Pheasant safety tips

Pheasant safety tips

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Josh Mills went hunting in a blinding snowstorm and has some words of wisdom. We take off from the truck and we intersperse back and forth over this decently sized creek. We did our best to keep our dogs away from it because there were certain places where there was ice sheets and you could tell that it wasn't very thick. But you don't want your dogs running out on that. Well, about two miles away from the truck, the pointers went on point …boom. A couple of birds came out and then my lab came through and kicked out another hen. Well, she took another couple of extra steps down the bank and onto the ice sheet and she goes through the ice sheet. Now, it's not a very rapid creek or anything like that, but she's saying in a way that the ice is going the wrong way. She's disoriented. I sprint down the bank, set my gun down to reach for her. Then the bank gets away from me. And I went up to my waist in ice cold water. My buddy was there ready to help pull me out and pulled the dog out. And we all got out and kind of looked at each other and laughed. But the lesson is, no one is safe in marginal conditions like that, it's always a great idea to have somebody because who's going to be there just in case something really bad happens. We did have a friend a couple of years ago, pass away pheasant hunting, because he had fallen in the creek and nobody was there to help him. Number two is be ready to change clothes. And don't forget, even in places where you're close to the truck it’s a great idea to bring another set of clothes in marginal conditions, bring a buddy, bring clothes. Hey, you might as well extend the hunt beyond getting dunked in an ice cold creek. Great advice. Glad you made it out safely.
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