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I've done that several times too. You think its safe and you end up going through up to your knee, waist, or worse. Ruins the day pretty quick. I learned my lesson on that one. I stay out of there until they are frozen solid now like concrete (which they are now). In recent years though, it...

Must be an age thing. I'm sure it'll happen to me at some point in 15 years. Maybe walk slower, take more frequent breaks, and don't try to hunt all day long. Pushing yourself at an older age or when you aren't in decent shape seems like a recipe for disaster.

Stay home and go another day

I agree with that. If a ditch looks good, hunt it. If it looks bad, but you have to walk the road anyways, hunt it. What I don't agree with is hunting one right next to even a relatively busy road that risks losing a dog, or driving 3 states away just to ditch hunt. And I think you...

The thread you referenced above is about someone driving from Canada to Iowa to pheasant hunt. No one in their sane mind would go that far specifically to ditch hunt. Ever. Not even a teenager without a dog. And if they are, I'd question their mental capacity for taking on such a foolish...

I took one of my Father's friends with today. He's been asking me to come with for a while now. It was a tremendous hunt. Only took us about 2 hours at 2.5 spots. The second spot was loaded. It held 26 pheasants and I folded up 4 roosters there.

June is the critical time period. Unfortunately June was like a monsoon last year here in many parts of the state. I posted this earlier during deer season, but the wildlife where I hunt exploded to levels I've not seen in nearly 25 years and I'm fully convinced it was due to the fake winter...

Any snow we get this week is gonna melt. The forecast for the week of Christmas is looking quite warm.

Depends on if there's a crusty top layer to the snow or not. If its all fluff, there's no issue. If we get a good snow, and it partially melts, and re-freezes (or if there's a layer of freezing rain on the top), then it can cause issues with the dogs. In those cases, the birds are going to...

Although I do agree that roosters are generally hardier than hens, and hens are what keep the population going, there is no data out there showing roosters are in direct competition with hens for the survival of the species. We as hunters try to make that the case because we want to justify...

I've thought about this more than once in the past. Most recently, in December 2022 when we had FEET of snow on the ground the last few weeks of the season. Trudging through knee deep snow saps my energy quick. Luckily that doesn't appear to be the case until our season ends in MN on Jan 1...

That experience alone would make me never hunt near a road again.

I highly doubt it was a failure solely due to cold weather.

Lots to dissect here on the road/ditch hunting thing. I'll refrain from commenting on the legality and ethics of that since I rarely do it. If I was driving from Canada, I'd skip the road/ditch hunting thing. Not that I don't think its legal, but driving from so far away to walk on a road and...

I went yesterday afternoon for about 3 hours. It was -1 when I started and a balmy 3 degrees when I finished. But there was no wind and it was bright sun. My hot streak is over. I missed two roosters and one was a real layup too. I was able to harvest one though, so I didn't come home empty...

I was out yesterday in near 0 degrees for a few hours (it was -1 when I started and 3 when I finished). I have no issues with the windstoppers I posted above in these temps. My dog performs well in cold weather too. Warm weather can just go away during hunting season.

That occured on the very last day of the season with me last year. It flew about that distance after I shot at it, made a big U turn, and then dropped like a stone out of the sky on an open field. My friend and I both watched it occur. I've also had it happen with a wood duck about 15 years...

I agree. That's why I use the ones with a specialized trigger finger above. The reason mittens are always warmer is because your fingers are together, as opposed to completely separated.

All of the roosters I have harvested this season have been first year birds, except one. I make a point of glancing at the spurs on each of them. This seems pretty normal to me. The area I hunt was projected to be up 70% (central MN) from last year so the majority are naturally going to be...

Turkeys are about as tough as a bird comes. They are a modern day velociraptor. You need raw power to shoot one and you have to aim for the head/neck. If you shoot their body, the BBs bounce off like they're hitting armor lol