Struggling

J

JoshinMN

New member
Looking for advice , guidance, anything to advance my skill set. I am a noob and a half and I have 2 weeks to take off before end of year. I plan on splitting that between pheasants and grouse and want to actually have a clue.

Little about me: new pheasant hunter a little over 40, been hunting for last 3 years with only 1 rooster in that time. With only 1 bird i have got hooked last year and got my first gun dog (LAB). She is a little under 1 year old and she has been flushing grouse/woodcock like crazy. She is doing much better than I ever expected and I now have a desire get better. I have been hunting every weekend since MN grouse opener. I love to watch her hunt/work and she improves weekly.

I learn by watching and trying to mimic what I see. For grouse I see the YouTube videos and locate the same cover and have been finding birds that way.
For pheasants I have had next to zero success the last 3 years. I don’t know where to start other than tall grass next to swaps and corn/beans near that have been harvested.

Problem: Not sure what I am doing right or wrong, and don't want to waste another season with only flushing 5 birds. I hunt 80% solo 20 % with 3 of us.


1. Hunters everywhere
a. How do I find locations without much pressure on weekends?
b. I tend to do walk in access and WMA
2. If everywhere I look has hunters what areas should I try to hunt? Different times of day do you have different areas?
a. Cat tails late season what about early?
b. Morning?
c. afternoon?
d. Night?
3. What do they eat if corn/beans are not nearby?
a. Cow pastures?
b. Hay fields?


Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
 
Some of the recent messages on this site may give you some guidance...

Where have you spent most of your hunting time? South, SE, West? Have you reviewed the MN DNR report? Generally., most public hunting close to metro areas will be crowded. And with crops still unharvested, there's lots of hiding places.

One fellow on this site drove 750 miles scouting for birds and it appears it payed off...apparently there's no magic, just lots of investigating.
 
I have had decent luck getting to spots early in the morning before sunrise, and listening for birds getting / cackling taking off to go feed . Same with late in the day , coming into roost . Roosting cover is usually dense taller grass might be cattails for you .

You might look toward areas managed for waterfowl that have uplands around them , might be better or less hunted as some of your WMA .

Look for hard to access areas and walk way back in , often you are rewarded with a flush . Like was said above get away from large Metro areas and numbers / acces should go up .

Maybe Join a Pheasants forever chapter and volunteer for habitat projects / doors will eventually start opening but it's work , worth doing though . Let me know how you come out .
 
JoshinMN said:
Looking for advice , guidance, anything to advance my skill set. I am a noob and a half and I have 2 weeks to take off before end of year. I plan on splitting that between pheasants and grouse and want to actually have a clue.

Little about me: new pheasant hunter a little over 40, been hunting for last 3 years with only 1 rooster in that time. With only 1 bird i have got hooked last year and got my first gun dog (LAB). She is a little under 1 year old and she has been flushing grouse/woodcock like crazy. She is doing much better than I ever expected and I now have a desire get better. I have been hunting every weekend since MN grouse opener. I love to watch her hunt/work and she improves weekly.

I learn by watching and trying to mimic what I see. For grouse I see the YouTube videos and locate the same cover and have been finding birds that way.
For pheasants I have had next to zero success the last 3 years. I donÂ’t know where to start other than tall grass next to swaps and corn/beans near that have been harvested.

Problem: Not sure what I am doing right or wrong, and don't want to waste another season with only flushing 5 birds. I hunt 80% solo 20 % with 3 of us.


1. Hunters everywhere
a. How do I find locations without much pressure on weekends?
b. I tend to do walk in access and WMA
2. If everywhere I look has hunters what areas should I try to hunt? Different times of day do you have different areas?
a. Cat tails late season what about early?
b. Morning?
c. afternoon?
d. Night?
3. What do they eat if corn/beans are not nearby?
a. Cow pastures?
b. Hay fields?


Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
Click to expand...

in my experience, your going to find less pressure the later into the season it gets. by late november into December you are only left with your more die hard pheasant guys who really enjoy getting out and dont mind battling some of the elements, such as ice, wind, snow, etc. Right now you have your posers who hunt the opener, maybe once more and call it a year because they dont enjoy or have the passion as much. Some guys plan their SD trips further into the season and it can lighten up the activity on MN grounds. If you can get out on weekdays that is your best bet. Also, start knocking on doors asking for permission, then you're really starting to get somewhere. private ground, not worried about other hunters, less trampled ground. Have a smile on your face, get to know them, tell them you have a new young dog your looking to get some action for, whatever you gotta do to get the all important "YES". You will get some NOs too but then you can weed those places out and move on. The places i thought I'd have no chance knocking and getting permission have become some of my best producing pheasant spots to date, have also turned those into important friendships who expect to see me back every year. The fact that you hunt alone majority of the time increases your chances of getting permission a ton. Landowners are more like to say yes when it is only you compared to a group of hunters. Bring a bottle of wine or two along to stop back and give as a gift for appreciation after you pop a rooster or two. Beer sticks, summer sausage, etc. The $10 can go a long way.

What region are you hunting??? 5 birds flushed in one year is very low, you should be able to do that without even trying. Get out early sun up, drive around do some scouting. Sit an listen for cackles while you wait for 9am. Early season look for cover close to recent harvested fields or still standing crops, however guys on here have talked about success in grass early season with no corn in sight too, so they can be anywhere. Early season catch em morning and evening before sunset roosting in grass. Cattails are great but you probably wont have much luck getting into those until late season when frozen. Birds no longer have corn to hide in and resort to cattails and thickets for cover.

Cow pastures and hay fields i havent ever had much luck. The cover is not ideal and birds will not hunker where they dont feel safe. These places are usually cut or trampled into much of nothing.

Good luck!
 
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Concentrate on hunting mornings or evenings for your best luck, if your just by yourself hunt field edges by crops or if you see nice looking cover off in the distance don't be afraid to make the hike to hunt it. Like others have said the first 2-3 weeks of the season are usually busy and after that it starts to die down with deer hunting starting and other states opening their seasons. Don't be afraid to get up early and put some miles on to get to good populations of birds. Not sure where you are located but SW & W MN are going to be your best bets. The group I hunt with we tend to hunt within 30-45 mins of the MN/SD border. Where in MN are you hunting? As soon as the crops start to coming out birds will be a little easier to find but by this time they have been hunted enough and know the sound of a car door or a dog whistle so try to be as quiet as possible, this will also help in harvesting more birds. All I can say is don't get down on yourself for not shooting birds, we all have those days and you and your dog will only get better at it the more you do it so keep at it! This forum is great for advice and questions and all of us have been in your shoes so keep at it!
 
Some solid advice from good hunters on this site. I agree listening for roosters at dawn can give you a good idea where to hunt. Hunting ducks early in the morning and hearing those roosters has really helped me locate some hots spots over the years. And hunting public land can be tough, but the more you learn the easier it gets. Finding those out-of-the-way forgotten corners, or hidden hard to get to access points can make all the difference in number of birds flushed. As I mentioned in another thread, one of my best early season tricks is to avoid corn all together, if possible. But by all means, hunt near corn, beans, and adjacent cattails/willow thickets exclusively later in the season, especially in cold weather and when the snow and ice come. If you get to know your hunting area well finding solitude is always possible - at least in western MN where's there's a ton of public land as well as landowners who will grant permission - just avoid the deer season. So early in the season I often walk as far from roads and access points as I can, often leaving all cropland far in the distance. I'm never surprised anymore when I find birds way out seemingly in the middle of nowhere, especially if there's sweet clover, ragweed, wild sunflowers, or woody thickets with wild grapes, European Buckthorn, or wild plum. I always check the crops of these "no corn or beans" roosters and have found them to utilize all of these wild foods and more, including plenty of grasshoppers. In fact in dry years with lots of hoppers I've even found roosters gorging on them well into November on warm days. I've also found some birds eating really odd foods over the years - like flocks of birds tearing into muskrats houses and scratching out snails, as well as some sort of tubers being dug up in the moist soil on the edge of a creek. Granted these birds are spread out and not nearly as concentrated as birds near crop fields tend to be, but I've still shot plenty of doubles way out yonder. You might run into a brood or two of young birds still hanging together early in the season and get multiple flushes - but for the most part it's a singles game with lots of walking between flushes. And that's just fine. Having miles of cover to tramp with my lab and no other hunters in sight is what's its all about for me. I could never hunt those horror story public areas that seem to attract the never ending stream of metro-hunters. I suggest taking off for a full week or more in October every season and picking an area with good habitat year after year, preferably western MN -- an area no larger than, say, 100-400 square miles. Camp out if possible, do lots of scouting, maybe duck hunt a good marsh in the mornings while listening for crowing. Start small and work your way out exploring more and more each season. Get as familiar with "your" area as you can. Burn up a good set of tires - then wear out a good pair of boots. Getting intimately familiar with one hunting area, the habits of it's pheasants and other creatures, including other human creatures who hunt there, and how to avoid them - is extremely satisfying, especially when you begin to consistently flush and shoot birds year after year, no matter what DNR counts look like. Get to know some of the local land owners and you will find even more options for solitude and success. You'll eventually learn when to hunt near corn or beans, when not to, when to hunt the private land, where the most productive cover is, which public spots are best, when to be there, and when not to. And as far as hunting alone with your dog - learn to hunt as quietly as possible. No slamming doors, no yelling at the dog, train him early on with an e-collar, condition him with beeper to get his attention, and use it to keep him in constant silent contact with you using nothing but quiet beeps and hand signals. And never, ever use one of those blasted dog whistles - pheasants get conditioned to them and all human noises in a hurry, even lightly pressured birds. Even the act of decelerating your vehicle at the wrong time or in the wrong spot can send birds running or flying. Good luck and keep at it - it's definitely a passion worth pursuing, and like anything worth while, there is a learning curve to be followed.
 
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Thank you all for the replies!
I plan on hunting 30 days this season, or until the other half gets sick of me being gone every weekend.


I hunted all over, last year i hunted: Marshall 3 times, Mankato 5 or 6 times, Le Sueur twice, Anoka county 4 or 5 times (i live here and do fast trips). Typically, i walk the edges of whatever i am hunting that day. 10-15 yards in i guess? I only have tried morning, early afternoon hunts. 9-2ish
.
I don’t have the time to physically drive around before the season but I do Escout the maps from the DNR but that only gives areas to try to find birds. And either I am very unlucky or I am doing something wrong, I was not seeing birds the last couple of years.
I have not tried the waterfowl areas, I will consider checking those. I am not the most outgoing person and walking up to strangers has been hard. I was able to get permission last year from 1 of the 2 I asked. No birds found though

Again, amateur so please excuse my ignorance. I have only hunting deer and you just sit there or drive a field pushing whatever out to people waiting on other side.
What I plan to do with the dog is walking the edges of whatever i am hunting that day. 10-15 yards in and if I see any sort of structure I walk around that. Is that a good plan?
Do you walk and stop like you do for grouse? Or do you just walk until you reach the end while walking into the wind pushing bird until it will fly?
On a square piece of land do you walk all around outside? Then go to the creek or walk the edges of the water? If there is some?
 
Lots of excellent info already offered in this thread!

I would avoid: Anoka County, Mankato, and Le suer - not in the best areas. Hunting around Marshall should be productive, although you'll share hunting sites with lots of others.

If you look at the MNDNR map, the counties that border SD appear to be good - but far from Anoka. You could do an overnight at one of the far western towns and do fairly well.

Just a thought...
 
Lots of good advice here. Once roosters are educated (which only takes one cold, wet nose under their tailfeathers), if they don't change the places they hang out, they at least change their behavior, while becoming extremely wary. If you're hunting an area you think has been hunted previously (and I mean this year, regardless of whether it was today, last week, or whenever), take a minute to think, "How do most people who don't know what they're doing hunt this spot? What's the easiest?" Then do it backward. This usually takes more effort, but so what. Try to show the pheasants an approach they haven't seen before. And if possible, into the wind. My experience has been that my dog smells birds whether he's hunting into or with the wind. But pheasants have great ears. They won't hear you coming as soon if you hunt into the wind, giving them less time to evade you. They're just like walleyes, women, or anything else. Once you think you have them figured out, they find a new way to mess with you. Have fun!
 
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There is a learning curve as to where to locate birds at any given part of the day and also as early season passes onto mid season and finally to late season. Much of this will be thru shear experience. Keep a log of sightings. What time of day, type of cover etc.

There's a great book that is geared for beginners but a good read for anyone about the in's and outs of hunting Ringnecks. Written by Steve Grooms some years ago but still a good read on the subject from a certified Pheasant hunting fanatic.

"Modern Pheasant Hunting".

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Pheasant-Hunting-Steve-Grooms/dp/0811732274
 
JoshinMN said:
Typically, i walk the edges of whatever i am hunting that day. 10-15 yards in i guess? I only have tried morning, early afternoon hunts. 9-2ish
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose the first thing I would tell you is to adjust your schedule and tell momma you are gonna miss supper bud.... Give up the morning hunt if you have to, in order to hunt what people call "the golden hour" for a reason (last hour of legal shooting) - Its when all the birds that you are walking by in the corn, come back to the grass where you have a punchers chance at em.

You are doing everything else fine... as far as where to hunt??? Follow your dog
 
When surveying public lands, I often will park away from the parking area after checking occupancy first... those birds quickly get wise to the truck pulling up to the parking area and those orange people and their barky friends all starting from the same place. Follow the dog, not the trail...
 
JoshinMN said:
Thank you all for the replies!
I plan on hunting 30 days this season, or until the other half gets sick of me being gone every weekend.


I hunted all over, last year i hunted: Marshall 3 times, Mankato 5 or 6 times, Le Sueur twice, Anoka county 4 or 5 times (i live here and do fast trips). Typically, i walk the edges of whatever i am hunting that day. 10-15 yards in i guess? I only have tried morning, early afternoon hunts. 9-2ish
.
I don’t have the time to physically drive around before the season but I do Escout the maps from the DNR but that only gives areas to try to find birds. And either I am very unlucky or I am doing something wrong, I was not seeing birds the last couple of years.
I have not tried the waterfowl areas, I will consider checking those. I am not the most outgoing person and walking up to strangers has been hard. I was able to get permission last year from 1 of the 2 I asked. No birds found though

Again, amateur so please excuse my ignorance. I have only hunting deer and you just sit there or drive a field pushing whatever out to people waiting on other side.
What I plan to do with the dog is walking the edges of whatever i am hunting that day. 10-15 yards in and if I see any sort of structure I walk around that. Is that a good plan?
Do you walk and stop like you do for grouse? Or do you just walk until you reach the end while walking into the wind pushing bird until it will fly?
On a square piece of land do you walk all around outside? Then go to the creek or walk the edges of the water? If there is some?
Click to expand...

Walking the edges of big fields is usually the only productive way to approach; you have a block on one side, although the birds can/will dive into the deeper cover vs flying.

Another post suggested 30-40 minutes of the SD border - good advice, as it's a long way from the Twin Cities and probably not as heavily hunted. It appears most of the border counties in MN have fair bird populations.

Let us know how you are doing, OK?
 
birdshooter said:
There is a learning curve as to where to locate birds at any given part of the day and also as early season passes onto mid season and finally to late season. Much of this will be thru shear experience. Keep a log of sightings. What time of day, type of cover etc.

There's a great book that is geared for beginners but a good read for anyone about the in's and outs of hunting Ringnecks. Written by Steve Grooms some years ago but still a good read on the subject from a certified Pheasant hunting fanatic.

"Modern Pheasant Hunting".

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Pheasant-Hunting-Steve-Grooms/dp/0811732274
Click to expand...

Thanks, i will pick this up.
 
I will have to try hunting early evening this weekend, see how that works.

I will keep walking and following the dogs nose!
 
Look like you are very po, drive an old suv beater.dont look like a hunter, don't wear blaze orange. Ask permission to hunt, don't take other people with you, and don't talk about hunting spots with anybody.Wear a farm hat, and say you grew up farming, on a poor wheat farm. Tell them you had nothing.Look Orville hicks rushed,ndo wate, always look for water.listen to what these high brow typed have to say, but don't tell them anything.Look for thick brush, and water.You don't need to go early, go to the bars, look for country type so on bs. wIth
 
Hunt any and all types of public land, WPA's are generally great for pheasants. I do most of my hunting in South Central MN and while it is not like SW MN, there are still birds to be had. It may be a full day of work to hopefully see a few, but they are there. Try to hunt differently than somebody else- the birds are smart and know how to escape. You are entering into their house- they know it better than you, so you need to sneak up on them. Hunt from the opposite direction that you think most others would. Don't just walk a straight line, try zig-zag. Hunt smaller pieces of public land, something with an edge or boundary that will make the birds flush eventually- large pieces of land, they could just circle back around you and you never know they are there. Be quiet when you park, enter the field, try not yelling at the dog. Hunt the evening if possible and you are pressed on time. Be efficient with your time, plan out your walk to where you can have either a cross wind or headwind for the majority of your hunt and the wind at your back for the least of it.

All that said, just get out and hunt when you can. I've hunted 6.5 hours so far this year and have seen only 4 hens and no roosters.
 
Hunted both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday with a group of 3 and the wind was very strong and we did have 2 flushes. First one was a group of 3, 2 hens and 1 rooster. Only problem is the dog got on scent and took off like a bat out of hell at them. They flushed 100 yards away...(first time she has ever ran so hard without stopping when i blew the whistle). I took off running after but could not get a shot off.
2nd flush i should of had the rooster but the wind was tricky and i cleanly missed.

Sunday, i hunting for 4 hours solo and not a flush. I was taking it easy as we hunted the day before and did not want to over do it with the dog. Heard rooster crackling at dusk in the corn fields but none wanted to come out and play.

On Sunday i drove all over scouting. during the day, Looking for new places to hunt and watching for birds. I checked out WIA ,DU places and WMA. Made notes on ones to check later and ones to skip.
 
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Well…..at least you saw a few birds. I have no idea where in MN, when, or how you’re hunting, but as we all know, you can’t make birds materialize when they don’t exist to begin with. How sure are you there are huntable numbers in the areas you hunt? Just curious.

One mistake I see a lot of people make around here is hunting cover that’s too thick, especially this time of year when the weather’s pretty decent. When it’s sunny & 50+, pheasants don’t want or need really thick cover most of the time, unless they’re roosting. Find somewhat lighter cover next to standing corn (given the choice, they’ll usually choose corn over beans) & hunt the edges from 3 to 1.5 hours before sunset. This is when they’re making their way back to the corn for dinner. If there’s a little slough nearby, hunt around the edge of it. Then walk to the middle of your field to a spot that gives you a vantage point of the corn, take a break for a while, & watch. If you see birds fly out of the corn in that last hour, go hunt them, quietly, into the breeze. If you don’t see many fly, they’re either walking back into the cover, or they’ve chosen to stay in the corn until after sunset. If you think they’re walking back to cover, hunt the edge again in the last 45 minutes, but stay off the fence a ways, maybe as much as 50 yards. Zig-zag your course.

Also, I see a lot of people out wandering aimlessly through vast oceans of grass, needle-in-a-haystack hunting. You have to hunt structure. Pheasants are a lot like walleyes. When they’re not roosting, they’ll relate to changes in habitat - a boundary between cover & food, the edge of a slough, a tree line, the downwind side of a shelterbelt on a windy day, a pocket of another type of grass within the main field, etc.

Since you’re seeing relatively few birds (& assuming there are some in the area), do you think the ones you’ve seen have been pure luck, or is your dog actively hunting them? If you think your dog may not quite have the idea, maybe a trip or 2 to a preserve would help clue him/her in. Hunting a lot & getting a dog on birds is paramount to having a decent dog. And any more, a decent dog is paramount to successful pheasant hunting.

Hope you start having some success!! (Once the crops are out & snow starts to fall, the rules are going to change.) ;)
 
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