Hunting with temps around 70 is just freakin hard on a dog… do all you can for hydration and conditioning but at the end of the day weather is everything. I live and hunt in the desert and if my dogs hunt 3 hard days in a row in those temps they are shot and deserve a break! Nothing to be ashamed of, we all push hard on road trips to maximize time.
6-8 is about the age I've noticed aspirin starts to be helpful. 60-70 degrees is really warm for pheasant hunting as far as dogs are concerned, especially if it's sunny & a dog is dark colored. Coat color makes a significant difference. They just need tons of water in those temps. If I'm going to be away from the truck more than about an hour or so in warm/hot weather like that, I try to make a point to hunt near water, so puppy can run in & cool off if needed. A brief dip in a slough rejuvenates them in a hurry, so sometimes I make him cool off a little even if he thinks he'd rather hunt. I hunt basically Saturday & Sunday each week for almost 4 months. It takes my dog maybe 4 weekends to truly get into hunting form, and by then the temps typically start to decrease pretty good. I just have no idea what it would take for him to start on day 1 of the season in peak form. Hunting is way more demanding (for my dog anyway) than any other form of exertion.
When we started going to SD it was very challenging getting dogs into shape because of the heat at home and runs need to be short. Now I'm fortunate and live on acreage so my dogs run a lot compared to most as they're just out a big percentage of the time but I have to take advantage of first light to put an hr a day on them hopefully a month out at least to heading north. Only good thing is they're in great shape by the time Kansas starts. One of my good hunting buddies works a ton and doesn't have the time or space to work his dog like he'd like im sure and it really shows a couple days into a hunt. I think our dogs are a lot like us fellas and maybe aren't in quite as good as shape as we'd like to think.
Haha. I like to think that my dog is in similar shape as I am. That's why I call it quits after a few hours!
Oh those preseason runs are for me as well! That thick stuff seems thicker these days for sure and the high doses of steak and bourbon at night don't shake off the soreness like it used to either.
I would never do any upland hunting with the temps in 70's, matter of fact when it starts creeping in the upper 50's towards 60 I quit. I just hunt the morning when the temps are going to be like that. Any dog would gas in those temps, and no supplement is going to make a difference. Dove, duck hunting in those temps is fine, but I don't care to chase pheasants with my dogs when it's warm.
Is there still chicken in Kansas? I've been wanting to do that my whole life(Dad always talks about there being TONS of them by Yates center). I was planning on getting out your way this year and giving it a go.
Me neither. That is partially why I don't even start hunting until mid November here in MN even though the season starts a month earlier. Not to mention there's still a sea of corn out there too. I've lobbied our DNR to make a season adjustment for several years here too. Instead of starting in mid October and ending around Jan 1, it should start about 2 weeks later and finish towards the middle of January. I'd much rather hunt in January when its 20 degrees out than in October when its 70. The climate has changed and the seasons should be changed too. I'm not saying to extend the season by another 2 weeks here, just adjust it to start and finish later, which would also more closely follow the crop harvest too.
Haven't seen any around the Salina area for years. Last one about 5 years ago dead along the road. In the 90s it was common to kill the triple crown. I don't see it happening again at least in that area.
We're probably just gonna make a long drive and a longer armed walk. But it will be worth it
Early in the year it’s about 50 percent whether you’ll kill a chicken or not. After that for me anyway it goes downhill.Most days you will see a few even if blown or no shots .Guys with good chicken dogs take them all season. My three days I took home chickens last year. An evening and following morning hunt. And another morning hunt a couple weeks later.
If you kill some here's a recipe. Soak a cherry or apple board in water for a couple days. Marinate birds in soy sauce or your favorite marinade overnight. Wrap birds in bacon and surround with onions. Place birds on wet wood and bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove from oven give them to the dogs and eat the board!!We're probably just gonna make a long drive and a longer armed walk. But it will be worth it
Sounds like a classic recipe. I’ll write that down!If you kill some here's a recipe. Soak a cherry or apple board in water for a couple days. Marinate birds in soy sauce or your favorite marinade overnight. Wrap birds in bacon and surround with onions. Place birds on wet wood and bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove from oven give them to the dogs and eat the board!!