Early season plans

jeffstally

jeffstally

Member
Do you have any plans for an early season hunt?

I am thinking about trying to make a trip somewhere to hunt sharpies and huns in mid September to tune the dogs up a bit.
 
Dove

Kansas dove Sept. 1.
 
jeffstally said:
Do you have any plans for an early season hunt?

I am thinking about trying to make a trip somewhere to hunt sharpies and huns in mid September to tune the dogs up a bit.
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Eastern Montana would normally be the spot for huns and sharpies in mid September but they had a terrible winter and lost a lot of birds. I talked to a guy at one of our NSTRA trials this spring that lives in eastern Montana. I asked him about coming out this fall for huns & sharpies. He said I best wait a least a year to see if the numbers come back as he felt they were going to be way down this year. I suppose Montana does some kind of survey of bird numbers so maybe when that info is available maybe that will shed more light on it. Otherwide you could try SD or ND. Not many huns left in SD but there are sharpies.
 
DZ, Around the middle of August you will be able to get a county by county estimation of game populations in MT. Order the Block Management booklets for all regions.

I'm going to spend a week in MT mid Sept. I expect to do OK on Sharptails and mountain grouse. Don't expect to come across many Huns.
Those Sharpies will fly many a mile to food and better weather conditions, have evolved quite well in their environment. Certainly not going to be easy. We'll see.:)
 
Keep us posted upon your return. I won't make it out there this year anyway. I have a NSTRA trial on Sept. 17-18 and then I'm moving to Watertown on Sept. 28-29. Going to be busy the next two months but had to get the move done before the hunting season began! :)
 
I'll be hunting Ruff Grouse and ducks in northern Minnesota
 
Doves Sept 1, then our early mtn quail season opens second weekend of Sept. Me and the dogs can't wait!
 
jeffstally said:
Are the ticks bad by you early season OP? I hunted grouse around Mille Lacs early season last year and I pulled at least 200 ticks off me and the dog.
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Yes they are. I plan to put a plan together to try and limt them as much as possible. Repel makes a new gear safe tick spray. I may use some of that on my pants. i have to talk to my vet about my best approach on my dogs would be. I'm not going to let these SOB's stop me and my dogs from enjoying the best time of the year.

OP
 
OP?

When you come up with it, will you please post the best way you figure out?

I have a friend up north in Wisconsin who is nagging me to come up for grouse, but the "200" ticks number is one they've encountered many days up there.

Last email I got was the dog was down with "tick" illness, but not specific. I do know they go the limit on protecting the dog. Maybe it is just an over-whelming number of ticks.

Thank you.
 
Hoping for a morn/aft or two of dove around opener, maybe same for mid-Sept teal & possibly a day or two chasing mtn grouse (blue, sharpies and/or sage) - would love to add a day or two in search of either band-tail pigeon or my first ptarmigan...

BUT alas, all decent bird hunting is several hrs away from me (with the exception of marginal dove, ptarmigan & blue grouse possibly only an hr in differing directions) + now I have a huge conflict-of-interest with these d@#! Sept-only archery deer & elk tags! :D
 
onpoint said:
Yes they are. I plan to put a plan together to try and limt them as much as possible. Repel makes a new gear safe tick spray. I may use some of that on my pants. i have to talk to my vet about my best approach on my dogs would be. I'm not going to let these SOB's stop me and my dogs from enjoying the best time of the year.

OP
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I had my dogs vaccinated, then a dose of Frontline early Spring and another dose of Frontline mid July, had very little problem with tics on the dogs.

Now, if they could come up with human prevention.

The good news.:) I recently have seen two batches 8-10 half grown ruffs on the ranch.
 
As much as I like to hunt, I no longer do doves in AZ-too darn hot! But I will get out for quail in Nov/Dec. (Oct. is for squirrels & rabbits with my grandson and a good friend).
 
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