Brice Peters checks out the first rooster pheasant he ever harvested while on a March 20 mentored hunt program sponsored by the First Hunt Foundation. The hunt was the pilot bird hunt for what is now called the “Outdoor University,” a mentoring program using volunteers to teach people a variety of outdoor skills.
A pheasant keeps watch on a perch recently inside the Sheridan Bird Farm.
POWELL — It’s doubful that Brice Peters will ever forget harvesting his first pheasant. The 11-year-old’s joyful hoots in the field broke the morning’s relative silence, after connecting with a perfect shot on a spunky rooster. It was an instant reminder to all of the jubilance of success.
Peters wasn’t finished, either.
Soon after a chukar launched, nosed into action by a German shorthaired pointer. Peters quickly took aim, dropping the bird in a short second. It was apparent his initial shot wasn’t beginner’s luck: Peters is a natural.
His eyes lit up and a broad smile crept across his face as he was handed his plump prize. “Awesome,” he simply exclaimed while examining the beautiful bird.
His hunting partner, Kristin Tilley, quickly had her gun up and ready when she saw the gray speedster hit the air. But she was no match for Peters and had yet to take aim before the pre-teen squeezed the trigger. Tilley, the mother of three adult-aged children, was also on her first upland game hunt, yet tempered with a mom’s instincts.
Unaccustomed to the constantly changing aspects of a bird hunt, her first thought wasn’t taking aim, but rather safety. As each opportunity sprung from the cover, Tilley tried to quickly take into account the positions of the hunting party, including the dogs.
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