Scott Linden Outdoors

If you’re serious about hunting and training, here are two bird-related skills you should master. One “temporary,” the other quite permanent … for the bird, that is.

Deliver the coup de grace on a wounded bird: Here’s one method: Hold the bird (wings tight against the body) with your dominant hand. Face it away from the broad, flat portion of your gun stock or other hard object and swing his body with a snap to conk his head against the hard object.

Wringing a bird’s neck quickly and cleanly is more difficult than it appears. “Cervical dislocation” is much more humane: Grasp both of the bird’s legs in your non-dominant hand. Wrap your dominant index finger and thumb around the bird’s neck just below the head, so the back of the bird’s head is in the crook of the finger and thumb. As you stretch your dominant arm straight out you will put tension on the bird’s body. When you reach the limit of stretching the bird bend the head back and increase tension so that the vertebrae is separated from the skull.

The “taxidermist’s squeeze” is another method: Hold the bird by its breast, fingers and thumb in its “armpits.” Squeeze – hard – and hold until you’ve stopped both breathing and heartbeat.

Plant a training bird: There are a variety of ways to “dizzy,” or “sleep” a bird. This one works for me most of the time. Hold the bird in both hands and swing the body in short quick arcs (a few inches) so its head swings back and forth. Some prefer a circular motion – if you like that, use it. The key is getting the bird’s head to swivel.

After 10-20 seconds, tuck the bird’s head under one wing, hold the wing and thus the head with one hand while holding the bird’s feet with the other. Lay the bird on its side with the head down and tucked under it, and while continuing to hold it gently pull its legs straight back (away from the head). Hold legs and bird down for a second or two, then sneak away.