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WOMEN’S
GAME BIRD HERITAGE HUNT
TAKES PLACE AT MAPES RANCH
By: Ron
Wilson
November
29, 2002....Tonia
Snyder of Waterford blasted away as the rooster pheasant folded up in a
heap! A day of working my dogs
Sierra, a Brittany spaniel, and Max, a Black English Cocker spaniel, had
just began.
We
were at the Mapes Ranch hunting planted birds on the Women's only Game
Bird Heritage Hunt coordinated by Region 4 of the Department of Fish
& Game.
The
birds were supplied by the California Central Valley Chapter of Safari
Club International and planted by Department of Fish and Game’s
Douglas L. Bowman, Wildlife Habitat Supervisor.
The
morning started off with the first group of 25 female hunters signing up
to hunt. With all the chatter you would of thought they had drank too
much coffee and eaten too many sugar donuts, which were supplied by the
Safari Club. But all one had to do was look at the smiling faces filled
with excitement to know that these ladies were pumped with adrenalin and
ready to go hunting!
Some
of the ladies had their own dogs and some did not. That's why William
Bates, dispatching shift supervisor for Modesto Irrigation District, and
I were available to take the ladies out, that did not have a dog to hunt
with.
 In
order to be a successful pheasant hunter, dogs are a must. If the dog is
a pointer, like Sierra, that's even better, as it allows time to prepare
for the shot before the bird is flushed!
I
didn’t see who William was paired with, but I was paired with Tonia
and her friend Becky Heinrich who lived near the ranch.
The
girls did some pretty good shooting. The first pheasant was a crossing
shot that Tonia folded in a heap, leaving feathers floating in the air
by her single shot.
Someone
else flushed the next bird and as it came flying by. The gals unloaded
on it as the last shot; fired by Becky, hit the bird in the tail end.
Sierra made the retrieve on that one.
I
think the next bird was a wild flush by Max, as Tonia dropped that bird,
finishing out her limit. A couple minutes later Sierra locked up solid
on point. Becky asked me what my dog was doing. I told her to walk up
there and she would see. Becky said, “Before I walk up there, I want
to know why she is looking like that and why she is so still”. I
informed the ladies that Sierra had a bird pointed, and if they just
walked to where she was looking, the bird would flush for them. Becky
walked up as the rooster pheasant jumped up, cackling right next to her.
The bird startled her, as Becky missed with the first shot from her 12
gauge over & under shotgun! She regained her senses, took aim and
downed the bird on the second shot.
4
rooster pheasants within shooting distance and 4 birds downed, all in 20
minutes. What a great way to start a
day of hunting with the ladies. We were the first group of hunters out
of the field and back at the check out station.
Chuck
Lyons and Safari Club Treasurer, Tom Brennan, were cooking hamburgers,
hotdogs and sausages for the hunters as they come back in, and while
they were at it, they whipped up some hash browns with onions and eggs
for breakfast for the DFG crew and myself.
One
thing I have noticed about the Lyons family is that they are not afraid
of work. They love to see people having a good time on the ranch. They
just want to know who is there, and make sure they have permission.
As
I was finishing lunch, Katrina Sinksen and Christina Olsen, both of
Oakdale, came in with their limit of birds. The gals had smiles from ear
to ear! However, I missed seeing how Kathryn Carstens, of Turlock, did
on her morning hunt.
On
the ladies afternoon hunt, my Daughter-in -law Shay Wilson showed up to
hunt. My son Donald and grandson Derick, along with their dogs Cleo, a
white lab, and Shrek, Sierra and Max’s offspring, accompanied her.
Erin Brennan and her daughter Hannah along Nancy Patton, all from
Modesto, joined the group.
There
was a lot of shooting as the cackling pheasants were flushed, however
not much hitting was going on! But we still had a ball as the dogs
jumped pheasant after
 pheasant
and the ladies got their fair share of shooting in, they even had an
occasional hit! It was really fun to watch. Hannah did have an early
limit and checked out, while the rest of the ladies killed a pheasant
apiece.
A
lot of the ladies were having trouble hitting the birds. The main
problem was not their shooting ability, but rather their gunstocks were
to long. The ladies were not getting them shouldered properly. This is
critical to making a good shot!
Ladies
if your going to hunt, my suggestion would be to have the gunstocks cut
down to fit your shoulder properly. This way you will have a gun you can
comfortable shoot and your significant other can go purchase him a new
one! |
