Getting Ready to be On the Road Again – One Month Countdown to Pheasants

The High Plains Shooting and Dining Society is getting ready to be on the road again.

We are a month away from the Pheasant Shoot in Oklahoma at Quailridge.  Right now it appears that our group will have nine or ten guns participating, most of us from Texas with three Okies and David McElyea coming down from Colorado.  Here is a reminder of things to do some strongly suggested like checking out your gun and cleaning it thoroughly.  Purchase you shotgun shells as soon as possible, you will want five or six boxes of 7 1/2 or number 6 shot and you don’t need real fast loads, good target loads are fine for incoming pheasants.  Several years ago David and I made the mistake of thinking we could buy shells locally only to find out that the closest Wal-Mart was not that close and their selection was horrible so we ended up traveling a lot further and we were glad we had time on Friday afternoon to make our quest.

If current weather patterns persist you might as well plan on some cool or cold weather shooting which means a warm hat, gloves and good socks and shoes and if you dress in layers you can adjust.  And put your layers on and shoulder your shotgun a few times this week to make sure you’re comfortable with your setup.  This is important since swinging a gun at a moving bird and pulling the trigger at the proper moment with one fluid motion will result in birds falling from the sky, hanging up on your coat or limited range of motion will cost you and result in missed pheasants.

You will need some sort of a small pack or bag to carry your shells from one station to another and a few bottles of water, a breakfast bar or two and some sunscreen will make you morning more pleasant.  Eye and hearing protection are also important since you will be exposed to a lot of sound and from time to time little bits of shot might fall from the sky.  The falling ones don’t hurt but it is possible someone could shoot too low and pepper you which could raise welts and injure an unprotected eye.  It has been a long time since any of our crew has had that experience but it did happen in 2001 when one of our crew received the Purple Dove award getting popped across the back.

That just about sums it up for now, gun, shells, suitable clothing and gear and a strong desire to have a very good time with the High Plains Shooting and Dining Society 2014 Pheasant Shoot.  At this time we can try for chicken fried steak in Tecumseh again or any of you can research for a new place to eat on Friday evening.  I strongly suggest we try to locate someplace with good pie.