~~ Disabled Pheasant Hunt ~~
The STCSA also sponsors a Youth Hunt for 200 kids and releases 400 birds for that hunt in addition to the birds released for the general public during the 44 day California Pheasant Season. The hunts take place on the Eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley at the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada and on land that is managed by Corp of Engineers NE of Lake Success.
Our first stop was to stop at the Pheasant coop to pick up some birds. While the birds were being plant in the field Bill, Ernie and me stayed at the coop. A eagle flew over the enclosed coop and a cock committed suicide. That was the first bird added to our bag limit.
My hunts took place in the afternoon and I was in the field for 2 days. And on both days it proved to be a learning experience for all of us. Besides me there were Robbie and his Pointing/Retrieving German Shorthair, Chance. My cousin Bill and his son Darren and my hunting buddy and Dad, Ernie.
The field was mainly flat with some thick hedgerows of brush, about 5 ft. tall, a few Mesquite stands that were so thick even the dog couldn�t get in. I stayed on the dirt roads where I was pushed along and let the �driver�
know when he had to dodge a rock or a ditch. To a person walking it was something they wouldn�t even think twice of avoiding but it is something us �wheelers� know we have to miss. Then when Chance would go on point I�d have the �driver� stop about 15 to 20 feet away from the dog and turn me 90� so that the left side of the wheelchair would be in direct line to where the bird should flush from. 
That is my most comfortable shooting position but that is something the
assistant must ask of his hunter because everybody is different. 
On the first day when we arrived at the field and showed my �driver� my best
field of fire, loaded the shotguns and got started moving down the road. With
Robbie besides me and Chance working the point we advanced looking for birds.
With a dike to our left and a open field to our right
Chance flushed a bird, Boom, boom I let loose with a couple rounds but the bird was only hit by sound waves. We rounded a corner took about 6 more steps when again Chance went on point. With his 6 inch tail a quivering he froze waiting for the command from Robbie to flush the bird. 
With a flurry of wings out popped the bird again my shotgun came up and again boom, boom and the bird kept going only to land in a puff of feathers thanks to Ernie. 
As Willie Nelson once said it was �Back on the Road Again� and we roamed up
and down the roads for a bit before Chance again went on point. Again I missed
and I started to feel like I couldn�t hit my ass with both hands even if someone
else aimed.
With the sun starting to get lower Chance went on point again but this time as the bird rose I managed to hit him with the second shot. But he didn�t fold up and drop instead he went into a glide finally coming to a stop about a 1/4 mile away by a young Mesquite. Chance took off to get him but he couldn�t locate him. When we made it over to that young Mesquite Robbie, Bill, Darren, Ernie and Chance went looking for that bird. I thought at my Kansas incident was getting replayed where 9 guys and 3 dogs searched for my downed bird but never did find it. But to my surprise Robbie found him 
and I felt a little better. At least I hit one, of coarse it took half a box of shells. 
By then the shadows were starting to get longer and we were ready to call it a day. Once back to the trucks we went back to the Pheasant coop when on the side of the hill we spied a Bobcat heading for the tree line then about a mile down the road we came across some Mule Deer. When we got back to the coop we talked about what we did right and what we did wrong. One thing we did learn is that it is a must that the W/C shooter and their assistant talk to each other so the shooter can be in the best possible position when the bird is flushed. It was then decided that we would take another whirl at it tomorrow at 1:00.
The next day we rendezvoused and let Darren ride in the lead truck so he, being the youngest, could open the gates. Back to the coops we went so that Robbie and Darren could get 6 more birds, 2 of the birds when released flew out of the designated shooting area. As we drove back to the field we spotted that same Bobcat that we saw yesterday working the same hill side.
That 2nd day was a vast improvement over the day before. Both my Dad and
me were shooting a whole lot better. The first bird flushed went out into my
Dad�s field of fire and after his first shot the Pheasant folded up and fell like a meteor. After Chance retrieved the cock we only had to walk a short way before Chance came to another bird. But this time dog didn�t have time to point the bird flushed as soon as Chance located him. He flushed and was in my range and with a quick jump shot the bird hit the ground not more than 30 feet away.
After about a half hour walk this time Chance got on a good point and with the help of my assistant, Bill, I got into the perfect position for me. The bird flushed and we had another bird to go in the cooker. From there we moved on back down the road to the next bird Chance came on. Coming to a point the bird flushed out of my range of fire so my Dad took the shot. He hit the bird but it only tumbled down a few feet then went into a glide. As it sailed over a dike and went out of sight but Chance was after him. When he disappeared we figured that was a lost bird but then about 15 minutes later here comes Chance with the bird in his mouth.
We couldn�t praise Chance enough he points, flushes and retrieves and Robbie his owner says he is also good with waterfowl. Now both the shooters had 2 birds each and we each did pretty good, 2 birds 4 shots. Back at the trucks it was time for Thank you�s, pictures 
and handshakes
Now that the fun part is over it is time for the real work to begin. Robbie was made Chairman and Bill was made his vice chairman with Darren in charge of rounding up assistants (they will mainly be FFA kids). They already ran it pass the CA Dept. of Fish and Game and got their OKay, the official nod of the head. Then to help them create bylaws they plan to contact SCI�s Humanitarian services, PVA�s Shooting Sports, the NRA and whoever else they think might help.
