Get a dog. Maybe as much as half the time you will knock down a pheasant and cripple it. You won't get those birds without a dog. Pheasants run like the wind and can dematerialize almost instantly. I have seen roosters dang near outrun my lab when they were only operating on one good leg!

Pheasants are crafty birds. They will sit tight and let you walk right by within a couple of feet.

#5 or #6 shot 2.75" 12 gauge high velocity shells (1300 to 1550 fps) work best for me. If you don't have a pointer, stick with a modified barrel.

Skin them. If you don't have to transport them out of state and are only taking the dead birds from field to your house to process and eat, then go ahead and bone out the breasts, remove the thighs and drumsticks, soak overnight in salt water and then either freeze for a later day or go ahead and cook with Shake and Bake. Cut the breasts in half length ways before cooking them. If you are transporting the birds out of state/country, you will need to leave a foot or wing on as per the local regulations and you'll have to leave them whole dressed carcass. In other words, remove the guts rather than boning it.

Perhaps look on line for a Youtube video of someone dressing a pheasant or cutting up a chicken carcass. That might help you a lot. Or try to find a mentor to go with you who knows what he's doing. Maybe he will have a dog too.

I've hunted without a dog (better then sitting home) plenty of times, though having my lab was better in ways I begin can't count. If you live in an area with a good population of pheasants, you'll get birds, but you have to play smart. Hunt the edges as was already suggested, push toward a break in cover, stop often in an erratic way, work ditches and hedges with a pal when possible and keep quiet. They're going to hear you, but you want to bust the late sitters. Important: no long or crazy shots, no doubles, and no ground shots, you have to anchor the birds you do shoot. A trained dog is best, but I'll never rag on someone I don't know about why you shouldn't hunt if you don't have a dog. I don't know your life, I'm just glad you're hunting.

Scratch: I have tried cooking it various ways but have found that Shake and Bake parmesian or Italian version is the best. Mind you I'm generally not much of a chef unless it comes in a can or box. One thing about S&B: pretty hard to screw up and any idiot (myself included) can handle it. Don't neglect to soak them in saltwater overnight. Sure makes a difference in tenderness and moistness. And some of the older roosters can be pretty tough! I recently saw a cooking show tip on TV for doing the same thing with frozen turkeys. They actually had an electronic gizmo to measure the moisture content. Soaking improved moistness by more than thirty per cent.

Find out what good pheasant habitat looks like, and then scout. Always hunt the edge of the habitat. Hunt early in the morning (when legal) while the birds are still on roost. Start scouting in areas that have a patchy landscape with small grains and patches of weeds, grass and shrubs. And get a retriever.

I've hunted without a dog (better then sitting home) plenty of times, though having my lab was better in ways I begin can't count. If you live in an area with a good population of pheasants, you'll get birds, but you have to play smart. Hunt the edges as was already suggested, push toward a break in cover, stop often in an erratic way, work ditches and hedges with a pal when possible and keep quiet. They're going to hear you, but you want to bust the late sitters. Important: no long or crazy shots, no doubles, and no ground shots, you have to anchor the birds you do shoot. A trained dog is best, but I'll never rag on someone I don't know about why you shouldn't hunt if you don't have a dog. I don't know your life, I'm just glad you're hunting.