Any advice for a novice with no dog?

M

Matt33

New member
Newbie here,

I've been searching around for advice on hunting without a dog but I haven't had much luck - sorry if this has been covered.

This will be my first year for pheasants so no dog, and no plans for one in the immediate future. I'm going to be walking around some areas that have been stocked/managed for pheasants by our fish and game (NH). While, I don't have high expectations (none actually), I should probably try to get some basic pointers from any of you who started out like me.

Also, I'll be by myself so no blockers, etc... I know it will be tough, but just getting out will be enjoyable.

Thanks in advance,
Matt
 
Hunt slowly, stop frequently (makes birds nervous), use terrain features as a "blocker" . . . open stretches, creeks, ditches, farm roads, field edges, etc. It can be done successfully (I hunted this way many times when I was a kid.). Good luck to you. Remember to mark downed birds well & be prepared for a quick second shot if you get a wounded runner.
 
Walk slow, stop a lot, change speeds etc. Take a field and cut it in half diagonally and work it back and forth into a corner. Use roads or water as blockers and look for spots where the hunters with dogs aren't. Youd be surprised what kind of cover birds will use when they are being heavily pressured in the usual areas. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get some more help.
 
Also look for some of the small chunks of cover that big groups don't take the time to hunt. They can have more birds in them than you would think.

If you shoot a bird and he does not fold up, you might shoot him again before he hits the ground. With no dog you need to kill them in the air.
 
koja48 said:
Hunt slowly, stop frequently (makes birds nervous), use terrain features as a "blocker" . . . open stretches, creeks, ditches, farm roads, field edges, etc. It can be done successfully (I hunted this way many times when I was a kid.). Good luck to you. Remember to mark downed birds well & be prepared for a quick second shot if you get a wounded runner.
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The only thing I would add to this is vary speed and direction. In other words don't walk at the same speed and zig zag through the cover some. If in crops change lanes often while watching the ground for runners. When you think you have stopped long enough, stop a few seconds more.
 
All good info guys. I appreciate you taking the time to write.

Let you know in a couple weeks how I do.
 
Matt33 said:
Newbie here,

I've been searching around for advice on hunting without a dog but I haven't had much luck - sorry if this has been covered.

This will be my first year for pheasants so no dog, and no plans for one in the immediate future. I'm going to be walking around some areas that have been stocked/managed for pheasants by our fish and game (NH). While, I don't have high expectations (none actually), I should probably try to get some basic pointers from any of you who started out like me.

Also, I'll be by myself so no blockers, etc... I know it will be tough, but just getting out will be enjoyable.

Thanks in advance,
Matt
Click to expand...

I'd say get a dog. Your far better off hunting pheasants with a dog. It will be your best friend and hunting buddy. Yes it can be done with out dogs. The advise given above is correct, however it will still be difficult to get Pheasants with out a dog.

Matt, find a guy with a dog and make him your new best friend, at least until you can get your own dog. :)
 
It's awesome that you are wanting to get started in this fine sport. The guys all gave you some great pointers. For me though there would be no hunting without a dog. I say that because my enjoyment in hunting comes from watching the dogs work. Shooting a bird is less exciting to me than seeing a dog lock one down.
 
I agree but I started with no dog and loved it so much I had a dog ready to go for my second season.:cheers:
 
All great advice. I did some no dog hunting but never really had any luck.

Perhaps this is not the type of answer that the OP was looking for.....but, I wouldn't be afraid to ask people to join them, especially if you see someone hunting by themselves. I wouldn't hesitate to let someone hunt with me or my group as long as that person was polite and exhibiting proper firearm safety when approaching me. More the merrier for me. As mentioned earlier, I don't hunt to put meat in the freezer, that is a bonus.
 
quail hound said:
I agree but I started with no dog and loved it so much I had a dog ready to go for my second season.:cheers:
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This is where I'm at now. I'm sure everyone agrees that it makes sense to go through a season first before running out and making that kind of commitment.
 
HolyMoses said:
All great advice. I did some no dog hunting but never really had any luck.

Perhaps this is not the type of answer that the OP was looking for.....but, I wouldn't be afraid to ask people to join them, especially if you see someone hunting by themselves. I wouldn't hesitate to let someone hunt with me or my group as long as that person was polite and exhibiting proper firearm safety when approaching me. More the merrier for me. As mentioned earlier, I don't hunt to put meat in the freezer, that is a bonus.
Click to expand...

Good advice. Thanks.
 
And remember, when you do get the opportunity to hunt with someone else behind their dog, NO low shots! When hunting alone, you won't have this limitation, but it is something you must adhere to when hunting over a dog. Sometimes a dog, no matter how well-trained, will succumb to temptation & break after a bird.
 
stocked birds

the easiest thing you can do is find out the stocking routes and then look for the tire tracks in the dirt or mud. in as much as your fields back there are for the most part different than out west hunt the ditches and edges, snow would help. the state will also tell you what days the birds are stocked and if you don't see a bunch of hunters you are in the wrong spot. while i don't think much of this type of hunting, if that's all you have then go for it. i was raised just across the river and know what you are up against. i'll be there in a couple of weeks, with dogs, mostly want to make one last hunt for woodcock and grouse and try and find some of my old hot spots that probably don't even exist anymore but will try anyway. you might if you don't already, either join one of the local fish and game clubs or at least talk to a few of the members to get an idea as to where the state usually plants birds, i'm sure they use the same areas year after year and particularly learn your side of the river as that has very likely the greatest potential. good luck, a few woodcock and grouse will be using the same cover most likley

cheers
 
quail hound said:
I agree but I started with no dog and loved it so much I had a dog ready to go for my second season.:cheers:
Click to expand...

It was the same for me, except i didn't get mine until the end of my second season.

Also, @Matt33:
There was an article in the latest issue of Outdoor Life talking about this issue called Be the Dog. If you don't have access to it i can type some of the important stuff out, if you'd like.
 
Go out before dawn and in the last hour before sunset and watch down a road, from high point that gives you a long view, that separates cover (CRP, grass, weed patches) from a harvested grain field (milo or corn stalks and stubble). Birds will run or fly from cover to the feeding areas. You'll then know where to hunt.
 
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n. h.

remember he is hunting in new hampshire, essentially there are no reproducing flocks of birds, maybe one or two in the very southern part of the state but don't count on it. it's kinda like in wyo where 3 days a week the stocking truck makes a delivery, usually at night to foil the truck watchers, the cover back there where they place the birds is not much different than here just not much of it and no fields big enough to get lost in. he should get a list of the areas and the days they stock, get there first and walk lots of those edges. believe they can shoot either sex. anyway don't stay home and put some effort in finding someone that hunts with a dog, back there is may not be easy and then read read and then read some more. there can be a big difference in the breeds on how they hunt and how they may match up to you. as far as flocks going to feed, it just doesn't happen back there

cheers
 
mustistuff said:
the easiest thing you can do is find out the stocking routes and then look for the tire tracks in the dirt or mud. in as much as your fields back there are for the most part different than out west hunt the ditches and edges, snow would help. the state will also tell you what days the birds are stocked and if you don't see a bunch of hunters you are in the wrong spot. while i don't think much of this type of hunting, if that's all you have then go for it. i was raised just across the river and know what you are up against. i'll be there in a couple of weeks, with dogs, mostly want to make one last hunt for woodcock and grouse and try and find some of my old hot spots that probably don't even exist anymore but will try anyway. you might if you don't already, either join one of the local fish and game clubs or at least talk to a few of the members to get an idea as to where the state usually plants birds, i'm sure they use the same areas year after year and particularly learn your side of the river as that has very likely the greatest potential. good luck, a few woodcock and grouse will be using the same cover most likley

cheers
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Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately, I agree - I'll probably have to try to time it with the stocking truck. Trying hard not to be one of "those guys" but...

On a side note, I, as most of you, am not in it for the actual shooting of the birds. However, I have no problem hunting grouse (read: walking the woods all day while grouse undoubtedly see me coming a mile away and, if they could, laughing at my pathetic attempt). I hesitate to use the term "fair chase" because my attempt to match their skills, one-on-one, with them in their natural environment hardly seems fair to me. "Futile Chase" seems more appropriate and my success rate clearly shows it.

Thanks again,
Matt
 
A few more ideas...hunt edges and make your pushes toward open cover. For instance if there is a thick field that meets a mature woods edge, push the field toward that edge. Water is a public land hunters best friend, so are roads. Birds don't want to cross either so will go to flight. Dont walk in straight lines and stop frequently. Small little bushes or a single tree in a large grass field can be a magnet.

One other trick...usually the public ground roads that the stock trucks use to release birds are either gated or cabled off. Simply take a small stick or toothpick and put it on the edge of the gate or cable, then check it daily. Sometimes during real dry or real wet years it can be hard to aged truck tracks, the stick on the gate never fails.

One other tip. If you are successful, make mental note of that specific spot. I hunt several public grounds and each one of them has "hot spots" that I regularly count on there being a bird in. There is just something about those specific locations that repeatedly attracts birds.

Good luck.

ps - pheasant fajitas are a great way to make them. YUM.
 
birds

519vx said:
A few more ideas...hunt edges and make your pushes toward open cover. For instance if there is a thick field that meets a mature woods edge, push the field toward that edge. Water is a public land hunters best friend, so are roads. Birds don't want to cross either so will go to flight. Dont walk in straight lines and stop frequently. Small little bushes or a single tree in a large grass field can be a magnet.

One other trick...usually the public ground roads that the stock trucks use to release birds are either gated or cabled off. Simply take a small stick or toothpick and put it on the edge of the gate or cable, then check it daily. Sometimes during real dry or real wet years it can be hard to aged truck tracks, the stick on the gate never fails.

One other tip. If you are successful, make mental note of that specific spot. I hunt several public grounds and each one of them has "hot spots" that I regularly count on there being a bird in. There is just something about those specific locations that repeatedly attracts birds.

Good luck.

ps - pheasant fajitas are a great way to make them. YUM.
Click to expand...

ya, the hot spots are where the truck stops. really, i'm not against that kinda hunting if that what ya got, do it.

cheers
 
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