2024 Reports

AtTheMurph

AtTheMurph

Well-known member
I went to Willow Slough for the lottery to hunt at Kankakee Sands. Drive by it many times and hunted there one time late in the season a few years ago.

30 some hunting groups who showed up. I was the third last one to get my choice. The good was that none of the areas was full so I could have hunted in an area with other people/dogs, but there were also 4 areas that no one had signed up to hunt. I picked one of those that looked like the smallest or close to it and near private land figuring there might be some corn fields for food.

The "field" was 250 acres (felt like 600!) Lots of cover, fields on one side, woods on 2 others and road on the other. walked the entire boundary, through the middle a couple times and actually found some prickly pear cactus, which I didn't think was native to Indiana but apparently it is. My dog does not like it much.

I kicked up two woodcock, 2 deer, 1 rabbit and 2 covey of quail. (bag limit there is 2 quail.) I only shot one so my dog could get a little work.

There are better places in that area for pheasants and I might try that some other time.
 
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Got out Sunday for a quail hunt. I do that usually in SE Indiana, Shelby and Decatur counties and occasionally in Rush Co. Basically in the triangle made by Shelbyville, Columbus and Greensburg. And usually we might see one or two coveys and sometimes none.

First place we stopped flushed a covey where most birds flew away from us and onto other property but we had a few fly behind to a little fence row and a ditch. good work for my dog.

Second place my buddy ha heard quail there all summer and we didn't see anything but one rabbit.

3rd spot hadn't hunted in probably 10 years. Buddy dropped me off at the end of a fence row with a nice oak tree and some scrub and dog goes on point immediately. I tried to get a video which would have been great but the birds had moved off about 15 yards and by the time I and dog were readjusting, birds flushed and I missed my chance to get them on film. Hunted some singles further up in the fence row and shot one for the dog to see how he would retrieve. He's done it before but he's more interested again with a mouthful of feathers.

4th spot was across the road and we had never seen anything there in the past, but it always looks so good we tried again. About a 3/4 mile walk for me and 50yds before i hit the road and my buddy standing there, flushed another covey. Shot one for the dog and worked some singles to get the dog work.

5th spot is a place we've hunted for years. It's very overgrown now with Asian Honeysuckle :( Very difficult to hunt at all now. But did bust a really large covey, at least 25 birds and probably 30 or even more. Shot one for the dog to work.

He found every bird I dropped and all were in some really thick cover. Never would have found any without the dog. 4 coveys, 4 birds and best of all three of the breasts have no pellet holes. Clean and will be tasty on the grill Italian style. For us that's a really good day of finding birds.

At the last spot we had three different people come out to check on us and see if we had permission to hunt. First was neighbor who was heading out deer hunting (forgot IN un deer opened Sat). Next was two guys in a gator. One was neighbor's brother and a friend. They thought we were interlopers. Last was a woman and man, one in a pick up and one in a 4wheeler. Neighbors from the other side who saw us. Woman said, "Man are you boys lucky! You were going to come back to a truck with 4 flat tires!" The 2nd group on the gator got to her before she stranded us. They were all very nice but there has been lots of trespassing and thievery.
 
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Hunted some private ground on Friday in Benton and Warren Counties. 4 different spots and saw birds at 3. One is right on the state line that I had the best hopes for but got skunked. Should hold birds but we might have hit it when they came off the roost and were out feeding.

I bagged one a place N of Fowler and could have shot a 2nd but it was heading towards my hunting buddies, who I really want to have shoot them. Of course they missed. They also missed another cock that should have been an easy shot, I passed first so they could shoot.

Last bird of the day was a hypersonic high flyer. Flushed wild about 150yds ahead but surprisingly flew straight into the wind right towards us but at least 50yds in the air. Both the other guys unloaded and didn't dust a feather.

Also had some close coyote (3) work and points. Only 2nd time this year that I've kicked up dogs.

Indiana does have some birds. I just wish there was more cover. The best places I used to hunt, the farmers for some reason mow the grass. I don't get it.
 
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