The Ring-neck Pheasant is a prized upland game bird found all across Montana. Fall time rolls around and hunters will travel many, many miles to try and chase these birds. It’s no secret that I’m one of those guys. Spending many hours walking windrows and thickets, Montana is certainly a state for an opportunity with a hunting season lasting several months.
This past winter I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a morning hunting pheasants on a section of state land just outside of town. Now just so everyone is clear I grew up hunt upland game birds in what’s known as the Golden Triangle in the agriculture world. Probably some of the most top-notch in Montana. So living where I do now, I have not yet grown accustomed to the fewer birds around. That being said this was a great December day. Not only the was opportunity to be outside rewarding I just so happened to be successful in taking a bird! I vividly remember that moment, just as I do every moment I harvest an animal like it was yesterday. There is something so personal, rewarding, and hard to put into words what that feeling is but that is a whole other story.
Every animal is a trophy and very special in its own way. For this particular bird, it was going to be the introduction of game birds to my three daughters. I’ve been hunting my entire life and have grown up processing all our own wild game. It was inevitable that my children were going to do the same. So it was no surprise to my girls when I brought this beautiful bird back to the house. Now if you are reading this and looking at the photos I’m telling you that they do not do this bird justice. Stunning is an understatement. The vibrant colors and patterns and truly an art form of its own. So, naturally, the girls were just in awe, as I always am. As I’m getting out my knife and laying out something to cover the kitchen countertop my youngest asks me if we are really going to do this in the kitchen? I calmly exclaimed, “Of course we are, why wouldn’t we”. Now my oldest being the rule follower begins to tell me all the reasons why Mom would not be happy about any of this. Clearly, Mom is not around while all of this is taking place. Now all of us are huddled around the kitchen counter examining all the beauty of this bird with great detail. We are fanning out the wings and measuring how long the tail. All while I am talking about hunting, conservation, land management, and processing this bird to eat. By this time I am almost finished cleaning the bird and the girls have thoroughly examined all of the bird. One of my girls sort of has this puzzled look on her face and I ask what she is thinking about. Which leads up to a conversation about male and female pheasants and the color difference between the two of them. She then says, “But I’m a girl and I like to have my fingernails painted pretty too”. Sort of taken back by the comment I wasn’t sure where this was leading until she tells me that when I am finished cleaning this up, I should probably paint all of their fingernails. Would I love to get out and hunt more, sure? Raising girls is a challenge on its own and I try to balance both as much as I possibly can. So if this means spending some time painting fingernails then I’m all in.