# Pheasant Opener



## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

Getting ready to meet some folks to try my hand at pheasants, just wanted to wish everyone luck. Hopefully I'll have to learn how to clean birds tonight!!!


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

good luck everyone... heres the best bird cleaning tip ever:http://www.huntohio.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=137


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## steelmagoo (Apr 13, 2004)

I just learned about that method last weekend and used it (after a planted hunt on private property with banded birds; all very legal). It works great. Put them belly up on the ground, grab the back legs, step on the wings and pull. You are left with the breast attached to the wings, no guts, no head. Then use the shears to remove the wings. If you keep the legs, just remove the "pants" and cut off the feet and tail. I'm not sure about the rules in Ohio about transporting the bird without at least the legs attached to the rest of the bird, however. If a wildlife officer stops you and the leg, head, or wing isn't attached how will he know if it's a cock or a hen?


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## Row v. Wade (Apr 27, 2004)

steelmagoo said:


> I just learned about that method last weekend and used it (after a planted hunt on private property with banded birds; all very legal). It works great. Put them belly up on the ground, grab the back legs, step on the wings and pull. You are left with the breast attached to the wings, no guts, no head. Then use the shears to remove the wings. If you keep the legs, just remove the "pants" and cut off the feet and tail. I'm not sure about the rules in Ohio about transporting the bird without at least the legs attached to the rest of the bird, however. If a wildlife officer stops you and the leg, head, or wing isn't attached how will he know if it's a cock or a hen?


Wait til you get home to deal with the breasts and removal of "pants"


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

Great tip. I got my first bird today and was just getting ready to go clean it, so I got on to see if I could search the arcives for some cleaning tips. So basically I don't have to do any skinning before hand, huh. Just step and pull and done. I'll definately be trying it out here in just a few minutes.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Will this cleaning method work with a wild turkey ?


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## steelmagoo (Apr 13, 2004)

For the record, I don't clean birds in the hunting area, leaving the guts and feathers for the next guy's dog to eat. As far as I can tell, Ohio's regulations handbook doesn't address what parts of a pheasant are to be left on for identification during transportation. With waterfowl it's a fully feathered wing or the head.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

Just wanted to say thanks for the great cleaning method. My first time cleaning a bird and it's allready washed up and in the freezer.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

glad you like it!


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## bigfisher14 (Mar 8, 2006)

Went out yesterday and today with some buddies out to killdeer plains. didn't get anything yesterday for myself, but a buddy got 1 pheasant. today we had a little more success. we flushed 3 today and i managed to snag my first pheasant. this trip was actually my first hunting trip, just got my license wednesday, and it was a blast. even though we didn't have a dog to help us, it was still a great time. ran into a few other hunters who had a dog that helped us find one of our birds. it really is a treat to watch a dog work the brush and flush a bird. definitly got a hell of a work out out of it too. i'm now happy to say i'm going to be a hunter the rest of my life, what a great time.


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## steelmagoo (Apr 13, 2004)

After swearing I wouldn't go to Grand River this weekend because of the crowds, I went anyway. I got there around 9:30 Saturday morning and hunted until 1:00 pm. Got my two cockbirds over my dog plus flushed three more. By the time I left the crowd had thinned a bit. The birds were really holding tight, almost had to step on them to get them to fly.


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## bigfisher14 (Mar 8, 2006)

Is anybody heading out to Killdeer plains this weekend?


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