We had a late hatch, or maybe only the late-hatch birds survived right around here this year. Had an August hail storm in and around town that resulted in "drifts" a foot deep in some ditches, but areas 10 miles north and south were almost unhit.
A few days after the pheasant opener my Lab got birdy in a small patch of cover maybe 200 yards from the parking area on some public land. I suspect it was hen, but got ready anyway. A big "hen" got up in easy range, so I didn't even fully shoulder the gun--but then as it flew away the light-angle changed and I could see a little color, and then it started cackling. By that time, of course, it was out of range.
Got two roosters, however, in about an hour's hunting 15 miles south of there today, one a bird of the year but obviously born much earlier.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
