Universally, Unequivocally the Best Day to Hunt Pheasants Is...

C'mon, this side of your state's pheasant hunting opener, does it get any better than hunting those Aves rainbows on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday (provided you have it off)?

Here's my Top 10 why these days tie as annually the best days to "carve" out a few hours afield between rides on the gravy boat.

10. Turkey Day. Hunt pheasants in the morning - it is a harvest celebration after all - eat like an Olympic athlete at the training table readying for Rio 2016 in the afternoon. If you have any shred of portion control, it can work the other way around...but that's a big "if."

9. Black Cloud Friday. Your competition for hunting spots has instantly been cut by 80 million people.

8. Pardon a Bird. If you miss a rooster, don't feel bad. Rather, feel presidential in the fact that you too have executive abilities.

7. Be Your Own Parade. Watch people watching helium filled balloons on TV, or climb your own altitude pheasant hunting...hmmm?

6. Motor City Kitties. Speaking of televised events, pheasant hunting seems like a far more productive endeavor when compared to watching the Detroit Lions play football.

4. Shoot On, Einstein. It's midseason. Theoretically, you should be in midseason form. Only one way to prove a theory...

3. Make a Wish. Go Martha Stewart with your morning bounty. Add pheasant to the menu. Perform the "lucky break" on a pheasant wishbone this year. And the long tail feathers of a rooster accentuate an autumnal cornucopia very nicely. It's a good thing.

2. Opportunity Knocks. Off day? Hunt every chance you get.

1. Create New Tradition. Dateline: Thanksgiving Day 2006. Just me and Dad's shorthair, Nicky, on a walk along the Lac qui Parle River at the family farm. The Nickster pointed two roosters, two birds in the vest – a limit. Then he pointed two more for good measure on the walk back. Dad snapped a few photos at the farmyard, and it felt like my first hunt all over again. I hope it feels like that again this weekend.