My First Pheasant Hunt

With my first duck hunt crossed off my list two weeks ago, I recently had a chance to go pheasant hunting near Chico, CA with Kris Koenig, the director of Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire. It's a great gun documentary which I participated in, and I hope you'll take some time to see it. You can buy it on DVD, get it on Amazon, Netflix, and many other places. 

There's been a drought here in California, but it happened to rain the day we went out for the hunt. I learned that rain is good because the birds' musty scent will be more pronounced, which helps the dog locate and flush the birds out of hiding. 

The morning started off slow, and we barely saw any action. With Super Bowl coming up, I really wanted to bag some birds and make some kind of pheasant treat for the party. 

In the late morning, we finally saw some action. With my trusty Beretta 692 shotgun and #6 shot 2 3/4" ammo, I started to take down some birds. All that practice shooting trap was really paying off! Before we knew it, we were done for the day.

We harvested the meat from the birds and retreated to the bar for some beer (Chico is the home of Sierra Nevada, so guess what we had). I started thinking about what I'd make with my hard-earned pheasant meat, and I landed on an oldie but a goodie: bacon-wrapped pheasant bites. 

Since pheasant meat is so lean, it can dry out quickly. Brining and wrapping the chunks in bacon helps keep the moisture in. After cubing, wrapping, and toothpicking the pheasant chunks, I cracked some fresh pepper and then sprinkled a bunch of dark brown sugar on each piece. Fifteen minutes at 350 degrees in the oven is all these needed. Not only was my first pheasant hunt a success, but so was the food at the Super Bowl party!