2021 Season
- Thread starter Munster927
- Start date
gimruis
Well-known member
Well I finished the season on a high note. My final hunt of the season was successful yesterday. The area I hunt went from about 1 inch of snow on the ground to about 10 in a week. Walking sucked. Deep snow saps my energy quickly (and the dog too). Luckily the 3 spots I had energy for had a few birds and they all held tight, so when I did find a rooster, it got up close and presented an easy shot. These 3 long-tailed roosters complete my possession limit of 9 at home now. I was thinking of going on Saturday but the snow is just too deep and it looks to be bitter cold. Wish the season was a little longer like Iowa or South Dakota because I would definitely go again. Good luck to anyone going this weekend.
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NDPheasant
Well-known member
2021 is in the books. Started the morning out at -12 degrees. The walks were quick and short which worked well today and the Roosters cooperated. I quickly bagged three birds and saw many, many more birds. Willow finished her second season and is a little over a year and a half. I could not be happier with her development. She ended the season today starting the retrieve on two of the birds. I have some work to do with her on retrieving to hand but she is a bird finding machine for sure and is super steady on point. Ellie retrieved 125+ birds this year to me and is such a good all round dog. She will be 5 in March and is definitely in her prime. Love hunting with these two characters.
jackrabbit
Active member
My overall season report....
1-2 hunts per week for 2-4 hours each in South Central MN, all on public land. I only shot 5 roosters for the year in Minnesota, certainly my lowest ever. There were 2 reasons on that and they weren't for lack of birds around.
1) BAD shooting. I guess I was in a season long shooting slump. I'm talking really bad. I probably missed a good 20-30 easy birds, another 10-20 longer shoots that could have had a chance. I think I connected on every bird that flew right to left, and none that flew in any other direction.
2) I made it my goal to check out new a new piece of public land every time I went out, rather than the 2-3 familiar productive pieces over and over. This resulted in some pieces to cross off the list and never return to, some pieces to add to the arsenal to frequent, some for early season only, and some for late season only. It also resulted in me hunting most pieces too fast because I wanted to cover the entire section in the time I had to make sure there wasn't some hidden area of cover over the hill in the far back corner or what not.
Overall still a productive year and as I get older, the more I just enjoy being outdoors and getting exercise following my dog than shooting a bird (don't get me wrong, I still want to shoot them).
1-2 hunts per week for 2-4 hours each in South Central MN, all on public land. I only shot 5 roosters for the year in Minnesota, certainly my lowest ever. There were 2 reasons on that and they weren't for lack of birds around.
1) BAD shooting. I guess I was in a season long shooting slump. I'm talking really bad. I probably missed a good 20-30 easy birds, another 10-20 longer shoots that could have had a chance. I think I connected on every bird that flew right to left, and none that flew in any other direction.
2) I made it my goal to check out new a new piece of public land every time I went out, rather than the 2-3 familiar productive pieces over and over. This resulted in some pieces to cross off the list and never return to, some pieces to add to the arsenal to frequent, some for early season only, and some for late season only. It also resulted in me hunting most pieces too fast because I wanted to cover the entire section in the time I had to make sure there wasn't some hidden area of cover over the hill in the far back corner or what not.
Overall still a productive year and as I get older, the more I just enjoy being outdoors and getting exercise following my dog than shooting a bird (don't get me wrong, I still want to shoot them).
gimruis
Well-known member
LOL holy moly, so you're saying that even if you connect on half the easy shots and half the longer shots, your tally goes from 5 to 45 roosters? Do I dare ask what kind of shotgun and ammo are you using?
Jackrabbit, I guess the one thing you can say is you saw some birds this year. I don't know what happened to my shooting this year, but it was the worst it has been in at least 5 years. There were several shots that I took where I didn't understand why the bird didn't fall. Then the others where I didn't get down on the gun or didn't lead the bird enough. I liken it to baseball where you get into a funk and just can't get out of it. Finally on the last day I went out I was able to connect on 3 birds solidly. Ugh. I thought the numbers in MN were decent this year. SD was a bust for me. It was the worst bird numbers I have seen in the last 10 years. The drought was brutal on some of the areas out there. May we be blessed with another year next year!
jackrabbit
Active member
Yes, that is probably an accurate statement, I could have gone from 5-45 with decent shooting.
A bit of mismatched ammo from the last few years, I never saw or bought a new box this year. But most of it was still decent pheasant loads, ranging from 2 3/4" 5-6 shot lead to 3" 3 of 4 shot steel.
One problem I am running into, my hands get very cold now - something has changed the last few years. I struggle to keep my fingers from going numb (specifically my index and middle finger on my shooting hand) in anything below about 30 degrees, which really impacts getting my safety off and trigger pulled. I've tried a variety of gloves - larger ones help some with warmth but are too bulky to get the safety off. Thinner ones are more comfortable but I really struggle with numbness. This has also almost made me give up ice fishing (used to do a ton) the last few years, my hands get painfully cold and numb in minutes and it was never like that before, getting worse and worse each year.
gimruis
Well-known member
That is unfortunate @jackrabbit. May be worth having your hands/fingers checked by a medical professional for possible diagnosis.
Glock
Well-known member
I saw somewhere were people have placed the disposable heat packs along the underside of their wrists. Theory is it warms the blood that is entering your hands. I’ve never tried it but as these are inexpensive thought I would toss it out as something that might be of help.
Ditto on this one. I have tried it when it gets close to zero because cold hands are no fun and it works. Same for feet if you ever have cold feet put a heat back in your sock on your ankle where the skin is thinner and it pumps warm blood to your toes. For hands underside of wrist. It could be possible you have raynauds syndrome. Not really sure if there is much you can do about it other than warm gloves and trying a heat pack.
jackrabbit
Active member
I will try the underside of the wrists. I put them in my glove, but it is just on my palm and really doesn't do much for my fingertips. I have no problem with cold weather on any part of my body other than 2 fingers on my right hand...
Bob Peters
Well-known member
I often hunt the same general area as you. I've been tabulating my 2021 stats and will post them soon. I try really hard, but my numbers aren't great. Keep hunting jackrabbit, your dog loves you for it. A day with missed shots, or shots not taken, is better than a day spent on the couch where your dog never gets the sniff of a pheasant or the gun never leaves the case. Just reading your post I'm glad your dog got to grab 5 wild roosters and bring them back to you. I think next year that number will increase. Please keep posting.
Munster927
Well-known member
Another ditto on this. Except I do it on the back of my shooting hand. Right where 2 or 3 big veins are going into your hand/fingers. I may try the wrist but I feel like I would lose dexterity on my wrist.
I also jammed a hot pack into the glove of my off hand (right hand for me, but I'm a lefty) and formed it to fit in my palm. I don't need much feeling in my off hand other than to hold the gun up but the hot pack seemed to cradle nicely I'm there.
20super90
Active member
2021 was a weird year... lack of water some places. Late rains in other. Birds were sparse in areas and abundant by the next town. I didnt get out as much as we welcomed baby boy number 3 to the world 11-28. But I think I got out enough to keep the dog happy... that's a win in my eyes. Here's a few pictures from the year in mn. 90 percent public. Some private late late late in the year .
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NDPheasant
Well-known member
Congrats on #3 and a good season. Looks like son #1 is getting in on some walks with you already. What a great tradition! 3 Generation pic?
20super90
Active member
That's my father in law..... my ol man came to watch a few walks this year. But he had a bum foot. Hopefully next year
jackrabbit
Active member
Luckily I still had a somewhat decent SD trip, but still bad shooting, that got my dog a good amount of retrieves and bird work on. Still have another SD trip that I am taking this month, possibly later this week. I'm in it for the dog work and the exercise and peace of being outdoors on your own- so misses are frustrating but not the end of the world to me.
Golden Hour
Well-known member
I find myself struggling more and more with cold hands each passing year. I've found rechargeable handwarmers (Zippo brand) to be awesome. Granted, it doesn't help while walking, but sometimes a guy has to stop and get the circulation flowing again. Handwarmers inside the gloves also seems to help a little bit. Another thing to try would be rubber gloves under the regular gloves. Hope you can find some relief!
NDPheasant
Well-known member
I don't remember which member shared info on the Mountain Made gloves ($30). Hunting sub zero temps in ND in December is challenging. These gloves lived up to the recommendation. Two important things I have found is to a) wear the gloves enroute to your hunting spot. I like about ten minutes prior. This allows the inside to warm up and the fingers to stay toasty. Too often I would hop out of the truck without gloves, get the dogs out, put shells in the gun, mess with phone and/or GoPro and my fingers would start out cold and uphill battle to warm up ensued. The second thing I have found is that my hands will sweat in these when the cardio gets going. Having a second pair and rotate I find to be beneficial. I ordered XL which is what I would normally wear but think the L would fit better. I have little trouble taking an 870 express off safe and getting into the trigger guard. I too hope you find the solution because cold fingers sucks!