BY THE NUMBERS
2.6 Average weight in pounds of a ring-necked pheasant rooster.
35 Length in inches of an average pheasant from beak to tip of the tail feathers.
60 Mph of maximum flight speed for a pheasant
Springbank Plantation at Barnsley Resort in Adairsville is bringing a slice of the Old World to North Georgia this weekend. The shooting preserve will host a continental pheasant shoot Saturday afternoon.
The action is based on the traditional English hunting method called driven pheasant shoots, but with a New World twist. The English manner was to have beaters walk the fields and drive the pheasants past shooters situated on stands.
The American wrinkle to the action is placing shooting stations in a circle surrounding a hill. At the peak is a tower where pheasants are released. The birds must pass the stands to escape the circle. Hunters are signaled to rotate to each of the stands during the hunt, giving all shooters equal opportunities at shots.
Ring-necked pheasants are big, high-flying game birds and are not easy targets. Shots of 30 to 40 yards are common, and the pheasants are flying at full throttle when passing. Only about one-third of the birds are downed by the shooters on most hunts.
The tradition surrounding pheasant shoots extends to more than just the hunting style. Shooters ordinarily use shotguns of 12, 16 or 20 gauge, loaded with No. 6 shot. Side-by-side or over-and-under, double-barrel guns are the norm.
Some participants prefer to wear English hunting attire as well. Breeks (knee-length breeches) with flashes (kilt socks) or Wellington boots are preferred. Headgear often consists of flat caps, Scottish Tam o’shanters or deerslayer style hats made famous by Sherlock Holmes.
Springbank hunt manager Lyle McClure said hunt attire is a matter of choice, and standard Georgia hunting clothes are welcome at the shoots. Any shotgun legal for wingshooting may be used as well.
Visit barnsleyresort.com/the-hunt.aspx for more details on Saturday’s and other upcoming pheasant shoots, or traditional southern quail hunts at Springbank Plantation.
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