Pretty Boys

[I luv herfrds]

Don't mess with women packing guns. ;-)
Got these 3 just the other day.

 

[skyline]

Nice!

 

[iowafarmer]

yummy, I havea recipe called Creamy South Dakota Pheasent breast and it is to die for. Now do you skin or pluck them and do you just cut out the breast or do you also cut out the legs and such. Now i just skin them and cut out the breast and give the rest to the barn cats for a treat cause it is harder to get the rest and it usually doesnt amount to much.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Iowa I skin them. Took most of the back feathers and cut the tail off. A friend of mine uses them in her Christmas wreaths.
Well post the recipe on the cooking page.
I look forward to it.

 

[bandit80]

They truly are pretty boys. I haven't been pheasant hunting for a few years now. We have a few around my neck of the woods, but more quail than pheasants. I always enjoy bird hunting when I get the oppurtunity to do so.

Marinate them in zesty Italian salad dressing for 24 hours and then grill them. That is always pretty good.

 

[TexasBred]

Those are beautiful birds. One just like that shattered my outside mirror on my truck a few years ago. Came up flying just as I came by. I still don't know where the rascal came from as we're not suppose to have any of those things around here.

 

[pwilli3]

Those are beautiful birds. One just like that shattered my outside mirror on my truck a few years ago. Came up flying just as I came by. I still don't know where the rascal came from as we're not suppose to have any of those things around here.

I assume you plucked the glass out with the feathers and ate him.

 

[KNERSIE]

They truly are pretty boys. I haven't been pheasant hunting for a few years now. We have a few around my neck of the woods, but more quail than pheasants. I always enjoy bird hunting when I get the oppurtunity to do so.

Marinate them in zesty Italian salad dressing for 24 hours and then grill them. That is always pretty good.

Are they as tough as guinea fowl or our local pheasant variety?

 

[hillsdown]

Wow good for you ,they definitely are pretty. I don't hunt and neither does the hubby, in fact I won't even touch a loaded gun at all anymore, which is kind of a shame as at one time I was a really good shot. :roll:

Congrats ILH, I hope they taste good,

 

[iowafarmer]

I have no clue where the cooking page is so here is the recipe.

Creamy South Dakota Pheasant

Ingredients Directions
» 6 pheasant breast fillets
» 1/2 cup flour
» 1/2 cup milk or cream
» salt & pepper to taste
» 1/4 cup crisco or vegetable oil (less if you like)
» 1 sm. can cream of chicken or mushroom soup (gravy lovers double this) I use cream of mushroom but thats justa personal preference.
Combine flour, salt, & pepper. Coat breasts with flour mixture. Brown floured fillets in heated crisco until golden on both sides. Place fillets in greased baking dish in single layer. Combine soup & milk to pour over browned fillets. Bake covered 2 hours at 325ºF. Serve with mashed potatoes, and you'll have enough gravy to use on potatoes.

 

[Jogeephus]

In my opinion, I think that is the prettiest game bird there is. One day I hope to take a shot at a few. This would be the highlight of my hunting career.

 

[iowafarmer]

just so you know Joe you dont have to go to South Dakota and spend big bucks to hunt pheasents nad please don't, The hunting in South Dakota has created suc ha high retail business and costs so much it has pushed local hunters that dont own their own land and cant pay a 1000 dollars a day to go a long ways jsut to find somewhere to hunt. That is one problem i have with paying to hunt, it pushes the local hunters out.

 

[Jogeephus]

just so you know Joe you dont have to go to South Dakota and spend big bucks to hunt pheasents nad please don't, The hunting in South Dakota has created suc ha high retail business and costs so much it has pushed local hunters that dont own their own land and cant pay a 1000 dollars a day to go a long ways jsut to find somewhere to hunt. That is one problem i have with paying to hunt, it pushes the local hunters out.

I share your sentiments and am too cheap for that. If I wanted to pay to shoot them, I could do that here. I helped a boy who works at a "quail plantation" clean a deer last night and he told me he spent the day tossing pheasants in the air for a ring shoot. Said he tossed 200 in the air at $9.50/bird and the "hunters" only killed 40. :secret: I own some land that almost joins this place so I guess I need to start hunting the fence line. :lol2: What I hope to do is one day go see my cousin who lives in Nebraska. She grows corn and wheat. She sells a lot of her corn to some feedyards there. My plan is to one day ship a load of calves to one of her local feedyards and maybe stay with her for a few days. If I could synchronize the shipment and pheasant season I could kill about three birds with one stone and I wouldn't feel guilty about goofing off. Though I'd like to shoot one, one is all I would really need to get my fix. I think walking through some different country side with a shotgun would be pleasure enough for me.

 

[grannysoo]

None of them beauties in our area... :cry2:

We could always go buzzard hunting instead.

 

[iowafarmer]

I helped a boy who works at a "quail plantation" clean a deer last night and he told me he spent the day tossing pheasants in the air for a ring shoot. Said he tossed 200 in the air at $9.50/bird and the "hunters" only killed 40.

Thats terrible, thats not even hunting, go shoot clays if you want to do that. That ticks me off, what a waste of a good bird, and im sure they didnt even clean or eat them. :? Doesnt make sence to me, at least make them walk and kick them up. The greatest part about pheasent hunting is if you havea good dog that you trained yourself like I did. My greatest pleasure is getting to see him work.
You should really start hunting that fence line or anywhere nearby with taller grass or brush. Pheasents raised by people are not the same as the natural ones. Them raised ones dont fly very fast and they get up when you expect them to. If you are going to go Joe you should go the natural way to get the whole experience and that is to not hunt land that is stocked by pheasents raised by people. Good luck if you ever do go. Take plenty of shells and if you go after opening day i suggest a full choke and 3inch magnums :banana: if it somewhere that has been hunted before. Those birds learn fast after opening day.

 

[3waycross]

Not picking a fight Iowafarmer but why a full choke to make it even harder to hit them and 3 in magnums for a longer less efficient shot string. That for me at least, goes against everything I know about upland bird hunting.

I would tell a beginning pheasant hunter to use a mod or imp cyl choke for a larger pattern and a good shell like a "Rem Express Long Range" with a 1 1/4 oz load for a shorter more effiecient shot string( hence more BB's arriving at the target at the same time) Also unless late in the season using 6's. Late season tighten up the choke and go to 5's for better downrange energy.

 

[iowafarmer]

yeah thats what i use on opening day and for a bout a week or so afterwards but after a week the birds catch on an flush further away and you have to take further shots thus the full choke to keep your pattern tighter further. 3 in magnum so that it gets there now maybe pheasent hunting is different by you.
I use 5 shot the whole time. Now im talking about high pressure places that are being hunted. With a lot of birds. The other year we had 9 guys and each had 3 in 2 hours that is about as good of hunting as you can get. An all the birds are natural no stocking or such. Thsi is about 70acres which part is hay gorund with corn and bean feilds around it with crp and a small river running through it. It gets walked about 2 or 3 times a week the first 2 weeks then it backs off cause the birds are pretty flighty. I like to go later in the season mostly cause i have more time then. So often i find myself taking longer shots and really needing some knock down power cause i probably wont get another shot. Thats y i suggested a full choke and 3 inch magnums if he goes later in the season in a highly hunted area. I maybe didnt make that clear enough, srry bout that. no if he goes somewhere where the birds are not hunted or flushed often i would use a 2 and 3/4 with 5 or 6 shot. with a modified choke.

 

[Jogeephus]

Thats terrible, thats not even hunting, go shoot clays if you want to do that. That ticks me off, what a waste of a good bird, and im sure they didnt even clean or eat them. Doesnt make sence to me, at least make them walk and kick them up. The greatest part about pheasent hunting is if you havea good dog that you trained yourself like I did. My greatest pleasure is getting to see him work.

I agree, its not hunting. If you notice I will sometimes go off on a tangent and rant about this but. I don't like the commercialization of hunting especially when it involves TV. Some, not all, of the "plantations" are no more than shooting galleries where the fat cats can take their high dollar custom guns and shoot at a few birds and later sit back in the bar and brag about their "hunting" experience. Truth be known, if it wasn't for the mule drawn carriage their fat arses would be in ICU. To me, walking on a cold winter morning with the crisp scent of frost in the air and the dog slowly working in front of you is what its all about. 20 gauge double barrel in hand and a good hunting partner by your side - now that is bird hunting. Birds or no birds - that's hunting. :nod: (if I need birds bad enough I'll just trap em) ;-)

 

[Jogeephus]

Thats terrible, thats not even hunting, go shoot clays if you want to do that. That ticks me off, what a waste of a good bird, and im sure they didnt even clean or eat them. Doesnt make sence to me, at least make them walk and kick them up. The greatest part about pheasent hunting is if you havea good dog that you trained yourself like I did. My greatest pleasure is getting to see him work.

I agree, its not hunting. If you notice I will sometimes go off on a tangent and rant about this but. I don't like the commercialization of hunting especially when it involves TV. Some, not all, of the "plantations" are no more than shooting galleries where the fat cats can take their high dollar custom guns and shoot at a few birds and later sit back in the bar and brag about their "hunting" experience. Truth be known, if it wasn't for the mule drawn carriage their fat arses would be in ICU. To me, walking on a cold winter morning with the crisp scent of frost in the air and the dog slowly working in front of you is what its all about. 20 gauge double barrel in hand and a good hunting partner by your side - now that is bird hunting. Birds or no birds - that's hunting. :nod: (if I need birds bad enough I'll just trap em) ;-)