Search results

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    2023 Season

    Dogs have been on fire the last few hunts, recovering birds I thought I had no chance at finding. Open field tackles on crippled runners, near blind retrieves across the slough, dead birds tucked under cattails woven so tight I can't see the dogs even when Garmin says they're 3 ft away...
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    Pheasant hunting during gun deer opener

    I've done it and never had an issue, but I have run into deer hunters (unexpectedly) on public land who came in from private land, so no cars at the lot. It's not a terrible idea to put an orange vest/skid plate on your dog as an extra security measure, and to also make sure you're wearing the...
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    2023 Season

    Heh...I'll accept both comments ;)
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    2023 Season

    One good thing about the rain today is that it gives me time to fix that cracked tooth from yesterday's lunch, which was seasoned with Black Cloud #4s 😏
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    2023 Season

    This cold front will change things up a little. Corn harvest is now behind schedule, and might stop completely until next week with the rain and cooler temps. This could make things interesting for a while. Hunting public grass near standing corn in the golden hour is normally my favorite hunt...
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    Opening weekend

    1. Most likely solo 2. Fen (6 yr old) and Zizia (3 yr old) GSPs 3. South Central-ish 4. Franchi Affinity Semi-auto 20 Gauge. Steel 4s 5. Public land 6. For opener...I'd take 50 degrees, 7-8 mph wind, mostly cloudy. Enough moisture for the dog nose without soaking my boots. 7. Maybe a Crown peach...
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    USDA Crop harvest reports

    I'll take standing corn immediately adjacent to huntable grass as long as I can have it!!
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    USDA Crop harvest reports

    We got just a couple inches in Blue Earth earlier this week, and it sucked right in. A small amount of harvest has continued down here since.
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    MN Pheasant Map 2023

    It's definitely a flawed survey. The other obvious shortcoming is that it's designed to give an approximate, relative abundance number across the landscape as a whole--it doesn't just focus on good habitat. So if <10% of a given county is in permanent grass, which is generally the case in...
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    Local PF Banquets

    Using a CC to get cash at the door, then using said cash to buy tickets, does seem to be a reasonable workaround of the prohibition on using credit cards to gamble (directly). We had people use debit cards to buy tickets in advance. Gambling board said how do you know it wasn't a CC? And...
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    Roadside survey results

    😐 Yeah. Someone before me must have hit it.
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    Roadside survey results

    In an undisclosed location, SW MN. On my official pheasant route.
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    Roadside survey results

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    Local PF Banquets

    The non-profits will need to band together and push for some legislative change. A couple key issues are: guests not being able to use debit cards for raffle tickets and the 50k cap on total prizes without a paid gambling manager. In between the advent of digital payment methods (Square, Venmo...
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    Prairie Chicken Report, what a great hunt!

    Very nice! Do you by chance remember the WIA unit number that was mowed or hayed? I'll let the right folks know so the WIA website gets updated :)
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    Drainage Ditches?

    That's an interesting answer. I think you have to separate: 1)drainage ditches/buffers, 2)roadside ditches, and 3)land owned by a watershed district. And above all else, I'd ask a local enforcement officer if you have the chance. And also keep in mind, every state differs on this stuff so what...
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    Hungarian partridge?

    I see them on public land at least once a year typically. I also know of 7-8 coveys in the area around my house that I've seen from the road periodically over the last 4-5 years. They're around, but they're mobile. They do not like thick or tall grass, generally speaking, so most public...
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    2021 Season

    Hard to ask for better weather and conditions for a MN pheasant opener. I felt an incredible sense of gratitude being out on the prairie with my dogs again. At the end of the day I was grinning ear to ear watching the pup run through a patch of milkweed that was blowing like snow. Hope...
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    Minnesota Hunting Atlas

    A new acquisition doesn't show up in the Rec Compass until the WMA has been designated by a Commissioner's Designation Order. Until that point, the land may be owned by the state and open to hunting, etc., but technically it's not a WMA. Typically those orders are only issued once or twice a...
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    Minnesota Hunting Atlas

    OnX. Download offline maps in advance for the area you plan to hunt as TBear rec'd.
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