Upcoming cold weather
- Thread starter nkhrfh
- Start date
benelli-banger
Well-known member
for me it is not the temp...it is the wind, and, the snow depth...having said that, I have never cancelled a December trip!!! I am leaving on the 14th. Birds will be bunched up a bit, roosting in thermal cover, and hanging around food sources...hunting should be really good!
Highvoltage
Active member
We will be heading there on the 14th also! It's not going to be that cold,just hope the wind isn't crazy.
Miforester
Well-known member
I'm going to pass on pheasant hunting this weekend.....and hopefully get the roof trusses and sheathing on the new garage at Chamberlain..
Nothing like setting trusses and laying down sheathing in cold windy weather, least the water and ice is easy to put down...lol
If it's windy it will be close to unhuntable next week. Highs in the single digits and any wind and snow will make it miserable...and it is almost always windy in SD. Maybe the birds will be stacked in small areas that you can hit quickly but it will be an all or nothing type of hunt.
I hope to get out for a short while on Saturday unless it is snowing too hard. Then I'll probably shut it down for at least a week.
My dog might hunt fine in sub 15 temps but I don't like it and it's tough on my lungs. I hope we have a bit of a warm up after that, I'm not ready to be done.
Tim
I hope to get out for a short while on Saturday unless it is snowing too hard. Then I'll probably shut it down for at least a week.
My dog might hunt fine in sub 15 temps but I don't like it and it's tough on my lungs. I hope we have a bit of a warm up after that, I'm not ready to be done.
Tim
It is also tough on the birds. If they are in survival mode, it is best to be leaving them alone.
:thumbsup:
That's a good thought. If someone is determined to hunt them in that kind of weather it is best to stop about an hour before sunset. That gives birds time to find a good roost for the night.
Tim
reddog
Well-known member
Just got back from Winner region. Arrived Sun afternoon, took off Wed am, cut 2 days off the trip due to weather. Mind you I am not opposed to hunting the extreme (from Northern MI) but conditions were tough...mainly for dogs. Ambient temp was 7-9* with winds 20-30MPH (per weather channel). Dogs were tracking birds but easy to loose scent trail, all was public hunting ground. Saw lots birds- Mon about 75-100, Tues 200+ but of course given time of year were getting up wild and then just cruising the wind.
Point to post is to anyone who is thinking of going in next week(ish?) may want to reconsider...
My brother and I had a good time (ie. the journey and not always the destination makes the memories) but you can only beat your head against the headboard so many times before even that gets old...
Best of luck to anyone going...
Point to post is to anyone who is thinking of going in next week(ish?) may want to reconsider...
My brother and I had a good time (ie. the journey and not always the destination makes the memories) but you can only beat your head against the headboard so many times before even that gets old...
Best of luck to anyone going...
benelli-banger
Well-known member
where I hunt there is no snow on the ground, the birds have had no difficulty accessing food. I don't think the birds are in "survival mode" at this point, at least where I hunt.
I am a little confused, I have been following on here how people have been spouting about the great numbers of birds they have on their private land or the land people pay them to hunt on. I have also read on here about people going out on walk in land and having their limits in just a short period of time.
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
I am a little confused, I have been following on here how people have been spouting about the great numbers of birds they have on their private land or the land people pay them to hunt on. I have also read on here about people going out on walk in land and having their limits in just a short period of time.
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
Go hunt some birds. You're not damaging anything.
reddog
Well-known member
Apologize if its pointed at me, and I will clarify..I am a little confused, I have been following on here how people have been spouting about the great numbers of birds they have on their private land or the land people pay them to hunt on. I have also read on here about people going out on walk in land and having their limits in just a short period of time.
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
I dont think the weather is going to be a factor. but if the one model that shows negative temps and 8 to 12 inches of snow, ( 3 models show 1-3 inches) its not the birds that you harvest, its the birds that you displace while harvesting that run the risk of not getting back to sufficient cover under those conditions. Go hunt, and have fun..
You raise a good point. When I talk about birds being in survival mode I am talking about sub zero weather with significant winds and enough snow to make feeding difficult. Pheasants can survive that but if you bust them out of there favorite shelter they then become easier prey for predators and also have find someplace else to survive in. We are not in that situation yet here but as I look at the extended forcast I think people should be aware of it. I have seen a situation where we were shooting birds that were leaving a shelterbelt and at the same time birds that had left a little earlier were flying back in as we were still shooting because there was no place else to go. That was years ago when we were talking about 500 birds in that shelter belt. With the bird numbers we have now I would not do that again. I guess I would call it managing the resource.I am a little confused, I have been following on here how people have been spouting about the great numbers of birds they have on their private land or the land people pay them to hunt on. I have also read on here about people going out on walk in land and having their limits in just a short period of time.
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
you'll be fine, its still early, now if the season was into january and they've been battling these conditions for a good 1.5 months then the stress may get to the hens, as for the roosters, you can take quite a few roosters out and not have any effect on the population according to PF;I am a little confused, I have been following on here how people have been spouting about the great numbers of birds they have on their private land or the land people pay them to hunt on. I have also read on here about people going out on walk in land and having their limits in just a short period of time.
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
as for myself, i cant wait until next thursday after work, looks like some fresh snow!!
I am a little confused, I have been following on here how people have been spouting about the great numbers of birds they have on their private land or the land people pay them to hunt on. I have also read on here about people going out on walk in land and having their limits in just a short period of time.
We have planned for a trip that will coincide with some snow fall and I am made to feel guilty going out and trying for mine and my wife's limits due too the cold and snow??
We only get to hunt South Dakota for 2 periods and pay a hefty price to come out and do so with licensing and lodging, how are the half dozen or so birds that I hope to take home with us going to damage the ecosystem over the 30 birds some have been on here saying they have got already or the 800 birds that people have taken from the pay to play places??
There is no problem with you hunting it is just that you should do it smart. If you bust a bunch of birds out of cover 10 minutes before sunset it's hard on them. Hunting from 10 until 4 is not nearly the issue.
I will say though that it will be miserable. It is a little different for locals because many hunts this time of year are short...if birds are shot or not. Is it worth travelling far for an hour of hunting each day?
I always recommend early to mid november trips to avoid this and hit the best weather and most crops out. I don't like hunting snow and cold that much. It's harder then most think. If I do go out this weekend I doubt I'll spend more then one and a half hours actually in the field...and those are the warmest days by far in the 10 day forecast.
Tim