Waterfowl hunters know first-hand how tough it can be to watch a wounded bird struggle. We don’t always make perfect shots that immediately kill the birds we seek to harvest. Sometimes it takes your own two hands – or a specific tool – to finish off a bird.
Adrenal Line’s original The Finisher (above) is a metal tool designed to quickly put a bird down, reducing the suffering a harvested bird may experience. It’s primitive, but effective, efficient, and generally considered a humane method. To finish a crippled bird, insert the tool in the back of its skull to dispatch it once and for all (video demo here).
Every once in a while I’ll stumble across a homemade version when I’m on public land. Last year I found the one above, which certainly works, but not as well as The Finisher.
I’ve used The Finisher many times but never thought to own one until Adrenal Line’s newest version The Feathered Finisher (above) caught my eye.
Not only does it offer a unique look and, well, finish, it doubles as another wing shooter’s field necessity – a 12-gauge choke tube wrench.
Constructed of cast brass and coated with a dark brushed bronze finish, which also gives it its antique look, The Feathered Finisher is well made, free of burs and sharp edges that would otherwise pull threads on garments. It also has a satisfying weight to it.
I wanted my Feathered Finisher to live on my waterfowl call lanyard and lay a specific way that couldn’t be accomplished by using the provided split ring. So, I attempted to drill a small hole in it. I forgot how tough bronze-coated brass is! Nevertheless, I finally made it through and secured it to its new home.
Over the course of the past month I’ve tried the choke tube wrench feature on a variety of 12-gauge shotguns including models by Benelli, CZ USA, Stoeger, Winchester, Remington, and Beretta. While the tool fits some chokes slightly better than others, I had no trouble removing or screwing-in any factory or aftermarket choke tubes.
The bronzed feather’s full-curl provides one-finger operation, but also plenty of surface area and contour for those that just want to grab it.
Some may be wary of sticking a “pokey thing” down into the tube of their shotgun due to a perceived risk of scratching the inside of the barrel. Fortunately, there are three factors working in favor of The Feathered Finisher.
First, the length of the tool is such that it will remain within the confines of nearly all choke tubes – short to extended. So don’t worry about it scratching your scattergun; you’d be hard-pressed to actually contact your barrel with the tool.
Second, the tip of the instrument is nicely rounded, leaving little surface area and no sharp edges to contact the inside of the tube. And, finally, brass and bronze are considered soft metals, much lower on the hardness scale than gun barrel or choke tube steel. Anything that would appear to be a scratch in your choke tube is most likely just a removal of shotshell residue.
In past seasons, a choke tube wrench was always something I’d have to dig around in my bag to locate – often unsuccessfully – and often found rusty. The Feathered Finisher won’t rust, will hang off your waterfowl call lanyard or from a zipper pull on your jacket/waders for easy access, serves as a fail-proof 12-gauge choke tube wrench, will help you finish birds quickly, feels great in your hand, and looks slick as well! The Feathered Finisher is a great field tool for the avid waterfowler and would also make an excellent gift.
Specifications: Adrenal Line The Feathered Finisher
Price as reviewed: $24.98 MSRP
Ratings (out of five stars):
Quality: * * * * *
Don’t judge this field tool by its small size. Made of bronze-coated brass, The Feathered Finisher stands a great chance of outlasting your shotgun. It’s a well-made, sturdy instrument with a great-looking, smooth finish.
Features: * * * *
This tool has two main features – finishing crippled birds and wrenching choke tubes. It states that the choke tube feature is compatible with 12-gauge only. It would be excellent to see 20-gauge on there as well.
Effectiveness: * * * * *
It does the job on waterfowl, humanely putting them out of their misery. The Feathered Finisher’s choke tube wrench feature, meant to service most all tubes, undoubtedly fits some more snuggly than others. Even with a little wiggle room, this tool grabs the steel tube well and can help free or secure even gummed-up tubes without slipping.
Overall: * * * * *
Adrenal Line’s The Feathered Finisher field tool is a great-quality, multi-feature instrument that will quickly dispatch wounded birds and serve you very well when your 12-gauge choke tube needs attention, too. Reasonably priced and backed by a lifetime warranty and 100% money back guarantee, The Feathered Finisher may be the one and only choke tube wrench a waterfowler ever needs.
A special tool to finish off wounded birds? I don’t think so! A leather punch works just fine thanks. Nearly every Swiss Army knife has one as do many stockman’s knives and who doesn’t carry a knife hunting? Lately I have been using a Case Jr. Scout because the leather punch is perfect for poking the back of a wounded bird’s head as it tapers so that it creates a large wound. Plus the Scout model has a can and bottle opener which is handy.
There was a time that I just ripped the guts out of a wounded bird and fed them to my dog. However, two different veterinarians told me that was a bad since the intestines carry all sorts of nasty things that could be detrimental to the dog. I am not sure I buy that but decided to be safe. Besides my girlfriend being European, insists that the birds must be hung for at least 5 days with the guts in for flavor. Whatever.
I don’t like ringing the bird’s neck since it can result in an unintended beheading. Beating the bird’s head against a rock or the stock of the gun works sort of but just poking them in the back of the head is much easier and they don’t come back to life in your vest later.
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Amber-Scout-Pocket-Knife/dp/B00286WZMU/
I hate when they should be dead and then revive in your vest. Zombie birds is the worst.
That looks strangely out of place on an American camo-clad waterfowler. It seems like something a tweed-wearing, bespoke-shotgun toting, continental pheasant hunter would keep in his fitted vest pocket.
Way too classy and nice to see out in a marsh where the typical hunter has no issue with simply picking the bird up by it’s neck and giving it a hard twist.
🤠
“bird up by it’s neck and giving it a hard twist.”
On just eatin’ birds, that works fine. But it tends to tear out neck feathers and that’s a no go on birds I want to mount, especially flying mounts
Smart. I’ve always just used a #11 scalpel, but the additional utility of a choke wrench and something I can just hang off my calls lanyard is a great idea.
This would likely work on pheasant as well?
Great question, Tom! I emailed the CEO, who replied promptly. Here is the exchange:
Conner: “Have you tried either Finisher on upland birds? We had one commenter ask if it works for pheasant. I would think the Feathered is probably too big but the Original may work?”
Adrenal Line CEO, David Meastas: “Yes we have a staff member said it worked great but I’m not certain, the finisher works perfectly on small fowl as I’ve used it on dove plenty of times, largest bird we use the finisher on was a crane and the largest bird the feather was used on was a turkey.”
I’ve got the classic finisher on my call lanyard and it works wonders on anything from small teal to giant canadians. It got lots of use this year guiding friends and family around southern North Dakota.
How about 20 gauge? Are there similar protrusions closer to the “nib” that work as a 20 gauge choke tube wrench? Being able to use it for both your own and a friend’s shotgun in the popular calibers would be a big plus to adding another piece of kit to lug, even if it is just a couple ounces.
I agree, Andrew. 20-gauge compatibility would be an excellent next feature for the tool. Adrenal Line is currently planning to test The Feather for 20-gauge shotgun use. Once they confirm its viability (or not) they should send an update and I’ll be sure to post a comment.