Search results

Chestie, I agree. With the plethora of pheasant hunting operations and the pressure of nonresident hunters in South Dakota, particularly in the Winner-Chamberlain-Pierre-Aberdeen areas, it stands to reason that no wild population could be reliably sustainable year-in, year out without releasing...

Thanks to all who replied. UI would seem to be an acceptable hunt destination, but I would not likely be able to bring 3 to 5 hunters to the Inn, and the idea of hunting with large parties does not appeal to me. I would agree with gps4 on the dog issue, and hunting my own dog over wild/release...

My thoughts as well, but could be a time-saver. No way to ensure if birds are really wild till you hunt them. With lodging and good meals it could be worth it--but I suspicion you are right---probably some pen raised birds in there somewhere.

I keep getting pop-up ads on my computer for Upland Inn Hunts, out of Greensburg, Kansas. I've never hunted in Kansas and the daily fee, which appears to be all-inclusive,at $530/ day is not cheap. What attracts me is the "12,000 acres of CRP fields and "wild pheasants". I'd appreciate any...

The length of pull on my Merkel 1620 is 13.875" and it came to me new that way. I'm just 5'9" and do not have long arms. It fits me perfectly and I've shot a lot of birds with it. I can manage 14.25" just fine, as on my Browning 12 gauge 725 or my A5 Sweet 16. Longer than that, especially in the...

My gun club sells "range cards" to members, wherein for $50 you buy a 10 round card for skeet or trap. A good deal in these inflationary times, and yearly dues are only $45/year. I can usually buy shot from a couple different sources for $40-45 per 25# bag. Cheddite primers cost about $65 the...

Wind, I'd send you a pm but don't know how. In general, value depends greatly on condition--of bluing, stock, etc. Sweet 16's are more desirable than basic 16's. The Sweets had a gold trigger. Again in general, original condition is higher value than one with modified or after-market...

Mercy, Labra! What a pessimist you are, on this last day of 2023! Until that time when Man will not own guns, I have a few reflections on the ones I own: I have always loved (lusted!)after Browning shotguns. Consequently I have several: A new(er) A5 Sweet 16, with which I shot a number of...

I have a 16 gauge Sweet 16 from the 1960's with a 28"barrel, fixed Mod choke, round knob with Vent rib. I just weighed it and at a weight of an even 7 pounds, I can assure you that such a gun DOES NOT weigh 10 pounds--not even close. If you want to do disservice to the Sweet 16, don't use the...

I just marvel at the BS on this forum. Some of you guys are on here all the time with unassailable opinions on dogs, guns, chokes, loads, hunting styles etc....so often, in fact, that I wonder how you find the time to hunt and get all this field experience you're always ragging about! Any...

Last weekend my son and I hunted in Illinois, maybe 40 miles straight west of you. The cover on this private land basically consists of deep, overgrown drainage ditches bordered by continuous filter strips. There were cattails in sections of the ditches which provided good cover for the birds...

It IS harder, for me at least, to shoot a straight-stocked, 24" barreled shotgun. But I would agree with earlier posters... it would make a swell grouse/woodcock shotgun, and the estimate of $3,500 I think is real close to the mark. Good luck!

My son and I did pretty well on public land a bit SW of Okoboji...lots of wetlands and walk-in tracts in NW Iowa. Trouble is, it takes time to sort them out. Look for small tracts where you can corner the birds. Hope you have a good dog---and bring some non-toxic loads. Good luck!

Gimi--You're splitting hairs again, as usual. No matter how the bird is "acquired" (dog caught it, hunter/dog found it dead, hunter shot it by accident or whatever), it's obvious that the real question becomes "what does the ethical hunter do with it?"As expressed above, there are various...

Of all the time-wasting, superfluous, inane "moralistic" threads I've seen on here, this one has to take the chew-face cake Sometimes, shooting a hen happens, and when it does, just like the shotguns we shoot, the loads we use or the dogs we run to retrieve the unfortunate hen, what we do is our...

The "why", as you put it, can be for a number of reasons: foot position, not getting down on the gun (your eyes are your rear sight on a shotgun), aiming instead of pointing, not focusing on the target, mind games. As mentioned above--I like the idea of just telling the shooter "it's really hard...

There is no such thing as perfect lead. A great way to practice for pheasants, quail, etc. is to shoot skeet. The crossing shots are especially instructive; I find it very hard to shoot too far in front if I keep swinging my gun. What often happens with new shooters is, yes, they pull way out in...

The best pheasant hunting set up I ever experienced---and this occurred every year from 2003-2014, was in central South Dakota. The "outfitter" had a modest 2-story home in a small SD farm town. He had a husband/wife cooking-cleaning team and they prepared wonderful (no exaggeration!) meals...

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, please keep them coming. There appears to be a good amount of public land in the area west of Watertown and I'll be trying some of that. I have a young (3 year old yellow Lab) dog who seems to have a nose for the birds, so hope we find some.

Planning a hunt just west of there in early November, just wondering how this summer has treated the birds. Adequate rainfall, decent hatch, good insect numbers, etc.? Any first hand information greatly appreciated, thanks.