This past weekend, my hunting buddy Jarrod and I headed back to my dad’s farm for our annual 2nd weekend of the season pheasant hunt. I was anticipating a good time, but mediocre hunting, since by most accounts bird numbers are down around my old stomping grounds. However, we were blessed with one of the most memorable hunts of my life.
Between calls I had made starting more than a month ago, and some leg work by my dad, we had plenty of prime habitat to hunt. To top it off, a lot of corn had come out last week and more was coming out over the weekend. 
On Friday we saw a good number of birds. Most were holding very tight and Jarrod’s Springers were working very well. We missed a few shots that we shouldn’t have, but we still managed 7 birds hunting at a pretty leisurely pace. The highlight of the day was seeing my dad down a rooster. My dad is not really a hunter. With the exception of taking me out a few times to get me started when I was young, he hadn’t hunted since his younger days in the early to mid 70’s. He decided to start going along with us last year. He has a bad knee, so he drives us around and posts at some of the areas that allow it. At the 2nd piece of property we hunted, a bird flushed right in front of him and he downed his first bird in more than 30 years. 
That one moment made my whole trip.
On Saturday we had more beatiful weather, and more birds. We got five roosters out of our first walk, and missed two more. The bird population in that area is definitely not down from last year. We had our limit before noon, and to cap it off, my dad downed his second rooster in as many days to finish out the limit. This gave us all afternoon to relax, watch some football and 
We took it very easy on Sunday, hunting a little in the morning and again towards evening, still almost managing a limit. In the process I bagged a 23-24″ bird with nice spurs. I have been trying to get a bird to mount for my gun cabinet for quite a few years, and this one is a beauty!
All in all it was a great hunt and to share it with my dad was all the more special. We’re heading to pool 4 this weekend and I can only hope the fishing is half as good as the hunting was.
The first picture shows Jarrod and my dad with our first day’s bag. The second is my dad and I with our limit. The last two are shots of the sunset from my dad’s farm on Sunday night.
