Snowy day of pheasants (aka "the one that got away")

It was a really nice day of pheasant hunting today. Daniella came with me and it was cold and there was a layer of hard crusted snow on the ground. We started off and there were a bunch of birds on the point that some guys kept pushing out...one hen flew right at my head and as she passed I took her. Then we walked on along the river. As we were walking, we saw a cockbird fly into it from being shot at...as we approached he was on the ground and couldn't fly. Bacci, of course, got up to him and got him for Greg. We walked to the end of the hedgerow and as we were on our way back talking, we got to the end of the second field. Bacci was messing around at the hedgerow and locked up. I ran around to the other side because the birds were running and I didn't want it to run out the other side. As I got closer a hen took off and Greg got it (I also shot, but a millesecond too late).



Later, we were walking around on the hill behind the cars and as we crested the field we heard a cockbird cackling from a few fields away. We went to find it, walked the hedgerow along the big mountain and couldn't find him. We doubled back through the field and Greg was on the other side of the hedgerow. He saw the bird running in and out of the hedgerow. As we got to the end, Joe saw him on the edge near the road. We circled around him and as Bacci went in, he flushed right over my head. Greg and I both shot and thought we hit him..not hard, but he came down in the hedgerow again. So again, Greg went on one side, Joe on the point and me on the other side. Bacci worked inside and for about 10 minutes he looked. Greg saw blood so we know we hit him...I kept an eye out to see if he would run out. Bacci eventually popped out of the hedgerow about 40ish yards away...as I was about to tell him to get back in, the bird expoded out of the hedgerow. I shot twice, Joe shot and we both missed. He headed towards the parking lot. This bird has been missed 8 times!! He deserved to live! It was a lot of fun. Here is a picture that Joe took of me and Bacci...he gave it to me framed (really nice of him).