Mike Roux’s Outdoor Journal

( It’s Time for Pheasant, Part II )

By: Mike Roux

www.mikeroux.com

  Beginning where we left off last week, the rule for wild pheasant hunting is “NO HENS”.  You must shoot cocks only.  On preserves you may harvest any bird.  Even though it does not take a pheasant hen long to become wild after she’s been liberated, you may still harvest pen-raised hens on preserves.  There is no mistaking the rooster though.  His bright coloration, iridescent green head and long, streaming tail feathers make him unmistakable as he becomes airborne.

The hen is a bird of a different color.  Brownish and mottled, she is drab in comparison to the multi-colored cock and usually smaller.  Young roosters who have not yet reached their full adult color phase may look a lot like hens.  Early in the season, be sure of your target.  Do not be fooled by a cackling bird that has been flushed.  Sometimes hens cackle, too.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal