 OK, so as you view this photo you are no doubt asking yourself, "what the heck does a box of shotgun shells and a nylon have to do with anything?" please let me explain, but make sure you also explain to your wife why you have nylons in your hunting gear, BEFORE you leave home!First the shells, I am not a Fiocchi rep, but I will tell you that after hunting birds for 40 plus years, these shells are the best. They will kill pheasants (even in the 20 ga.) dead, period. I use the 20 ga. 3" mags with 1 1/4 oz. of # 5's, some guys I know are happy with the 2 3/4 ", 1 oz. # 5's and or # 6's too. The point is, there is not a better shell out there to use for pheasants. A little overkill at times? Maybe, but I hate losing a cripple and these shells will dispatch birds with authority. They also come in the 12 ga. variety, but personally I see no need to use anything more than than the 2 3/4 " in the 12 guage. Now some of you will say, "hey, wait a minute, I often jump quail where I pheasant hunt, I don't want these in my gun when a covey gets up." I quite agree, but here is how I handle that situation. Especially, when hunting alone or with only one other companion, which I do a lot of the time, my practice is to let the covey break, not shoot and watch where they go. Too many times I have taken a single or even a double on the break and lost my concentration working with the dog and the downed bird(s) and never found the rest of the covey again. I would much rather follow the whole covey and work the singles with a better opportunity to get a few more birds, than shoot on the break, so if you follow this practice just switch over to your quail loads and go get 'em. The other factor that plays out, especially in the late season, I DO NOT want to take any quail on a covey break, until I can determine how many birds are left in that covey. If you shoot a double on a break and their were only 6-10 birds in the covey, you may well have dealt a blow to that covey from which they will never recover. Survival through the rest of the winter for less than 6 birds is "iffy" at best and you will not have a covey to hunt next year, so better to conserve the resource and be smart about it, in my opinion.
Last, an explanation for the nylons. I learned this trick some time ago and it works well for any bird with the exception of a big goose. If you shoot a really nice bird (pheasant, duck, etc.) and decide to have it mounted the nylon will come in handy to preserve the feathers and get the bird to the taxidermist with the most feathers intact. Just open up the nylon (knee highs are best) and have a friend gently drop the bird head first into the stocking, while gentle rolling the nylon back toward the tail. You end up with a compact bird package, with all the feathers laying flat, smooth along the body and have preserved the bird for the taxidermist. From there I wrap it gently in newspaper and find a nearby restaurant or bar that will let me place it in their big freezer until I am ready to go home (most are happy to do this for you). The bird will stay sufficiently frozen all the way home, until you can get it in your freezer or to the taxidermist for mounting. Hopefully my tips will help you put more birds in the bag this season........ Good hunting, Richard
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