When I started hunting, my mentors lived through the 1930s or were their children. They were all from agricultural or rural backgrounds so their take on "hobbies" was different from others. Pheasants were shot as they were found and a running pheasant was described as, "getting up to take off speed." Pheasant hunting was mostly a part of a family gathering so drives were the rule.

Filling the bag was the goal and, with up to 20 or more drivers with 10+ blockers making a drive, that meant a lot of birds. But, there were a lot of birds back then making drives feasible and one could get their limits between 9:00 AM shooting time and mid-afternoon.

Armament was also a bit different with single shots often making up half or more of those carrying shotguns. Having just that one shot and a mentality that abhorred waste made a running bird fair game. 22 rifles were commonly seen and a Remington 514 was the gun I carried for my first two years. I didn't get a rooster with it on the drives but I got a few on my own later on.

Dogs weren't much of a concern, seldom were they brought from home to than those living at the farm being hunted rarely were they brought out as they were "farm" dogs and not very well trained for classical bird hunting. If a dog was brought out, it was kept on a leash by one of the kids too young to hunt. At the end of the drive the dog(s) would be let loose to find cripples, often being eaten by the hungry dog.

After the pheasant populations crashed and I got into actual hunting dogs and hunted on my own. Originally, out of concern for my dogs I shot flying birds instead. At some point my view point changed as ground sluicing pheasants as what one did when "poor."

In 45 years I can recall shooting, with a shotgun, only one running pheasant that wasn't obviously wounded and that was 6 years ago. We hit a field that others had hunted earlier that day hoping to find some missed birds or birds that filtered in. That particular bird ran maybe 80 yards and dodged around other 4 guys without flying. I would have called my dog over to run it down but the bird was headed to posted land so I shot it.

I'm not against shooting roosters with a 22 and I get a couple that way every year. Same as with ruffed grouse except one can use a centerfire for them. It takes a lot more skill in woodscraft and shooting to get either of them in that manner compared to using a shotgun and dog.