cyclonenation10
Active member
It has been a good year so far. Seeing a ton of other hunters relative to past years, but have been able to find success on both public and private with enough walking. A quick photo dump..
2023 Iowa bird hunt pics and/or stories
- Thread starter remy3424
- Start date
cyclonenation10
Active member
I was fortunate to take a friend out last weekend who is more interested in photography than hunting, so he was able to get some pretty awesome shots of the dogs for me. I am terrible with the camera!
Goosemaster
Well-known member
Pay hunting?
gimruis
Well-known member
Its pretty easy to tell that those photos have been taken with a high quality camera.
remy3424
Well-known member
I feel your pain! I am trying to do better. Last weekend was the toughest I have had for a spell and only took a couple of the new fellas I took out. Hoping the temps are more seasonal over the turkey day break.
cyclonenation10
Active member
Nothing better than chasing golden retriever's around the prairie, is there??
Bob Peters
Well-known member
Yeah they are so much fun to hunt with. They've got some serious noses on them too.
remy3424
Well-known member
Well, managed a pair today and my buddy got shut-out. Hunted a parcel of CRP (maybe 80 acres or so) that we usually hit once or twice a year. There were a couple dozen birds, but they just were holding well, pretty warm again. It was a quick day as may buddy's wife was heading just north of Minneapolis to get a new GSP and he needed to get things ready at home. A wash-out from a LE program, 5 months old maybe. I am excited for them to get another GSP. One poor selfie for my efforts. Sporting a fresh 6:30AM haircut to start the day. Likely solo tomorrow.
remy3424
Well-known member
Should of had a limit this morning, missed an easy one, knocked the next one dead, and the last one was a longer shot, but he fell. As I was heading toward where I had him marked, a couple others flushed and then a rooster from about where this bird landed. It must have been the same bird as he never got much more than 6 feet off the ground and was still going as he cleared the property fence line and went out of sight. I called it a day and headed to my buddy's home to check out his new GSP.
Here is Marlow checking out my pheasant.
Here is Marlow checking out my pheasant.
cyclonenation10
Active member
I had never had that happen prior to late last year. Similar story, bird hit, dog went in for the retrieve, and it flushed very low and kept on going. Also had it happen again just last week.. strange and frustrating!
Bob Peters
Well-known member
I've had it happen twice to me. The first time he flew away really healthy and fine, I didn't shoot because I was 1 bird away from a limit and I thought he was a different bird but he must have been the one I hit! The second time it happened the bird crashed hard in some cattails and I went in to retrieve with dog and he flushed again, but I hadn't reloaded. Now I always reload. Experience is a great teacher.
carptom1
Well-known member
So since this is Iowa I will share this again. I am kinda a hunting whore, if you say you have some private land I will give it a whirl at least once, regardless of your personality. So myself and a buddy joined a business connection and his buddy in Central Iowa maybe 25 years ago. He bragged on his dogs and what good land he had. Well his dogs were poor and they couldn’t shoot. They also were drinking a little and I suspect smoking refer during the hunt. We were working a big patch of grass and split up to work opposite perimeter sections. My buddy and I had shot a couple birds and they had missed a couple. We were about two hundred yards away heading back towards the trucks when bam they finally got a bird down. They high fived each other and put the bird in his vest. We were a hundred or so yards out when they got to the truck and pulled off their vests. What happened next needed to be set to Benny Hills Yakety Sax. That bird poked his head out of his vest, and promptly started walking away. We were yelling at them as we could see the whole thing unfolding. One guy dove at the bird while the other fired a couple Hail Mary shots as it flew into the sunset. I literally peed my pants laughing. Needless to say I never was asked back.
remy3424
Well-known member
I gave the birds, Gus and myself a break on Thanksgiving Day and back at it for Black Friday. It has cooled down, upper teens for the temp, cloudy and light wind. We hit a CRP that we hit a couple weeks ago, and this time we saw 6-8 hens and one rooster which I gave a ride in my game pouch. My index finger was so cold, I tried to push my safety, but didn't heard the "click", I was surprised when the gun fired! We then hit a larger waterway that I got a single from last week. A few hens, "maybe" one rooster, I just wasn't completely sure, so it got a pass. Hit another waterway, maybe half the size of the prior one, 4-5 hens, but at the very end, a rooster flushed and I made an easy shot. After retrieving that bird (this new dog isn't much on retrieving) the dog flush another rooster and I dropped on a 90 degree crossing at a distance that I had a bit of doubt about taking, but I took my time and seemed to have put the full pattern on him. That was my 3 in 3 shots today, not a regular occurrence for me, it felt great. I holstered my shotgun at that point. We walked a wide fence line back to a small piece of cover, the dog was birdy right away and after we went most of 100 yards he circled back to the where we started and flushed a couple of hens. We got Gus back with us and at the small chunk of cover he locked-up. A rooster flushed and my buddy (using a double for some reason this season) misses both shots and upon the second shot, like they rehearsed it, a second rooster flushed and there he stands, the double barrel might as well had been his dic in his hand, about as useful at that moment. Oh well, we can't get them all.
remy3424
Well-known member
Had about the 4th annual rooster round-up, the timing might not have been the best, it was just a cousin and his daughter with me. Everyone put at least 2 in their game pouch. My dog did well, my shooting was a bit off as I lost 2 in the switchgrass, had good marks on them, but they must have been runners. Our gal also knocked one, which tried to fly again and out smarted the dogs. Went to a different cousins house for a meal afterward, it was a fun morning. We had a bit of snow, but most birds didn't hold well at all. Saw tons of birds but not nearly the shooting opportunities you would expect. After I wrangled 3, I unloaded and it was like I was a rooster magnet after that, with my dog finding several tight holding roosters then. The rooster second from the right was a bit lighter colored than normal, but he wasn't in prime condition. It was a great morning.
Seawolftoo
Member
Good to hear there are some nirds still around. We are starting our yearly trip out today and hunting NW iowa. Got greater by the snow.
Rooster Rodeo
Member
Hunted Iowa public Friday and Saturday. Two guys, one experienced dog, the other a pup still figuring it out. We managed to get a few birds. We potentially could have gotten a few more Saturday but our shooting was off and we were a few yards off here or there to be in the right place when birds flushed.
I’m curious as to what others think. I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on Iowa public the last few years. I know the surveys are up, but I feel like I’m seeing less birds than previous years. Could be that they’re not as concentrated yet due to little snow but our contacts felt spotty. A few birds at a time, no major groups. All the other guys we talked to at the motel were averaging 0-3 birds a day. I’m not 100% sure, but I believe they were also public hunters.
I enjoy hunting Iowa public. It’s probably not the Dakotas/Montana level of bird contacts. But if you’re shooting is on and you’re in the right spot with good dog work, you still have an opportunity of bagging multiple birds a day IMO.
I’m curious as to what others think. I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on Iowa public the last few years. I know the surveys are up, but I feel like I’m seeing less birds than previous years. Could be that they’re not as concentrated yet due to little snow but our contacts felt spotty. A few birds at a time, no major groups. All the other guys we talked to at the motel were averaging 0-3 birds a day. I’m not 100% sure, but I believe they were also public hunters.
I enjoy hunting Iowa public. It’s probably not the Dakotas/Montana level of bird contacts. But if you’re shooting is on and you’re in the right spot with good dog work, you still have an opportunity of bagging multiple birds a day IMO.
Bob Peters
Well-known member
I've hunted down there for 3 or 4 years and I would say that it's held fairly consistent. This year was a hair better early season, but now at this point in the season you really have to work for them, which I think is the natural progression after they've been hunted and educated.
cyclonenation10
Active member
Hunted nothing but my home state of Iowa since I was born. The numbers have been relatively consistent statewide the past few years, but the hunting has gotten worse in most cases. The primary reason.. more hunters. I would venture to guess I've seen more hunters on both public and private this year than I have the last 5 years combined. There are birds out there, but they are getting hunted significantly harder and more frequently than years past. Most landowners that I hunt say they've never seen this many people out hunting and knocking on doors. I have lost several spots this year that I have hunted for a long time due to a landowners "nephew or brother in law or grandson" picking up pheasant hunting recently. This is both good and bad. Other private "honey holes" from the past are now getting hunted 3x a week.
Where the habitat is good, bird numbers are strong in Iowa. The problem is there is so little of it to go around, especially public hunting. With a significant uptick in hunting pressure, the overall hunting goes from good to mediocre in a hurry.
cyclonenation10
Active member
I would also venture to guess that bird numbers in Iowa are essentially as good as they can get at this point. The weather has been great the last few years and most high quality areas are probably at their carrying capacity as far as birds go. Without significant improvements to "junk/brome" CRP, or significantly more acres getting left unfarmed, I would argue that this is probably as good as it will ever be in Iowa.