My first bird hunting experience

Hi all,I know I don't post here much but I'm a regular at Parallax, the military rifle forum. I did, however, purchase a Luger 12 gauge semi-auto last year and finally obtained my hunting license this Fall. After many delays due to weather, I got to try out some pheasant hunting under the tutelage of a good friend and his dog, Fred. Needless to say it was a great day! Here's a pic.(interestly enough, the digital camera won't reproduce orange)We spent about 3 hours in a very nice farm of about 300 acres poking along the heavy thicket for some plump birds and was rewarded with the opportunity to shoot 5. We could only take 4, of course, but my friend let me shoot his as he'd been out three times earlier that week. I say five because I missed the second one but hit the first, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Each shot was completely different with the 1st directly over my head at about 25 feet. It was totally unexpected! The one I missed was a right to left shot at about 40 feet. I missed twice, to be honest. I made it up on the next one, however, as it was a going away shot, my hardest to master.I truly love the Luger (imported by Stoeger) 12 gauge semi auto. It performed perfectly and the limited practice I did with it weeks beforehand at the range helped a lot. It all comes down to the proper cheekweld, I think. If I rush the shots, my cheekweld is off and therefore my "aim". I'm also having to work hard on "painting" the target as with my military rifles, I'm working hard on targeting the rifle. A shotgun is 180 degrees different so the two skills contradict each other.In any event, the morning was worth the wait. My buddy, Steve, showed me how to clean the birds by yanking on the legs while standing on the wings. Amazing! It worked each and every time. The following day, we had a great pheasant meal and shared with my in-laws. Just thought I'd share this little experience with all you avid hunters. I like upland birds a lot and will continue with that. I'm not a big game hunter and won't participate in deer or larger animals. Birds are what I know I can handle and enjoy. I like moving a lot, too. I was amazing to watch Fred work and I know my next dog will be similar breed. We've already set a date for next Saturday a the season in CT winds down.Now, I'm working on two 16 gauge shotguns just for birds and should have the deal worked out just before Christmas. One is a Belgium Browning sweet 16 that's in fine condition (early model), and the other is a Italian 16 side by side, found included in an estate sale, never fired! I'm looking forward to them both.RomePS I used high brass #6 shot. No noticable difference in power at my shoulder at all.RJP Edited by: Cabinetman at: 11/30/02 9:10:33 pm