Bumping birds at dusk?

Lefty76

Lefty76

Well-known member
I recently accepted a day shift position that will have me hunting a lot more in the afternoons. Up until this point, 90% of my hunting has been done in the morning. In Iowa we have to stop hunting at 4:30. In Nebraska I can legally hunt until sunset. I'm curious as to how you "golden hour" hunters feel about busting birds off their roosts in the evenings? Does it put them at a greater risk of predation/harm? I suppose weather conditions might factor into the equation as far as finding another suitable roost goes? Not trying to open a can of worms here, just trying to see how others approach the situation.
 
Everybody will view this differently. When I lived in Iowa I never hunted when either the weather was bad, or about to become bad! I was retired and hunted most every day of the season, (weather permitting). I felt the birds had it bad enough without me making it worse. Do what your conscience tells you.
 
I saw if it’s legal, do what you want. I know some guys in SD think its horrible that IA starts at 8. I love it. During the dry times, you may get an hour of dew and then just dust after. Gets the dogs some advantage for sure.
 
Labradinger said:
I saw if it’s legal, do what you want. I know some guys in SD think its horrible that IA starts at 8. I love it. During the dry times, you may get an hour of dew and then just dust after. Gets the dogs some advantage for sure.
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Do what you have to get them. If that means hunting them as they fly to the roost so be it
They don’t play fair by hiding in the corn all day
 
Don’t most predators hunt at night? It’s not like they’re taking a nap and we’re waking them up. They’re in survival mode all the time. Just one part of the day when they are just a bit more predictive
 
What makes the hunting so good at that time is you see them coming out to pick gravel after feeding mid day and gliding from crops to cover. There is a flurry of activity about 45-60 minutes before sunset and then it shuts off shortly after dark. It doesn't seem to me like many have made it to roost hours before sunset so it's not so much busting them "off" the roost as it is catching them going "to" it.
 
100% of my pheasant hunting has been between the hours of about noon and sunset the past 15 years. I don't even bother hunting at 9am when I'm legally able to anymore. I have found that my success rate is far better when I target the last 2 hours of the day. I need every advantage I can get out there.
 
During blizzard-like conditions they’re probably tucked into roost cover much of the day, but for sure late in the day. Pushing them out before dark exposes them to the elements as well as predation. I’ve called off more than one hunt when hens are being pulled out of snowy vegetation by dogs…quite a few times.
 
benelli-banger said:
During blizzard-like conditions they’re probably tucked into roost cover much of the day, but for sure late in the day. Pushing them out before dark exposes them to the elements as well as predation. I’ve called off more than one hunt when hens are being pulled out of snowy vegetation by dogs…quite a few times.
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I should have clarified in my previous post that I don't push birds at sunset in blizzard-like conditions because I don't hunt in those conditions. Its unsafe even being out on the roads, its unsafe for me to be getting there and back. Birds are safe from my shotgun if that's the case.
 
In the areas I hunt, they have several other good cover options, usually well within 1/4 mile, certainly within 1/2 mile, so pushing them from roosting cover at sunset isn't an issue. They always know exactly where they're headed the moment they flush, because they use ALL the cover in the area at various times.
 
After college I moved from SD to Iowa...my new Iowa hunting buddies couldn't believe we hunted those poor birds on the roost up to sunset. We must certainly be monsters hunting those poor birds in the dim light. THE TRUTH...In South Dakota you can about about set your watch by the roosters piling out of the corn a good 10 minutes after legal sunset. Count on it...especially in the early season with standing corn.

In South Dakota you'll hear that Iowa's 8:00 a.m. start doesn't allow the birds to escape their nesting cover. THE TRUTH...I've watched hordes of birds pile out of Iowa cover at first light while I waited for 8:00 a.m. to set me free. ALSO...I can't count how many times driving home at 4:30 in Iowa the roosters simply seem to magically materialize into the open fields at 4:35 to feed. You can almost hear them laughing: "Ha ha!...4:30 suckers!"

I've learned one thing living in both states for years...those damned birds figure it out regardless of state borders. They're NEVER "disadvantaged" one bit by our fastidious fixation with the clock.
 
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I’ve stood in my field dozens and dozens of times and watched birds migrate in from the corn after legal
shooting…for me, this issue applies to days when it’s brutally cold, windy, etc…below zero, snowing, not fairly calm, decent weather…if we’re standing out there in near darkness, drinking beer, birds are doing ok!🤣
 
Lefty76 said:
I recently accepted a day shift position that will have me hunting a lot more in the afternoons. Up until this point, 90% of my hunting has been done in the morning. In Iowa we have to stop hunting at 4:30. In Nebraska I can legally hunt until sunset. I'm curious as to how you "golden hour" hunters feel about busting birds off their roosts in the evenings? Does it put them at a greater risk of predation/harm? I suppose weather conditions might factor into the equation as far as finding another suitable roost goes? Not trying to open a can of worms here, just trying to see how others approach the situation.
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I have hunted Nebraska for 28 years, birds adapt quickly and shooting at them if they have began starting to roost towards dusk is no big deal IMO. Usually they simply fly to their next safe spot they have.
 
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