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I'll be going, and taking my wife ; we already have our hotel reservations in Council Bluffs. She really enjoys the dog parade and cooking demonstrations and I love it all. This will be the fourth Fest we've attended.

As some have stated, a significant factor in deciding gauge and choke is pattern density. I've killed quite a few wild pheasants here at home with a 20 gauge, 1 ounce of #5 or #6 with IC/mod chokes. I had flushing dogs and the birds, many at that time, got up relatively close. The 20 is not my...

I've got a 1973 Belgian Sweet 16 in IC with a vent rib, but it's so nice I don't shoot it much

One of my favorite mini-series of all time is Lonesome Dove. So I named my first Chocolate Lab Gus--he's 13, got him in 2009 and has been a heck of a fine duck and pheasant dog. Our next Chocolate we got in 2017; we named him Woodrow. Wish I could say he was as stalwart and performance-...

I have both a 1968 Sweet 16 and another one made in 1973. I've also used the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant loads with no problem---but have killed most of my roosters --and every one I deserved to get---with the Remington yellow/green box 1 1/8 ounce load in #5 and #6. No problems with feeding or...

GWP--I grew up in Vigo County and hunted gray squirrels near Arney and Freedom in Owen County as a kid. There were lots of quail in that area in the late 60's but I had no dog and my Dad did not hunt. But I am familiar with your area and for awhile my brother was an operating engineer in the...

OK, I am in Northern Indiana which makes a lot of difference in RE: quail. My best bird season ever was in 1995, when I shot 37 wild roosters and 19 quail within 18 miles of my home.. We still had plenty of CRP and the weather in the previous 2 seasons was conducive to good hatches. I live not...

3car, to me you make it sound like Heaven--now, come on down to Indiana for dinner and convince my WIFE of 48 years!!

Amen and agreed---the CRP drawdown, plus higher crop prices led to a tremendous decline of gamebird habitat in the Midwest. The 1985 Farm Bill was a real boon to bird populations; there'll need to be a similar plan to increase habitat before we see anything like the mid-90's-early 2000's again

I've hunted with my son, who is now 39, for over 30 years. He knows how I care for our dogs, knows how they behave in the field and how they act when they get birdy. I have in the past, and will again lend him my dog(s) for both ducks and pheasants. He well knows if anything happens to them that...

I used the A5 Sweet 16 often this year and almost exclusively the last 2 seasons. I have it in 26"--very light and responsive, you'd be hard put to find a better field gun--light to carry with enough punch to bring the birds down.

To some extent, I equate it to what I've learned in trout fishing in Wyoming, South Dakota and New Mexico--at first I wasn't used to "catch and release" but if you do much fishing on the quality streams out there, you soon learn that it is very often the rule. My Father in Law used to always...

I'll certainly be there, probably on the 12th, very interested to attend, this will be my 4th Pheasant Fest. I'm a Life Member but have yet to make the Banquet for Life members they hold , I think, on Friday or opening night.

In Indiana it's pretty much non-existent. Been that way since corn went to $5-6.00 several years ago and CRP went out. Not many ducks this year either; last year at this time I'd bagged 28--this year, 6. We did fine in Iowa and South Dakota but of course we can't get there nearly as often.

I used to hunt with my son a lot when he lived at home and I still do when we can, but he lives 200+ miles away now so it's harder. He and I both have a deal: we shoot our own birds. I find party hunting, frankly, loathsome. And in this state I'm not sure but I think it's illegal. Why would...

Here in North west central Indiana, we used to have several good private land places to hunt roosters. That was from the mid-80's to the mid-90's. Then much of the CRP went away, Pioneer Seed built a plant in Plymouth and contracted with local farmers to grow seed corn and many acres were...

That depends partially on how many places you have that you can hunt to begin with. I wish we had 6-8 farms to hunt; used to have, but now only 3 for sure. We hit those 3, or at least 2 of the 3, once a week; aside from a local Fish & Wildlife area about 13 miles away that gets the crap pounded...

Here are my honest thoughts on your post, Birdman--- You are on the right track in patterning different loads in your shotgun, they do NOT always pattern the same as barrel markings. I assume you are running into some late season savvy birds that are running/flushing wild on you. I don't know...

Having traveled to Iowa-South Dakota numerous times since 2003, here are my top choices, by town/city: South Dakota: 1. Minerva's- Sioux Falls-not a small town, but a fine salad bar and food selection 2. Cattlemen's Club--Pierre; a hunter's destination for beef, for sure; get there early on...

In 1990 I acquired a Golden Retriever--wonderful, biddable dog, would flush and retrieve roosters, quail, ducks, sharptails, Huns, etc. Beautiful dog and he lasted 11 years. Didn't think I'd ever find another like him, so--since then I've had Labs--black, chocolate and finally my 2 year old...