Congratulations, KG - great story.
My own worst/best shot was at a pheasant. My brother and I had a string of consecutive hits that ran over a couple years. That says more for his shooting than mine, as I was behind a good pointer and he set himself up for the more difficult swing shots. With the dog on point and subsequent flush, I stepped forward for an easy shot right into a knee-deep hole. As the shot rang out I was off the bird by at least a couple feet. The bird veered almost straight up as I'm now on my elbows watching helplessly. After rising about 100 feet, the pheasant was apparently touched by God and fell dead. I couldn't find the hint of a pellet strike anywhere on that bird. Chalk him up, and the string continued.
I have seen that same response on several species of upland birds where they suddenly fly straight up until they die and fall straight down. All had at least one pellet in the heart.
