Pheasant Hunting and Me

I woke up at 7:00 AM this Saturday morning, but this wasn’t just any Saturday morning, it was opening day of Pheasant Season. I jump out of bed and got ready. With me were my brothers Joe and Jim, and also our friend Luke. We started walking terraces and water ways in a corn field. All of the sudden there was a rustle and then whoosh; a rooster flew up into the air. I lined up the bead on the end of my 12 gauge up with the bird, lead it a little and fired. It fell from the sky and landed in some tall grass. I ran up there to find the bird. BLAST! It was nowhere to be seen. I found some feathers and tried to follow the trail of them, but no luck. Dang! I guess I’ll have to keep trying.
Hi my name is John Grabner and the story above is and actual experience of mine. I have been hunting pheasants since I was 12 years old. It has become an important part of my life. It was more than sport to me. For me it was a time to spend quality time with my Dad and my older brother. It didn’t matter that I was a poor shot at this when I started. It just gave me another opportunity to spend time with them by having them teach me how to shoot. We would go buy bunch of shells and clay pigeons and practice. Eventually I became a better shot and started knocking pheasants down. Today, I barely get to see my other brother Joe, but he always comes home during pheasant season to go hunt with us.
Hunting is also another chance to enjoy nature. The sights, sounds and smells are just inviting. It’s just really scenic and beautiful. Now I’m in college in Ames, it’s nice to get away from the city and just go out and enjoy the country side. Pheasant hunting is a great time to do this.
And last of all, the great stories that come from hunting trips are always great. In my story above I didn’t find my bird. This is actually a curse that I acquired. When I was around the age of 14, every bird that I shot down, somehow we never manage to find it. As I got older, I went hunting less because of work and activities, but when I got the chance to go hunting, the same thing happened. It wasn’t until this last fall that the curse was finally lifted and I found all my birds that I shot down. It was truly my best day of hunting.
Overall, hunting is a great time to hang out with family and friends, enjoy nature, hear great or funny stories, and if you’re lucky eat some tasty pheasant.