2023 Season

Glock said:
I haven’t seen much of a decrease of public hunters so far.
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Yeah, I don't know if that happens as much as it used to. The old catch phrase, "all these hunters are done after the first two weeks of the season" isn't as true as it used to be? Yeah some guys drop out, they always do. But the amount of people that hunt the late season is creeping higher me thinks.
 
Bob Peters said:
Yeah, I don't know if that happens as much as it used to. The old catch phrase, "all these hunters are done after the first two weeks of the season" isn't as true as it used to be? Yeah some guys drop out, they always do. But the amount of people that hunt the late season is creeping higher me thinks.
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I agree. More people are dedicated pheasant hunters now. I like to think it’s because of the dogs. Years ago, they lived behind the garage and were forgotten about after it got cold and snow. Now most live indoors and are part of the family.
 
Three weeks ago when the game warden checked us in Southern MN, he asked about our luck. It's a really really good spot and always lots of birds in it. That said it's also an obvious spot with many access points and perfect cover, not too thin, not too thick. Perfect early season. We told the warden, "the dogs only got birdy once, and a hen flushed about 200 yards away." His response, "yeah, this place gets hammered!"
 
Leads me to think I need to venture somewhere else this weekend. The windshield time sure is getting old, but dang it is worth it when you see that color bust out from under the dog's nose!
 
You never know when a neighboring private land spot gets pushed and the birds fly off and drop into the public land ... or birds get pushed from one side of the WMA to the other.

I was out for 2 hours today. Low clouds (fog), windy ... dog found 3 hens ... none would hold for even 5 seconds. Oh well.
 
BRITTMAN said:
You never know when a neighboring private land spot gets pushed and the birds fly off and drop into the public land ... or birds get pushed from one side of the WMA to the other.
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Or when they just fly in for whatever reason. Daily routine, etc. This one public spot I hunt, if you show up around an hour before dark, you can watch birds fly in regularly. They aren't pressured to move, they just roost there and move on. Knowing the local birds pattern helps a lot too.
 
Bob Peters said:
Yeah, I don't know if that happens as much as it used to. The old catch phrase, "all these hunters are done after the first two weeks of the season" isn't as true as it used to be? Yeah some guys drop out, they always do. But the amount of people that hunt the late season is creeping higher me thinks.
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100% agree. I laugh every time a article in Outdoor News or PF's magazine/podcast telling everyone late season is the time to go with no pressure
 
Writers do not necessarily hunt as often as you think.

I am a PF member. I greatly appreciate the lobbying they do on behalf of CRP/CREP and the co-partner acquisition efforts they support ...

but their marketing stuff (parts of magazine, social media, TV shows) ... are often a bit much, some over the top ... if not misleading.
 
I took the afternoon off yesterday and went in the fresh snow to some new spots. I raised 28 total. I got a double at the second spot when 2 roosters flushed simultaneously. The first one fell dead but the second one went down crippled. After retrieving the first dead one, Cosmo and I went over to where the cripple went down. After some good dog work, she came out of a patch of grass with it. Then I went to the final spot and folded up a third rooster for a December limit. Hunting after a fresh snow is quite often my most productive (and enjoyable) hunt of the entire season.
 

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Got the boy out for the back end of 2 days out west. No frost this morning. Little warmer. Walked into a piece I've never been in. And neither has anyone else(pheasant hunting) for quite some time and it showed. Back to the truck by 10. Jumped a dozen roosters and handful of hens in short order.... we started out walking corn edges and he'd pick up the sent ,head towards the corn and turn around..ope going the other way day so into the cattails we go... stay as quiet as possible(deer tails or edges ) and push into the wind and they played the script perfectly. First bird musta still had his legs so he burnt up some energy and his eyes tracking him down but after that they were layups. Send some snow. Head to south dakota next weekend so it could wait til after that.
 

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20super90 said:
Got the boy out for the back end of 2 days out west. No frost this morning. Little warmer. Walked into a piece I've never been in. And neither has anyone else(pheasant hunting) for quite some time and it showed. Back to the truck by 10. Jumped a dozen roosters and handful of hens in short order.... we started out walking corn edges and he'd pick up the sent ,head towards the corn and turn around..ope going the other way day so into the cattails we go... stay as quiet as possible(deer tails or edges ) and push into the wind and they played the script perfectly. First bird musta still had his legs so he burnt up some energy and his eyes tracking him down but after that they were layups. Send some snow. Head to south dakota next weekend so it could wait til after that.
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Have you been hunting private or public spots these last two days? Looks like a nice group of pheasants. Sometimes I wish the cattails I hunted had more deer trails!
 
After mn slug season I typically switch to private. Unless ppl muzzle load then gotta wait til that's over .... they way I see it is my dog works his ass off to put birds up in front of me. Least I can do is a little ground work and some hand shakes to make odds a bit better for him.
 
I don't post a whole lot of dead pheasant photos, but here are the results from a few days ago.

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I think I was hunting in Gimruis country. ;) Sad thing is the farm I have access to shrinks a bit every year as more urbanites move to the country. Not much space left to hunt pheasants so it is one hunt a year (maybe the last year) after deer season. Killed quite a few turkeys in that area, but that has mostly ended already.
 
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This morning. If you can see his eyes ... he is saying enough with the photos and we better not be done ... well we were done after one walk this morning. Work sometimes calls. Saw 3 roosters and not a hen. First one busted wild, shot the next one under a nice point, the third rooster actually ran by me as the dog was racing to get the dead bird. Never did get the third to rise ... I suppose he ran into the next county.

Just enough snow to see tracks ... all gone now.

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He does give a great side-eye.
 
nater said:
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. Sometimes I stop and ask myself what I did to deserve hunting partners who work so hard and ask for so little. The answer is: nothing, I don't deserve it. But I'll take it.
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Nater, what case do you have your transmitter have there? I'm searching for something to hold my Garmin Alpha 100.
 
Been a long couple days trying new spots. Saw some birds and had some opportunities. Lots of hens. Debated not going out this morning but decided to try a new WMA close to home, and was rewarded at about 9:04 with a nice rooster. Unfortunately the dog missed that one and I flushed it but that happens. Really nice piece of land though. Perfect size, great mix of habitat, good neighboring properties. She did have a run in with some barb wire this morning and I was very thankful no injuries.

It has been a handful of times now we have flushed birds 75 yards or less from the parking area. A couple of those times she got hot immediately entering the field and I didn’t stick with her and was unprepared and it cost me. The other day it cost me a double. When will I learn!

Time for a break. Next week I finally get to hunt our deer property farther NW and I am very excited for that. Those roosters sit there and taunt me all day while I’m in the stand.
 
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