Any new reports??

Well we are a few weeks into the season and was wondering how people were doing in Eastern Colorado?!?

not asking for spots, just some counts and maybe the county in which you hunted :)

any Qauil?
 
Went out yesterday and had a great time, just me and my dog Duke. Most of the corn is down and the birds finally made their way to the CRP and tall cover areas. Most of the hens held tight and my dogs points were solid and often but those wiley roosters were still flushing at 50 yards or more. Did a ton of walking and finally managed to limit out just as shooting light was fading. It was warm with just a slight breeze blowing which was great for Duke scenting the birds but bad for trying to sneak up on those long tails. Looks like early next week there will be some weather that will be more conducive to pheasant hunting, only problem is I need to choose between bird and plains whitetail. I think I know which choice I will pick.
 
Hey sig!

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear someone is out there finding birds! The corn is down!! Hooray!! That will make a huge difference! Where abouts were you hunting yesterday (generally speaking of course)?

If you do end up going after some more roosters and are looking for an extra hunter let me know! I have not had the pleasure of hunting with many pointing pups and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to do so!

Thanks Sig, and straight shooting!
 
Hunted in Yuma area. Lots of good WIA's in the north side of town, you just have to burn a lot of boot leather and don't be afraid to walk any area that you think may hold birds.
 
The birds are back in town!

Wednesday morning, 7am, and I'm sitting in traffic on 225. Gawd! I hate this road. Two and a half hours later and I pull up to my first field only to find two good friends walking out of it. Duke and I jump out of the truck and meet up with J and his new GSP pup Blue, and R, who recently lost his GSP Sage. They tell me they put up birds but they just couldn't seem to knock them down. We load up and head over to our "go to" field. It's about 45 degrees with a slight breeze and the dogs get birdy as soon as we let them out. Long story short , the hens are holding tight and the roosters are letting us get closer than usual. After some great points and nice flushes we have nothing to show for our troubles. All three of us couldn't shoot straight and our dogs are mad as heck. The Three Stooges would have been proud of us. J & R had to head back to Denver so Duke and I kept hunting. Luck shone down on us as the temp dropped, the wind picked up and light flurries started to fall. Now this is my kind of pheasant weather. I still had to burn a ton of shoe leather and, once again it took me until last light to limit but it was another successful day.
 
Nothing like hittin a limit with your pup! Your girl looks just like mine! I just moved to town and did a ton of pheasant hunting up in ND but am still trying to get a lay of the land here. Where you up in the Yuma area again? I did a good bit of walking on Saturday when the wind was gusting 50 mph and flushed two roosters and a hen south of Stratton area in WIA. The combo of being a little too far out and the high winds led to a fruitless effort but it was great to get my girl back out on some scents!
 
A bad day hunting is better than a good day at work. Actually FeasantPhever that's my boy Duke. Yes, I do most of my hunting on land north of Yuma and with Pheasants Forever putting in more corners every year, the opportunities are getting better and better. I prefer a good wind blowing but 50 mph makes it tougher for the dog to scent. Just as an FYI - I always try to walk into the wind and I tend to walk very slow. I takes me over twice as long as the average hunter to cover a field or corner but I'll cross cross it as much as possible. Like I said, I burn a ton of boot leather but I usually kick up birds that others would walk right by. Good luck.
 
Great job Chief! The dogs look as happy as you do. Is that a featherweight or a Grade III Citori?
 
Nice job Chief. Dogs are looking good too. Yeah I still hunt my usual spots but I've been hitting more of the out of the way WIA's and some of the PF corners.
 
Great job Chief! The dogs look as happy as you do. Is that a featherweight or a Grade III Citori?

Good eye Uplandhunter, it is a Citori Feather. Great gun to carry all day but it will put a hurting on you if you try to shoot a round of sporting clays with it!

Todd
 
Good eye Uplandhunter, it is a Citori Feather. Great gun to carry all day but it will put a hurting on you if you try to shoot a round of sporting clays with it!

Todd

I carry a 28” Superlight. The Citori swings like a dream.

Good luck on your outings!
Matt
 
Wednesday morning, 7am, and I'm sitting in traffic on 225. Gawd! I hate this road. Two and a half hours later and I pull up to my first field only to find two good friends walking out of it. Duke and I jump out of the truck and meet up with J and his new GSP pup Blue, and R, who recently lost his GSP Sage. They tell me they put up birds but they just couldn't seem to knock them down. We load up and head over to our "go to" field. It's about 45 degrees with a slight breeze and the dogs get birdy as soon as we let them out. Long story short , the hens are holding tight and the roosters are letting us get closer than usual. After some great points and nice flushes we have nothing to show for our troubles. All three of us couldn't shoot straight and our dogs are mad as heck. The Three Stooges would have been proud of us. J & R had to head back to Denver so Duke and I kept hunting. Luck shone down on us as the temp dropped, the wind picked up and light flurries started to fall. Now this is my kind of pheasant weather. I still had to burn a ton of shoe leather and, once again it took me until last light to limit but it was another successful day.

Yellow lab.right on.thats what my dog is.My son has a black lab.We are Montana hunters.
 
I have hunted the NE corner of CO since 1995 and in the last 10 years the bird numbers have dropped significantly. I go out once every couple years to check in with little success. This year, there are new fields and I have shot a couple of roosters on my last 2 outings. I hope this is a sign of improved bird numbers out there.
 
I went up to the Holyoke area for the first time this year over the weekend. Went up late morning Saturday and hunted the afternoon till sunset and didn't move one bird. Sunday morning was a beautiful morning with very little wind and a little frost on the ground and I had high hopes...

I walked a few of my normal fields that seem to always hold birds and again didn't see a thing. I decided to go out and check some new areas that I've never been and finally found some birds. On the first corner the dogs found three hens right at the far tip just where you would expect. I went to the next corner and finally a rooster but the dogs flushed him when they were going downwind and he was too far. At the far end both dogs went on point and I walked around to try and keep the bird flushing towards a nearby house. The plan worked perfectly until the shot... Easy straight away shot and I missed. I don't know why I do better on crossing shots and whiff the easy ones.

All in all it was a great time and the dogs and I all came home tired, I found some new spots and there are still birds out there. Hopefully we can get out a couple more times before the seasons over.
 
I went up to the Holyoke area for the first time this year over the weekend. Went up late morning Saturday and hunted the afternoon till sunset and didn't move one bird. Sunday morning was a beautiful morning with very little wind and a little frost on the ground and I had high hopes...

I walked a few of my normal fields that seem to always hold birds and again didn't see a thing. I decided to go out and check some new areas that I've never been and finally found some birds. On the first corner the dogs found three hens right at the far tip just where you would expect. I went to the next corner and finally a rooster but the dogs flushed him when they were going downwind and he was too far. At the far end both dogs went on point and I walked around to try and keep the bird flushing towards a nearby house. The plan worked perfectly until the shot... Easy straight away shot and I missed. I don't know why I do better on crossing shots and whiff the easy ones.

All in all it was a great time and the dogs and I all came home tired, I found some new spots and there are still birds out there. Hopefully we can get out a couple more times before the seasons over.

most often those straight away shots require holding over their heads......you can't tell, but most of these birds are climbing and we shoot under them.

good luck.
 
The first most common shooting mistake on what our minds see as a straight going away bird is we “shoot too quick.” Hunter94 is right about shooting underneath rising birds. When they are close you cover the bird with the barrels and slap the trigger. Unlike claybirds gravity does not play into a live bird motoring away from you. The second most common mistake is that the bird is actually banking and we shoot left or right of where the bird actually is going. Wing tips give away the direction of travel. Higher left banking right. Higher right banking left. I know it sounds odd but it actually is as easy to tell as you can the differences between a rooster and a hen.
 
Your right hunter94, I have thought about it quite a bit over the last few days and shooting too low is the only real obvious reason for my miss. Just have to remember to cover those "straight away" birds with the barrel since they are indeed climbing.

That is a great observation Uplandhunter and I haven't ever really put that together for my "hold". It's a lot easier when shooting clays to figure out that high-right or high-left lead with the repetition involved.
 
Your right hunter94, I have thought about it quite a bit over the last few days and shooting too low is the only real obvious reason for my miss. Just have to remember to cover those "straight away" birds with the barrel since they are indeed climbing.

That is a great observation Uplandhunter and I haven't ever really put that together for my "hold". It's a lot easier when shooting clays to figure out that high-right or high-left lead with the repetition involved.

the other tendency i have is to shoot too quick on close birds.......if i shoot twice and miss both times, i conclude if my first shot would have been taken sometime between the actual 1st and 2nd shots.......... i would have killed the bird. slow down.
 
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