Taking stock of the flock – JSOnline

Pheasant hunters love South Dakota

Hecla, S.D. – The airways have grown congested here along the James River in northeastern South Dakota.

As we hunt through a frozen marsh, the furry seed heads of cattails dislodge and whirl upward in a brisk north wind. A low, gray sky adds to the mix, dropping clouds of dime-sized snowflakes.

And 250 yards ahead, dark, long-tailed shapes take to the air, rising above the cattails, flapping and gliding into the distance. The birds erupt singly and in bursts of twos and threes, sometimes accompanied by a cackle.

To Wisconsin eyes, it takes time to believe: Ring-necked pheasants.

The spectacle of so many pheasants in view is both fascinating and frustrating. Fortunately for us hunters some birds afford a closer look.

“I think Tram’s on point,” says my hunting partner, Bob St. Pierre of St. Paul, Minn. Two dozen yards ahead, his 1½-year-old German short-haired pointer Trammell – named for former Detroit Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell – stands frozen amid the swirling atmospherics.

As we crunch closer, a rooster pops out of the dense cover, angling downwind. St. Pierre spins and fires, tumbling the bird with a single well-placed shot. Tram digs out the bird – an upland gift of tasty meat and colorful red, white, green and brown plumage – and brings it to hand.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

Taking stock of the flock – JSOnline.