Photo Galleries

A rooster pheasant flushes in front of hunters.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

The long tail feathers of a rooster pheasant rising from a game vest shows a hunter's success.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Brian Weaver, Houston, rests after hunting a field with his dog, Ripley.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Brian Weaver, of Houston, traveled to Kansas for a pheasant hunt with college friends and family.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Chubby, a Labrador retriever, fetches a pheasant on Saturday's opening day of the season.

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Guide Rick Tomlinson, center, reminds clients about the importance of safety before they begin hunting Saturday morning.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

John Fruendt and other hunters walk a field of uncut milo for pheasants in Rush County Saturday afternoon.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Rick Blooomfield, Aldeo, Tex. readies his shotgun as he nears the end of a milo field.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Blockers wait at the end of a milo field, hoping to get shots at birds that flush far in front of an approaching line of hunters.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Maggie, a Labrador retriever owned by Rick Tomlinson, fetches a rooster Saturday afternoon.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

A hunter raises a rooster pheasant to show his friends Saturday in Rush County.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Thick CRP grass held many pheasants on Saturday's opening day.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Guide Rick Tomlinson photographs pheasant hunters and their birds after Saturday's opening day of pheasant season.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Hunters fire at a rooster pheasant as it leaves a field in Rush County.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Many say a rooster pheasant's brilliant plumage makes it the prettiest game bird in America.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce

Past classmates at Stephen F. Austin University Brian Weaver, left, Gene Hickam, Bill Feille, Steve Fruendt and Dan Parker meet annually for a central Kansas pheasant hunt.

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Michael Pearce / Michael Pearce