4.5 Hour Round Trip Drive for a 4.5 hr Hunt
- Thread starter Curious
- Start date
You might have better luck winning Super Bowl tickets to see the Broncos play than finding a rooster and getting a decent shot on him
We have decided that any of your local gamebird farms are cheaper than spending the $$$ on gas, food, wear and tear on the truck etc.
I did the math and it is cheaper.
Looking forward to next season in Kansas or South Dakota....Colorado is going to need and long, long recovery.
Greg
We have decided that any of your local gamebird farms are cheaper than spending the $$$ on gas, food, wear and tear on the truck etc.
I did the math and it is cheaper.
Looking forward to next season in Kansas or South Dakota....Colorado is going to need and long, long recovery.
Greg
double trigger
Member
I've had similar experiences this year, has not been good. Keep in mind thought that just 3-4 years ago eastern CO offered some excellent pheasant hunting, and it will get good again (if ma nature cooperates). A new Farm Bill with renewed conservation programs will hopefully also have a positive effect in the years ahead - keep your fingers crossed
double trigger
Member
You might have better luck winning Super Bowl tickets to see the Broncos play than finding a rooster and getting a decent shot on him
We have decided that any of your local gamebird farms are cheaper than spending the $$$ on gas, food, wear and tear on the truck etc.
I did the math and it is cheaper.
Looking forward to next season in Kansas or South Dakota....Colorado is going to need and long, long recovery.
Greg
I have hunted eastern Colorado, western Kansas and western Nebraska. IMHO this ENTIRE region is going to take some time to recover to some good pheasant populations, not just Colorado. I do believe Kansas can recover quicker just because there are more birds to start with (as is the case with the Dakotas).
It is not necessarily a long, long recovery - but it could be. It all depends on if we get favorable weather for a recovery in the next couple of years. Pheasants are very prolific given the right breeding conditions, and have shown before they can come back pretty quickly. Another limiting factor in their recovery is the loss of habitat (for a plethora of reasons that we all know well). If a new Farm Bill is passed with a strong conservation component leading to habitat improvement, this combined with better weather could spell better hunting in years ahead. One can hope anyway :cheers:
I will not rehash what has been beat to death on here.....but in Colorado the pheasants need HABITAT!!! and there is very little here. It is like night and day when you compare Colorado to Kansas, and other states that hold good populations (regardless of conditions) of birds.
We hunted the same area of KS this season that I have hunted since 1996 and we nearly got our limit everyday (we nearly got skunked on one day). The numbers were down, however the cover looked 100% better than it did two years ago when everything looked grey and dead.
My point being is that while this is considered a "down" year in Kansas bird numbers wise, it is still better than any "great" year I have seen in Colorado. Mind you, I have the luxury of hunting private ground in Kansas. However we did see birds and roosters on WIA and they weren't a mile away!!!
Case in point, I hunted with Stel67 and he was amazed at the number of birds we saw and I told him this was nothing compared to what we usually see!!
Greg
We hunted the same area of KS this season that I have hunted since 1996 and we nearly got our limit everyday (we nearly got skunked on one day). The numbers were down, however the cover looked 100% better than it did two years ago when everything looked grey and dead.
My point being is that while this is considered a "down" year in Kansas bird numbers wise, it is still better than any "great" year I have seen in Colorado. Mind you, I have the luxury of hunting private ground in Kansas. However we did see birds and roosters on WIA and they weren't a mile away!!!
Case in point, I hunted with Stel67 and he was amazed at the number of birds we saw and I told him this was nothing compared to what we usually see!!
Greg
double trigger
Member
OK I get it, Kansas is much better upland bird hunting than Colorado - always has been and always will be. And I have hunted the prime pheasant belt of southwestern North Dakota and experienced staggering numbers of birds especially in the 2007-2011 years. I look forward to western Kansas and southwest Nebraska getting back to some of its past glory, I've had some great pheasant hunting in those places as well (with good quail hunting thrown in to spice things up).
Having hunted those great places I also have enjoyed some fine pheasant hunts in eastern Colorado. Sometimes its nice to take shorter jaunts and bag a few birds closer to home. In a year like this some may find it hard to believe but the pheasant hunting here can be quite good - you just need to get real familiar with areas and don't be afraid to knock on some doors and find new places.
Sure the pheasant hunting could be better here - the way to make a difference is to get involved and contribute to organizations like Pheasants Forever, and make your opinions and experiences known to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The emphasis in this state has always been on big game and trout fishing (I enjoy those too) but there is no reason we can't have better habitat and pheasants to enjoy as well. :thumbsup:
Having hunted those great places I also have enjoyed some fine pheasant hunts in eastern Colorado. Sometimes its nice to take shorter jaunts and bag a few birds closer to home. In a year like this some may find it hard to believe but the pheasant hunting here can be quite good - you just need to get real familiar with areas and don't be afraid to knock on some doors and find new places.
Sure the pheasant hunting could be better here - the way to make a difference is to get involved and contribute to organizations like Pheasants Forever, and make your opinions and experiences known to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The emphasis in this state has always been on big game and trout fishing (I enjoy those too) but there is no reason we can't have better habitat and pheasants to enjoy as well. :thumbsup:
BleuBijou
Active member
You might have better luck winning Super Bowl tickets to see the Broncos play than finding a rooster and getting a decent shot on him
We have decided that any of your local gamebird farms are cheaper than spending the $$$ on gas, food, wear and tear on the truck etc.
I did the math and it is cheaper.
Looking forward to next season in Kansas or South Dakota....Colorado is going to need and long, long recovery.
Greg
Right about that Greg!!! We did not get drawn again for Superbowl tickets! 6 Superbowls and our priority # is 9,139 and not one time. Something shady is going on. Give the birds 2 good years and we should be happy again. My 2 kansas old drought birds are almost done at the taxidermist. I will post them up when I get it back. Viley missed 2 shots at her elk last week. Dog gonnit!!! That girl is so upset. She made straight A's first year in middle school, so I took her out of school for a couple days to go hunting. Peyton is 10 and told me to enroll her in Hunter ed coming up. Soon to have 2 huntresses.:cheers:
Chad,
Dude, that sucks!!! Regardless of the site, if my team where in the Super Bowl I would want to go, once in a lifetime type deal
Dang, well there is next season I guess
I am hoping to get Colton on an elk next season, either cow or bull. After his first elk camp, he is looking forward to next season.
That is awesome that she got straight A's :thumbsup::10sign:
That is 2 decoy/equipment haulers,
Greg
Well I was not going to go out again this year but I decided to go one last time. I will be heading out in the morning to see what I can find. Even though it is tough out there I hope to find a few birds, no matter what I see it will beat sitting around on the couch all weekend
Thanks Greg I will post how I did when I get back, we need to meet up and throw back a couple adult beverages some time
Mike
Mike
Curious
New member
DT--I have heard good things about the 09/10 season here in Colorado. Unfortuntly I wasnt here during that time frame so all I can hope for is that mother nature gives the birds a break and they start to make a recovery. Would love to stay in state and have good pheasant oppurtunities.
Im pretty involved in the Colorado Springs chapter of Pheaants Forever. But you are right Elk/Trout are king in Colorado. All we can do is keep working so pheaant has a place here also.
Mike--How did your trip go yesterday?
I did not have high hopes heading out but overall I had a very enjoyable day. Weather was great was 60 by the afternoon and light winds. I hunted hard and covered a lot of ground. In the end I saw 2 hens and 3 roosters. The hens I damned near stepped on so that was quite a rush when thy flushed. One rooster flushed about 70 yards out, late season roosters know whats up...The second rooster was dead on the side of the road, the car won! The last one flew right across my hood at last light, if I would have been driving faster might have bagged that one lol