Burlington

S

sdtEvergreen

Member
Heading out to Burlington for the Rooster Roundup this Sat and Sunday. Hopefully the weather is cool for the dogs, if not then just morning and late afternoon. If anyone else is headed out there hit me up as I am solo with my English Setter. On a side note spent 4 days with my brother and cousins, 5 of us in all, in North Dakota, Hettinger to Mott and did very well limited two out of the 4 days (close the other 2) while hunting new land so it took us a couple of days to figure out the lay of the land. Drop me a PM if interested in Burlington.
 
Good job in ND!
:cheers:

The weather looks good on Saturday, but might be pushing the upper 60s on Sunday. Good luck!
I had my fill of opening weekend last year. :eek:

I will be glad when we get into some consistently cool weather! I had Blitz out yesterday in Strasburg, and it was sunny and warm. He found the one shady spot in the field to take a breather.

15078385983_6a46c7ff1d_z.jpg
 
stratten

heading to stratten with 4 brittanys if no wild birds going to get a few from sixshot hunt club to work dogs they are only 2 miles south of stratten good luck to all be safe
 
I have never done the RR but an thinking about giving it a try. It sounds like the opening weekend might be pretty crowded, is that true?

If I do go out for the weekend, It would be great to meet you sdtevergreen.
Will be solo here too except for 2 gray dogs.

If I can, I might go out during the week after the crowds leave, but I would guess that the bird population takes a pretty heavy thinning out on the opener?

Is it really worth trying throughout the season and especially later when the weather is better for bird hunting?

Any advice from someone who has done it would really be appreciated.

p.s.:coolpics: co_weim
 
2-Weims

I have been doing the RR for many years. To be honest there has been some very good years and as of late some not so good years and of course it all depends on the habitat for that year. Last year was better than the year before as the grass was better. So I am hoping for some decent, not great hunting this year. I would prefer not to go out on the weekends and treat opening day hunting like opening day baseball. There is just an amazing energy in the air and in the town, everyone is anticipating a good year. But then everyone hits the field with guns, perceived privilege and testosterone. Not the best combination. I usually get a field in the morning and then go far away the rest of the day mainly scoping out areas I have not hunted in the past but will get back to once the crowd thins. Or I will slip over the Kansas line (with the proper license) and hunt some there as it seems to get less pressure. I like the RR because you get access to a lot of land, some marginal and some good. But I also like to know where my money goes and the Rotary is as good a place as any. Let me know your thoughts, I might have convinced Hen-Hen to tag along this weekend.
 
2weims said:
If I can, I might go out during the week after the crowds leave, but I would guess that the bird population takes a pretty heavy thinning out on the opener?

Is it really worth trying throughout the season and especially later when the weather is better for bird hunting?

p.s.:coolpics: co_weim
Click to expand...

RE: Coolpics - Thanks!

I read "somewhere" that ~50% of the birds harvested in a given year are taken the first week of the season. The remaining 50% are harvested over the rest of the season. Judging from what I saw last year, there are a lot of hunters out on opening day, with significantly fewer the following day. After opening weekend, the number of hunters out there drops off dramatically. Aside from opening weekend, when I turn off of the paved roads in Colorado pheasant country, it is usually the case that I might be lucky if I see more than 10 vehicles all day. After opening weekend, there are still birds out there, but they are a bit smarter, craftier or luckier than those that were taken in the first few days of the season.

I go hunting to watch my dogs work, for the solitude, etc. so going after the smart and crafty birds is fine with me. I am great at bagging 2 birds before 9:00AM, then hunting all day for "just one more". :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
Thanks to both of you for the advice. Still working out my work schedule and am not sure If I will make the opener yet.

Sounds like it would be worth the 150, and for a good thing all the way around.

Cover should be good anyway.

With a name like Hen-Hen, how could he not go?
 
2weims said:
Thanks to both of you for the advice. Still working out my work schedule and am not sure If I will make the opener yet.

Sounds like it would be worth the 150, and for a good thing all the way around.

Cover should be good anyway.

With a name like Hen-Hen, how could he not go?
Click to expand...

hen-hen is IN, 'Rooster Round-Up' it is!
If nothing else I'll get a free breakfast, hat, a little nostalgic wade thru tradition & Americana, some catchin-up time with good friend sdtEvergreen, and a bit of scouting (begin either the check-mark and/or x-out list) for later in the season. A bird or two brought back to hand in the pooch's maw & later slow-savored at home on the dinner table would be a pleasant plus! :thumbsup: :cheers:
 
2weims said:
I have never done the RR but an thinking about giving it a try. It sounds like the opening weekend might be pretty crowded, is that true?

If I do go out for the weekend, It would be great to meet you sdtevergreen.
Will be solo here too except for 2 gray dogs.

If I can, I might go out during the week after the crowds leave, but I would guess that the bird population takes a pretty heavy thinning out on the opener?

Is it really worth trying throughout the season and especially later when the weather is better for bird hunting?

Any advice from someone who has done it would really be appreciated.

p.s.:coolpics: co_weim
Click to expand...

I don't believe the thinning theory on bit, they may get scarce in the more common spots, but mostly they just spread out. over my lifetime of hunting I have found very little diff. between early season and late season, you won't ever shoot out the birds, get that out of your head

cheers
 
Good luck to everyone attending the RR and/or going out for opening day tomorrow. I will be stuck at work, but I'll be with you in sprit
 
Chasing Ghosts

It was a walk in the summertime this weekend in Burlington. Did the Rooster Round-up with Hen-Hen (My 7th year), got my map and marked my spots. Hit the Knights of Columbus Hunters Breakfast at 5:00 am then went out to wait at my favorite spot before sunrise. There was a truck already there, drats opening day rush. I drove by and decided to back up and chat with guy. Turns out he was hunting alone with his Yellow and invited me to join. We hunted at sunrise (love the Prairie Sunrise) covered the spot and nary a scent of bird, not good. Spent the rest of the day dodging traffic and covering land. Total Count 2 Hens, no shots fired and tired. Went into town for lunch at 2:00 pm and struck up a conversation with a farming couple in Subway. Turns out he farms 9000 acres in the area and he set us up actually at a spot we had seen earlier in the day and wished we could hunt. It was about 80 acres of wonderful CRP surrounded by corn, wheat, a stream and sunflowers. We decided to hit it on Sunday. For Saturday night, as the custom we went into town and had Hunters Turkey Dinner at the Christian Church. Love the small town communities and their graciousness to outsiders. Enjoyed the meal and friendship. Sunday got up early and hit one abandoned farm surrounded by CRP and wheat. No birds. Went to the "private" spot and was stunned by the cover and food available around it. While there we met another group who had permission to hunt this area so we teamed up. They indicated that it had not been hunted all year. So with 5 guys, 1 young lady, and six dogs we hunted and hunted covering this beautiful land. Tally: No birds, No shots. Talking with the locals they got hit hard with hail during the spring hatch and the birds did not recover. I love this event and the groups putting it on and will give it a shot again next year (and maybe once more this winter) but will more than likely head North and as Hen-Hen would say "scratch a few out up there". Total tally 2-Hens, No Shots, Couple new friends, I'll take it. P.S. Starting my beard today.
 
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Opening Day Blues 2014

Not many wild birds in Kit Carson County, but great time at Sixshot Hunt Club. Purchased birds, dog training was great, hospitality unsurpassed. Check out their website at www.sixshothuntclub.com . Great place to train dogs and/or stay for a weekend getaway.
 
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