Beating Some Pheasants

On Thursday afternoon, Tootsie (a fellow TSS graduate student) invited me over into Idaho to go pheasant beating with her.  For the past few months, Tootsie has gone over to Idaho to help with a pheasant hunting season.

A few of my fellow graduates have gone out with her in the past few weekends, and I was very curious to see what they were all getting into over in Idaho.

So we got up at the crack of dawn and I went 'beating.'  Here is the back story from what I understand: there is a company that hires game keepers to organize these pheasant hunting days.  Participants from all over the country and world will come out to Tetonia, Idaho and pay high amounts of dollars to hunt pheasants.

Pheasant Tracks!

This is where Tootsie and I came in: the company hires individuals to be 'beaters.'  Beaters will work alongside the game keepers and basically circle in on the pheasants hiding in the dense vegetation and forested areas.  Beaters will basically encircle an area from all four sides, closing in on a central point and rustle up the vegetation with flags and cause the pheasants to get nervous and fly out into the open.

Seeing the Tetons from the 'Other Side' - Everything is so Backwards!

Hunting Pheasants, Well I Didn't.

Seed Pods - Identity TBA

This gives the hunters the chance to hunt them.  Technically it sounds like a staged-hunting day, which it basically is from what I have gathered.  Normally I am not for staged hunting strategies, but it was definitely an interesting experience and a really great day to be outside.

Pheasants

Do not think that all these birds go to waste...Definitely Not.  As a reward, besides being paid to beat, we got to take some birds home to enjoy as well!  Tootsie and I brought back over a dozen or so birds for the rest of the graduate students.  Her friends that live over in Driggs, ID, brought home more than three trash bags full of pheasant!

Pheasant is really delicious!  So being able to take some home was definitely worth the day of beating!  Hoping to make some stew for those brisk, chilly days!

Tetons, Backwards.

Since we had so much pheasant to take home, our trunk area was completely full and we had to fit 6-people into Tootsie's tiny Subaru.  So we had to do some creative seating in the car to go home - aka someone had to lie on top of everyone...or had to lie on the bags of pheasant.  Which one do you think TheChristyBel chose?!!? haha.

A Backseat Full of Pheasant Beaters

Such a great day and definitely an experience!
Now onto the student life back on the Kelly Campus...

I do not want to go back to homework...
TheChristyBel