2022 season stats

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I might regret this, but here goes...

Days hunted 27 (MN 17, IA 6, SD 4)
Birds in the bag 21 (MN 14, IA, 6, SD 1)
Misses 20
Lost 3

It's hard to encapsulate everything into a post. A few of the misses were very close, and likewise some very far. I am more an English/History brain vs. Math/Science. I just keep notes to remind me of what happened during the year. There were a number of birds in SD that multiple people pulled the trigger on so I don't count those in my total. Anywho, I obviously don't post this to brag because most people get more birds than I do, but for me I had a really fun and productive season. My bird total was 9 in 2021 and 10 in 2020. I will end with this, there were multiple times this season that I can vividly remember walking through the field and thinking about work, about my life and being totally separated from what I was doing. Then I said to myself, "you are out in God's country right now, following a bird dog, and could it get any better?" No obviously, it can't get better than that. I feel fortunate for every moment I got to spend out in the field this season. I miss it so much already. Thanks to everyone on this board who has contributed in a positive way. I know I've learned a lot here, even though sometimes there are disagreements. More than anything I want to thank Skye, a 7 year old field bred golden retriever, she has taught me more about bird hunting than anyone. She has put up with all my decisions and all my poor shots and still stuck with it, never loosing any enthusiasm. I'm not trying to be too mushy here, but I'll never forget her as long as I live❤️1673597180716.png
 

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Looks like a your season was a big step-up from the prior seasons Bob. When I am pheasant hunting, that is my get-away, nothing else is in my mind, it is my "happy place". Laying in bed, yeah, I have work and everything else going on in there. I am out hunting almost every Saturday, Sunday and holiday (day off from work) during the season. I am so lucky to have the opportunities that I do, practically in my back yard, I didn't step foot on any public ground this season. I just thought I should leave those public birds for the folks that don't have the opportunities available to me. I did take out 2 new people this year, neither were new hunters, but I think we need to keep folks interested in pheasant hunting. I don't keep track of shots, misses, lost birds, numbers of birds seen...I just keep a total harvested count for myself. I only have been tracking the count for 3 years. My first year I kept track of all the birds shot by myself and also the birds anyone else who was with me harvested and where they were all harvested from. Next season I might try to keep a count on the birds taken from our CRP, to guess, this season had to be close to 70 (between me and the folks I took there), when I really start thinking about it, it was a good amount. Best season ever this year, I rate it an A+. I know it was also the best harvest number for my hunting buddy, as he got a bird 3 limit several times, he improves every year. Not party hunting this season helped give him more opportunity also.
 
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I went 6 times between Nov 16 and Dec 31. My dog got hurt the first time so I had to sit out a couple weeks. Put 12 roosters in the bag, and lost one cripple. Its the first cripple I've lost since 2019. I almost exclusively hunt solo, on private land in central MN, which is about an hour away from my house. I try to spread my hunts out with a minimum of at least 4-5 days in between hunts. For comparison, last season I went 7 times and harvested 17 roosters.

I don't keep track of birds seen or misses that I should have had. I definitely missed a couple that I should have had. The last time I hunted on Dec 31, I saw 22 hens and 1 rooster combined at 3 spots. I am pretty sure that was the lowest amount I saw all season during an outing. I can recall seeing 40-50 pheasants a couple times too (mostly big groups of hens).

The last 2-3 weeks in December were very difficult because of the deep snow. Hasn't been this much snow by New Years since 2011.

The most memorable item from this past season was in early December when I raised a massive 10 point buck on land adjacent to where I deer hunt. I've never seen a buck that big in person in 28 years of deer hunting. Hope that donkey survives until next season.
 
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the most profound thing for me was the ease with which ear protection worked! Could still hear low decibel noises…grass moving, etc. never would have believed it!
 
benelli-banger said:
Look at the orvis website…they come in a little silver tube…greatest thing ever! My ears rang all winter and spring of ‘22….doing better now thx to the ear plugs…
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I'll check it out. Wow Orvis. I went to Manchester Vermont one time and visited the original Orvis store. Wow what a beautiful town in October. Just ordered ear plugs.
 
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Bob, congratulations on a great season! I always look forward to your updates. I have no doubt the coming seasons will bring you further joy!
 
Here is my season totals, not really impressive but I love keeping track. Obviously prior to 2015 I didn't do a good job of documenting my hunts, I have lost my 2014 journal and spreadsheet. Know I keep everything in an excel spreadsheet and have attached my season totals. I only had one Britt in 1988 and 89, hunting was with my dad and we would take our annual Iowa pheasant hunting over my Thanksgiving Break from Purdue we would hunt roughly 4 days and a few weekend trips to Michigan for grouse and woodcock. In 2003 had 2 Britts and my last time really going out west to bird hunt as my son started hockey and the consumed my time. I started back out west in 2012 and have been going ever since and started keeping better data in 2014. Current pack of dogs: Bella 2015 to present Britt; Ellie 2015 - 2019 Retired lab; River 2016 to present Setter; Remi 2022 to present. As technology has improved so has my record keeping. I started using Avenza maps to track how I hunt lands and to keep track of my actual time hunting, in 2020 I started recording the miles I walked during my hunts and now do everything with my Garmin watch which has been a great addition.
 

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Miforester said:
Here is my season totals, not really impressive but I love keeping track. Obviously prior to 2015 I didn't do a good job of documenting my hunts, I have lost my 2014 journal and spreadsheet. Know I keep everything in an excel spreadsheet and have attached my season totals. I only had one Britt in 1988 and 89, hunting was with my dad and we would take our annual Iowa pheasant hunting over my Thanksgiving Break from Purdue we would hunt roughly 4 days and a few weekend trips to Michigan for grouse and woodcock. In 2003 had 2 Britts and my last time really going out west to bird hunt as my son started hockey and the consumed my time. I started back out west in 2012 and have been going ever since and started keeping better data in 2014. Current pack of dogs: Bella 2015 to present Britt; Ellie 2015 - 2019 Retired lab; River 2016 to present Setter; Remi 2022 to present. As technology has improved so has my record keeping. I started using Avenza maps to track how I hunt lands and to keep track of my actual time hunting, in 2020 I started recording the miles I walked during my hunts and now do everything with my Garmin watch which has been a great addition.
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Better not come out with me, you would be too busy marking down points & flushes that you would never have a chance to shoot! Those stats will come-in handy some day. A+ for the documentation and dedication it takes to do that.
 
Props for the stats, Miforester. Everyone has different things they love about hunting and while I keep track of harvest and location, the other stuff is pretty cool, too. Keep it up!
 
I don’t keep stats, not opposed, just haven’t done it. I kind of know days afield annually, that’s the # I care about most, and I rarely have a day that’s not reasonably full of action, whether in MT, ND, SD, or MN…I see the sky, the hills, the fields, my dogs, the birds, the guns, the friends…kind of a running movie in my mind! I’ve been in the 40-50+ days afield range for awhile, and it’s rare to not have decent action regardless of where I am, luckily. The slowest hunting I have is for ruffed grouse close to home, which I don’t count in my days afield, I don’t do too much of it as I’m gone during the peak of that hunting. Only a bit over 7 months til MT bird opener! 😜
 
Miforester said:
Here is my season totals, not really impressive but I love keeping track. Obviously prior to 2015 I didn't do a good job of documenting my hunts, I have lost my 2014 journal and spreadsheet. Know I keep everything in an excel spreadsheet and have attached my season totals. I only had one Britt in 1988 and 89, hunting was with my dad and we would take our annual Iowa pheasant hunting over my Thanksgiving Break from Purdue we would hunt roughly 4 days and a few weekend trips to Michigan for grouse and woodcock. In 2003 had 2 Britts and my last time really going out west to bird hunt as my son started hockey and the consumed my time. I started back out west in 2012 and have been going ever since and started keeping better data in 2014. Current pack of dogs: Bella 2015 to present Britt; Ellie 2015 - 2019 Retired lab; River 2016 to present Setter; Remi 2022 to present. As technology has improved so has my record keeping. I started using Avenza maps to track how I hunt lands and to keep track of my actual time hunting, in 2020 I started recording the miles I walked during my hunts and now do everything with my Garmin watch which has been a great addition.
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I record similar stats but also include time of day, weather, type of cover, locations of flushes, etc. Seems like this information helps me to focus on where I should be hunting. I got it nailed down so it only takes about a minute or two to record and typically do that after the hunt while the dogs are watering and cooling down.
 
Glock said:
I record similar stats but also include time of day, weather, type of cover, locations of flushes, etc. Seems like this information helps me to focus on where I should be hunting. I got it nailed down so it only takes about a minute or two to record and typically do that after the hunt while the dogs are watering and cooling down.
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Yeah i record that too as well. Have found that i need to do it right after the hunt or i forget.
 
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