow
hunting last year. Crows can be brought into shooting distance fairly easily
with an electronic call and some crow decoys. I’ve found that crows are easier
to hit than other game birds because they tend to fly slower, therefore you don’t
have to lead them too much with your shotgun. Not only is crow hunting a blast,
I feel it has helped me the most in becoming comfortable with my shotgun and
learning how to handle it.
As a deer hunter, I have learned patience, appreciation, and
determination. As a bird hunter, I learned each of those all over again. I set
my rifle and bow & arrows aside, something I had become comfortable with, and
learned my way around a different weapon.
I’m glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone and tried something new
last season. By doing so I not only learned the above skills again, I gained a
whole new perspective on hunting.
-Andrea Haas
