4:30 close is silly.

niceshot

niceshot

New member
Anyone else agree? I know this is a long standing tradition, but is their really any valid game management reason for this to continue. I think it would be great if we could hunt till sunset like many other surrounding states.
 
I think

sunset would be better but doubt it would ever be changed .with DLS time it wouldn't buy us much.
 
Yea 4:30 kind of hurts the end of day strategy. I think they do it for law enforcement reasons. That way there is no confusion about when sunset is.
 
Good point about the law enforcement issue. I always kinda like the ambiguity of "sunset". Its just that yesterday the third rooster got up at 4:33 and I'm little bitter about it.
 
Not sure. We would shoot alot more pheasants if you could hunt till sunset. The only reason I can see is to protect the birds in late season from being scared off the roost. Then the birds aren't able to find sufficient cover before nightfall. In SD, there's alot of cover for the birds to relocate.
 
Id rather have to quit at 4:30 than have to wait until Noon like in South Dakota. Never understood that one either-other than tradition. If youre into the birds and have your limit in qick fashion it may not make a difference, but we've never been that fortunate.
 
I disagree. That last 1/2 hour is magic, plus we switch to ten after 8 days. I suppose the ultimate is the sunrise to sunset states, which I beleive include most?
________
S-CLASS HYBRID
 
Last edited:
Right now we could use the sunset rule with all the corn in. Might be another week or two until the hunting picks up around here. Probably has to be the lowest opening week pheasant harvest ever. With that being said I'm still a fan of 4:30, I think it would be to easy if we were allowed to hunt until sunset. 8.5 hrs of hunting each day is enough.
 
Yeah I agree, the 4:30 deadline is just fine. think about how many birds this has saved from being shot. Imagine if the season was open til sunset, I guarantee there would be a lot more birds shot, and less to shoot in the future.
 
PheasandAddict I agree with you... And I see no real need in hunting to the very last min and with DLS at 430 in is almost dark in dec
 
pheasantaddict said:
I think it would be to easy if we were allowed to hunt until sunset.
Click to expand...
There is nothing "easy" about hunting wild pheasants, especially this year in Iowa. Most of the people in Iowa who consider themselves pheasant hunters have not even shot a pheasant this season.
 
Dcup said:
Yeah I agree, the 4:30 deadline is just fine. think about how many birds this has saved from being shot. Imagine if the season was open til sunset, I guarantee there would be a lot more birds shot, and less to shoot in the future.
Click to expand...
​
Where to start? First and foremost our goal should not be to "save" rooster pheasants, but rather to shoot and kill them. Secondly, it is not even possible to "save" peasants, some predator is going to kill and eat them, it might as well be you. Hunting male/rooster/cock pheasants has absolutely no effect on next years population none,nada,zilch. Biological study after study has confirmed this. One rooster in the spring can service 10 to 20 hens.
​
Sex selection hunting is one of the many elegant reasons I absolutely love pheasant hunting, because carefully harvesting roosters with your favorite shotgun (its been years since I have accidentally taken a hen) leaves no footprint on Creation.
 
The "save" part is for me and other die hard bird hunters. There are more birds left throughout the season and many pheasant hunters are putting their gun away already or thinking about deer. Right now in Iowa you have high input for any return of birds in bag. Winners keep working and Losers quit. If I had not shot a pheasant by now I would consider myself an Idiot Out Wandering Around and thats about it.
 
Uncle Buck said:
I disagree. That last 1/2 hour is magic, plus we switch to ten after 8 days. I suppose the ultimate is the sunrise to sunset states, which I beleive include most?
Click to expand...

Kansas is 1/2 hour before sunrise until sunset. Heck, I couldn't make out if the pheasant was a rooster or hen most of the times when I used to start around 1/2 hour before sunrise. Now I wait 15 or 20 minutes and never had trouble.
 
niceshot said:
There is nothing "easy" about hunting wild pheasants, especially this year in Iowa. Most of the people in Iowa who consider themselves pheasant hunters have not even shot a pheasant this season.
Click to expand...

I will attest to that for sure, I havent even shot AT one.

niceshot said:
​
Where to start? First and foremost our goal should not be to "save" rooster pheasants, but rather to shoot and kill them. Secondly, it is not even possible to "save" peasants, some predator is going to kill and eat them, it might as well be you. Hunting male/rooster/cock pheasants has absolutely no effect on next years population none,nada,zilch. Biological study after study has confirmed this. One rooster in the spring can service 10 to 20 hens.
​
Sex selection hunting is one of the many elegant reasons I absolutely love pheasant hunting, because carefully harvesting roosters with your favorite shotgun (its been years since I have accidentally taken a hen) leaves no footprint on Creation.
Click to expand...

First off, what I mean by "save" is; I'm not out to take every pheasant out there. I respect my fellow hunters and want them to succeed just as much as myself. Just because 4:30 rolls around and I see a rooster doesnt mean I am going to be mad about it. I will hope that pheasant makes it to the next time I hunt and I will go out in the same vicinity, hoping he or others will still be there. It has worked for me time and time again. So by "save", I mean save for another day.

Second, I have never shot a hen. I am not some gun slinging beast out to kill every pheasant I see. If they flush wild on my dog, I dont shoot, if my dog doesnt point and hold well enough I dont shoot, if the bird is young I dont shoot. Just saying.

pheasantaddict said:
The "save" part is for me and other die hard bird hunters. There are more birds left throughout the season and many pheasant hunters are putting their gun away already or thinking about deer. Right now in Iowa you have high input for any return of birds in bag. Winners keep working and Losers quit. If I had not shot a pheasant by now I would consider myself an Idiot Out Wandering Around and thats about it.
Click to expand...

I do feel like an idiot, but I dont have private land to hunt, I only hunt public. I dont deer hunt either so you can bet your left (you know what) I will be out shooting pheasants every chance I get until Jan. 10th at 4:30, rain, snow, ice, sleet, etc.
 
Dcup, the public ground will start to get good with all the corn coming out and maybe some adverse weather. It don't hurt to ask to hunt private ground, as there's still farmers that will let a guy hunt.
 
pheasantaddict said:
Dcup, the public ground will start to get good with all the corn coming out and maybe some adverse weather. It don't hurt to ask to hunt private ground, as there's still farmers that will let a guy hunt.
Click to expand...

I have asked a few farmers in the past and been turned down to many times, its kind of discouraging.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top