Lloyd,
The 1/2 pound doesn’t matter as much in the morning as it does right before twilight, on the way back to the truck.
In our little corner of Valhalla, the walking is fairly easy, plenty of it, but, not much up or down and well tended grouse paths. I’m convinced a few of the areas I pheasant hunt only hold birds because most guys are either too old or too lazy, or, they lack a dog to help find and move the birds. Pheasant hunting without a dog in spots like these is not hunting, it is an armed hike. The extra half pound is a curse when you are navigating cattails, phragmites, and elephant grass, not frozen quite as hard as you might like, behind a dog that clearly has something feathered on it’s mind. The roosters cling a bit more tenaciously to life than the grouse do, and I often find myself grateful for a substantial 12, either the 6 1/2 pound 2 1/2” chambers Darne, or, the 7 pound Silver Snipe. When the weather gets cold I make no bones about feeding the Snipe a hot load of Federal 1 1/4 ounce 5s, a load that might just be on the edge of the guns standard Italian proof. I walk more grouse hunting with you, but, the walking is harder in those little public hunting hell holes, pursuing and attempting to remove a few of those gaudy Chinese invasives.
The Federal pheasant load doesn’t really belong in a lightweight gun. But, I’m not typically pursuing roosters for a whole 8 hour shift. I only need so many birds.
It isn’t as pleasant as it once seemed. I think gravity has gotten stronger. But, I intend to do it until I can’t.
Best,
Ted
