2016-2017 Hunting Reports and Photos

Tbear

Tbear

UPH Master
Going to head out and run the dogs this weekend some time. I will report back what I find. Have been seeing lots of mature looking 1st year birds already:thumbsup:
 
Went out for about an hour Saturday morning close to my house with another buddy. The mosquitoes were horrible!!!! Put up 1 Hen and a Rooster. Dogs got birdy a few other times. Thought I would see more:mad: Gong to try and get out again maybe in the afternoon once the birds start to roost.
 
Good luck to all you MN grouse hunters today and the rest of the season, and be safe!

We got a little rain last night in the Grand Rapids area so it'll be a wet walk this morning. I'll be sure to report on my successes and failures at the end of the day.
 
Pushed several around, but only got one. It was also the first grouse hunt for the shorthair. My setter showed her the ropes.;)
 
Took the pup out a couple hours from the city...two flushes of 4 hens each. One rooster on the side of the road.

Skeeters were BRUTAL.

Weather depedent, heading up to Crookston/TRFs on Tues/Wed to chase sharpies. Never shot one before, so should be an adventure!
 
So here's how the morning hunt went:

It was really wet but the temps were nice and the overcast sky helped keep the dogs cool. But with the lack of wind, recent rain, and thick foliage, scent conditions were tough, and shooting was difficult. But we found birds... We moved 20 grouse and 4 woodcock. I should've definitely had one grouse. I had him dead to rights but right as I pulled the trigger he pulled up to land in a branch. Sneaky bugger.
 
mnaj_springer said:
So here's how the morning hunt went:

It was really wet but the temps were nice and the overcast sky helped keep the dogs cool. But with the lack of wind, recent rain, and thick foliage, scent conditions were tough, and shooting was difficult. But we found birds... We moved 20 grouse and 4 woodcock. I should've definitely had one grouse. I had him dead to rights but right as I pulled the trigger he pulled up to land in a branch. Sneaky bugger.
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Situation obviously calls for a head shot off the perch!

All kidding aside every hunter has their own ethics and I never shot the limb sitters with my first lab until he got older. At that point with his joint issues and limited hunting opportunities it jut didn't feel right to not provide the reward.

With the new spaniel it has become more flexible. A tough day with a lot of hard work and nothing to show for it late and I will do the deed. If we are having success then that is a no go. Primary hard and fast rule is never on the ground and honestly never low enough/at an angle where I have worry about what get could get in the way of my pattern
 
I'm with you Downtown. I want to reward good dog work when needed, but on the first day, especially when I know I can keep finding birds and follow up if necessary, I was only take them on the wing.

I know I will be able to find lots of birds this year.
 
Well despite a lot of reading a lot of negative feelings towards opener on this site my buddy, my lab and I headed a couple hours west. We made it to our spot by 7am and 15 minutes later had the first group of hunters trying for the same spot and a brief conversation they informed us that they would just start out hunting the other corner of the WPA and if we ran into each other so be it. Although I was bummed that we wouldn't have the spot to ourselves I had already assumed something like this would happen so at least they showed up as early as us rather than someone trying to sneak in at 5 to 9. By 9 o'clock there was 3 groups including us set up on each of the corners of the spot. Each group shot 1 or 2 roosters as it seemed like we each quickly worked to get to any virgin area of the WPA. After everything had been covered we went back to the truck for water and quick break and decided to just slowly walk the areas the other guys had covered and try for our last 2 birds. By this time all of the other hunters had already moved on and we now had everything to ourselves. We managed to cover half of what we could have and scared up 3 hens and our 2 roosters to finish up our limit by 12:45pm. I believe I haven't hunted opener in about 15 years and after todays experience even with guys all over in the morning I don't plan to miss another. Corn was about 10-15% out and looked to be getting hit pretty hard by the farmers so I have nothing, but positive vibes for the rest of the season.
 
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tuma said:
Well despite a lot of reading a lot of negative feelings towards opener on this site my buddy, my lab and I headed a couple hours west. We made it to our spot by 7am and 15 minutes later had the first group of hunters trying for the same spot and a brief conversation they informed us that they would just start out hunting the other corner of the WPA and if we ran into each other so be it. Although I was bummed that we wouldn't have the spot to ourselves I had already assumed something like this would happen so at least they showed up as early as us rather than someone trying to sneak in at 5 to 9. By 9 o'clock there was 3 groups including us set up on each of the corners of the spot. Each group shot 1 or 2 roosters as it seemed like we each quickly worked to get to any virgin area of the WPA. After everything had been covered we went back to the truck for water and quick break and decided to just slowly walk the areas the other guys had covered and try for our last 2 birds. By this time all of the other hunters had already moved on and we now had everything to ourselves. We managed to cover half of what we could have and scared up 3 hens and our 2 roosters to finish up our limit by 12:45pm. I believe I haven't hunted opener in about 15 years and after todays experience even with guys all over in the morning I don't plan to miss another. Corn was about 10-15% out and looked to be getting hit pretty hard by the farmers so I have nothing, but positive vibes for the rest of the season.
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People just don't get it. We had a group park next to one of our trucks. I had to go tell them we could not both hunt safely and sice we where first they should go find another spot. If someone is hunting a spot or going to. Please move on and find another! It's the respectful and safe thing to do. Other than that opener was great for my group. Saw lots of birds Even with the corn up. Should be a good year.
 
Nice work!

Nice job on the opener guys. Everyone is vying for less and less land. Patience and persistence is the key. I have folded many a rooster after a group or groups have left a parcel of land for the day.:p

I have two weeks yet before the Iowa opener! How fortunate you Minnesota boys are! Keep banging.
 
I guess my point is that for anyone new to bird hunting. If you see someone walking an area say 80 to 160 acres or less to go find a different pc to hunt. Its the polite and sportsmanly thing to do. Don't go to other or a different parking spot on the other side and start walking. Minnesota has a lot of public land. Give everyone some space hunting is much more enjoyable that way.


This is what its really all about right here!
 
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Not many reports. Here is one !

Was out today in several prime MN counties and did not see very many birds (vs expectations). Weather was great and my main bird dog was absolutely locked on. Her points pinned birds and we were flushing them at our feet as we circled the dog.

We each shot one rooster and I missed a really nice bird that flushed at the toe of my boot. Dog pointed another 6 hens. She also had at least another half dozen phantom points ... we could see where the birds had been in the grass before moving to the corn. The residual scent had the dog convinced they were there.

Saw only two birds flying from corn to grass and not one bird along the road or in a field.

Lots and lots of corn to be cut.

More time driving then walking today. The fact that we saw ONE other group out hunting the entire day tells me that most people (including the locals) are waiting for the harvest to get in high gear.

We had our pick of spots today. Half the spots walked today were new spots for me because I was basing walks off nearby harvest and not previous success.
 
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Here is my report for the weekend.....
Saturday 10 of us split a section of land. We hunted that most of the day. Ended up with 14 roosters flushed 80 birds easy. Should have had our limit that's how it always goes.
Sunday got out and shot a couple in the morning. Lost 2-3 birds dropped legs but could still fly really well. They flew onto private or into the middle of a 80 acre slew. They were not retrievable. :mad: The group split up some guys went home 4 of us stayed. Hunted a small pc I missed a triple and another bird 20 yards later. Waited till magic hour and the four of us shot one more rooster.
We stayed overnight and hunted Monday. Got out and hunted one field shot four roosters again missed a bunch of birds should have had our eight.
I was really happy with bird numbers. Lots of Corn!!! Should be good once it comes down.
 
I hunted for half a day on Saturday around Braham, since it was pretty rainy in the morning. Just went up by myself with the pup to get him some work before our NoDak trip.

I was pretty encouraged by the bird numbers. Saw 5 along the road while driving, including a group of 3 roosters the were walking along a fenceline about 20 yards from the road. I hunted 2 WMAs, first one had 3 hens get up within 10-30 yards (no roosters). 2nd one was a little larger and the pup flushed a rooster about 10 yards away from me as we approached the corner of the unit. Knocked him down on the 2nd shot. Got up a few more hens on the pass back that were out of range.

I saw more birds today than most of my MN day trips north combined last year. Still a vast majority of the corn up, but to see that many birds, I'm anxious to see what it will be like once its all down.
 
It's that time of year again. Took the dog out yesterday afternoon on some public land to get in some work and the majority of corn was still up. I'd say 70% ofcorn still in but will be coming out fast. Flushed up a hen and a rooster in about an hour and a half. I expected to see a little more birds but I can't complain. Took down the young rooster in one shot. Excited to get out again!
 
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