Few upland game birds travel far once flushed. It is often possible for the hunter to put birds up repeatedly until they offer a shot (or he stops missing). I first learned this technique hunting pheasants, but I find it applies to almost every game bird I've since hunted.
Pursuing flushed birds works for two reasons: first, you can tire them out. Most game birds are accustomed to making one short sprint away from danger. Keep after them and they will eventually get winded and refuse to budge. Second, birds know their own small home ranges intimately. Push them to the edge of those ranges, and they'll often sit tight rather than fly into an unfamiliar area.
Ruffed grouse rarely go far in the woods; usually 150 yards at most. Experienced hunters follow up flushed grouse quickly, hoping to wear them out with the effort of accumulated flushes with little rest in between.
Because pheasants inhabit open country, you can mark them down quite precisely when they flush. If the bird makes a little buttonhook turn just before landing, chances are very good he'll be sitting tight right there when you arrive. If not, look in the densest cover nearby. My current record is four flushes before getting a shot and killing the bird. More often I get the job done in two flushes or not all, since the birds have an uncanny knack for flying onto posted property.
There are, apparently, two kinds of Hungarian partridge: tight sitting birds ideal for training young dogs and wild flushers who will stay forever one step ahead of the hunter who slogs after them. I have only encountered the latter kind of partridge, and it seems to take at least three flushes before they begin to cooperate.
I've seen flushed woodcock fly as little as 15 yards in the woods, although 50 yards is more common. Following them up diligently almost always results in a second chance.
The woodcock's cousin, the snipe, will often flush wild on the first encounter and sit tight on the second. Watch snipe carefully after they flush. They will go straight up, fly around at high altitude for several minutes, then finally plummet straight down for a landing.
The lone exception to the second flush rule that I've found are rails. Although their initial flight from the wading hunter often covers only a few feet, I have never yet been able to flush one a second time after it splashed down.
Copyright (c) 1996 Philip Bourjaily. All rights reserved.
Home | Library | Hunting | Wingshooting