Bob Peters
Well-known member
I hunted with a buddy and his dog Tracy the Brittany. We were going to eyeball a new spot maybe off the radar, turns out it wasn't, already been posted by DNR so we continued on. We hit a gravel road heading west. Ironically enough I had a waypoint on a private field, just a reminder I should door knock there some day. Up over a rise and wow! The birds were coming out of the woodworks! We counted 16+ roosters all in a group. There were 8 or 9 hens we saw just down the road, although they blend in so well I'm sure there were a few more. This guys place looked better than South Dakota. We kept driving and it became clear the birds were really out. On roads I drive all the time we saw roosters out in fields feeding everywhere. We tried a quick spot where usually I see 2-6 birds, but good odds of a rooster holding tight. We put up over 30 birds. Most of these flushed in a large popcorn flush out of range. (Side note: I think these birds might have busted early regardless, but those beeper collars used for pointer dogs, I'm not a fan. They cause a racket and sound like a school bus backing up, and probably put every bird on notice within 200yds.) It had rained/sleeted/snowed the afternoon/night before. We guessed maybe the birds stayed tucked away in their comfy grass and feather beds that previous evening so they all came out at once the next day.
