Pheasant Shooting in the Himalayas.
There is grand sport to be had in certain parts of the Himalayas in the
glorious autumn weather peculiar to those mountain ranges.
For beauty of plumage and dashing flight few game-birds can compare to
the monaul (_Lophophorus impeyanus_), and his haunts are among the
wildest and most magnificent scenery.
In the Himalayan districts I am acquainted with, Kumaon and Garhwal,
monaul are seldom found much below 8,000 feet altitude, but from that
elevation up to about 12,000 feet are fairly plentiful. On the southern
and western sides of the mountains, the forests monaul inhabit are
usually evergreen oak, with a few spruce and cypress trees scattered
about. On the northern and eastern slopes, which are clothed with
forests to higher altitudes, monaul are found in woods of pine, deodar,
spruce and birch. From the middle of October till end of December the
weather is nearly always bright and clear in the Himalayas. The sun is
not too powerful, and the nights cold and frosty. The best way to have
sport with monaul is for two shooters, who know each other well, to go
together, and beaters from six to a dozen, according to the nature of
the ground. The beaters should be in charge of an experienced shikari,
who is also a “master in language.” A local shikari will point out the
best places for monaul, and the guns, one behind the other, about fifty
yards apart, will walk slowly along the hillside, on a path if possible.
One gun should be about sixty yards ahead of the beaters, and the other
in line with them. The foremost gun, in most cases, will get the
greatest number of shots.
The tactics of the beat, however, must vary according to the nature of
the country, as ravines are usually beaten straight downwards, but in
some cases, where a path leads zigzag up a long ravine, the beaters
should get well ahead of the guns, and beat upwards. Monaul are
exceptionally strong fliers, and about the toughest birds I know. If not
hit well forward they will not come down, and the gun to use is a
12-bore cylinder with a charge of 1–3/16 oz. of No. 5, or 1¼ oz. No. 4
shot. I always use Ballistite powder and have never had a bad cartridge,
always finding this powder equally good, whether in hot valleys at low
elevations, or up in the cold at over 12,000 feet above sea level.
A mature cock monaul, with his plumage glistening in the sun, is a grand
sight, and sometimes, especially early in the morning, he will fly with
a kind of soaring motion, wings extended, as if to show himself off, and
come sailing proudly overhead; at these times they are comparatively
easy to shoot. Generally, however, they give really good rocketting
shots, but at times will fly at a terrific pace straight down the
hillside, keeping about the same distance from the ground all the way.
These are difficult shots. A good dog is required to retrieve—a big
dog—as monaul are heavy birds, full-grown cocks often weighing 5 pounds
and more.
Another grand bird is the koklass (_Pucrasia macrolopha_), a
beautifully-marked, gamey-looking bird, with a very quick flight. I
believe the koklass to be the fastest game-birds that fly, and they get
into their flight as quickly as partridges. Like monaul, too, they often
dash straight down a hillside, keeping a few feet from the ground, and
with a curve in their flight. They are found in the same forests as
monaul, but also at lower elevations. In size they are about half the
weight of monaul and much the same in shape. They are the best of all
birds for the table.
The cheer (_Phasianus wallichii_) is, I believe, the only true pheasant
found in India. They do not give as good sport as monaul and koklass,
but I have often enjoyed myself with them. They frequent very steep
pine-covered slopes, landslips, rocky scrub near precipices, and
uninviting-looking places. Cheer shooting is about the hardest work I
know, toiling about the steep hillsides among long grass and scrub.
These birds lie very close, and after being flushed and marked down,
often take a long time to rouse again. Wounded birds are extremely
difficult to find, and your dog should be a steady and persevering
retriever. Cheer are not found at very high elevations, from about 4,000
to 7,000 feet being their usual haunt, but occasionally, when the grass
on the pine-covered slopes has been burnt, they will go into the oak
forests above, where there is a thick undergrowth of ringalls. At these
times they are harder to find than ever, and unless the beaters keep
well in line, or you have a bustling spaniel to make them get up, it is
almost impossible to bring any to bag.
Other so-called pheasants are the hubwaul or snow-cock (_Tetrogallus
himalayensis_), the white-crested kalij (_Euplocamus albocristatus_),
and the crimson tragopan (_Ceriornis satyra_).
The hubwaul is a fine bird, in shape like a gigantic partridge, found in
coveys on the higher ranges above the forest limit. They are very wary
and hard to circumvent, as they run long distances, and when put up
often fly in a different direction to that expected. I have, however,
often got at them in big ravines by sending a man to out-flank them on
each side, myself keeping well out of sight behind boulders. I have also
defeated them with the aid of a good bustling dog, and when they do come
over one’s head give as good shots as any birds I know. In the winter
they will come into wooded crags and precipitous ground, when the higher
ranges are covered with deep snow.
The kalij pheasants are really more like jungle fowl than pheasants,
frequenting thick scrub and undergrowth, near villages and in the
vicinity of cattle sheds. They are great runners and fond of flying up
into trees when bustled by dogs, but when they do fly put on a good pace
and nearly always fly down hill. Plenty of beaters are required to put
them up. Their flight is not high and bold like that of the monaul and
koklass, and they are not found at high altitudes; from 4,000 feet to
8,000 feet being about the elevations at which they occur.
The tragopan is a very handsome bird, and rare, few being shot. He is
the hardest bird of all to bring to bag, being a tremendous runner and
keeping to the densest thickets, usually in ringalls and creeping
rhododendrons, which are almost impenetrable to man. A good dog will
flush them, when they will fly downwards a few feet over the
undergrowth, taking long flights and running again immediately they
alight.
In the autumn a varied bag can be made, either singly or with a boon
companion. There is the friendly rivalry, the jolly fellowship of
sportsmen, the chaff, the mid-day lunch by some brawling stream, the
laze and smoke in the sunshine and clear mountain air, and the beat back
to camp again in the evening. _Scolopax rusticola_ is often to be found
when beating for pheasants, also a solitary snipe or two; and two
sportsmen who pull well together can have a rare time in the mountains,
as besides shooting birds together they can often find room to separate
and go after big game in different directions. Then there are the yarns
to be told round the campfire after dinner, “sublime tobacco” to refresh
the memory, and just “a dash” of good old Scotch to lubricate the throat
and loosen the tongue.