California Forum Newb - Midwest Transplant

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Pointemstraight

New member
Gentlemen (and Lady.. there's always one lurking somewhere who puts up with our sh*t) of the Golden State,

I'm a new CA implant fresh in from the wetter (and colder) climes of Minnesota. This isn't my first tour of California - I lived in the LA area for 6 years in the early oughts, but this is my first extended experience in Northern California. I moved the entire brood to the San Jose area from Minneapolis. While it's been a bit of an adjustment, the dog is really put out seeing as we left a week before the bird season in MN opened! Missed it by that much!

The pup has been leaving ransom notes indicating if I don't get him hunting, he's going to start chewing legs on furniture, the Mrs.' high heels, or whatever else of value he can get his chops around. I'm taking his threat seriously and decided I'd better do some research.

If anyone has an suggestions of where I might point the rig toward that's within a few hours of San Jose, I'd certainly appreciate it. I'm not looking for you to divulge your closely-kept secrets, but a nudge in the right direction would certainly be welcome (a mention of what areas to stay away from is equally valuable!).

Quail Hound gave me a little bit of a heads up on how the Refuge system works (and my jaw hit the floor with the price of an annual pass) - are the refuges typically the better productive land, or are there state-owned parcels worth exploring that one can hunt with just a license alone?

So hello to the CA folks, and I'd certainly appreciate any advice you have! Here's a few pictures from years past of MN adventures.
 
Again, welcome to our beautiful home. That's a nice looking pup you have there, hopefully we can get you guys sorted out here shortly and on some birds.:cheers: I see you are a fly fisherman, I think you'll find some great fly fishing here and if you know how to throw a casting rod you are very close to the bass fishing Mecca that is the Sacramento/ San Joaquin delta.:thumbsup:
 
Welcome from Benicia! I'm new to pheasant so the only suggestion I have is to listen to all the great advice these fine men give. Everyone is very helpful here. Once again, welcome to California!
 
Can't tell for sure just by viewing it from the bottom, but that looks like it might be an Ithaca Model 37 you've got there. If so, I own seven of those dating back to 1941. My late father thought that was the only gun worth shooting and after a foray into stack-barrels and side-by-sides that lasted about a decade, I'm back to that way of thinking, too.

That's also a good-looking pheasant tail nymph. I've never considered tying them with bright red thread to achieve that colorful head, but I'll do it next time. I do wrap the abdomen with some reddish-colored wire that a guy gave me one time -- deadly on the Yuba River and the North Fork of the Feather.

This is a rough year for wild birds due to the extended drought. You pretty much won't find jack for pheasants except on the refuges, and damn few there. Some quail do reside on some of the state lands that aren't Type A (the properties that charge the big bucks to get on), but their numbers are down, too. I've pretty much vowed to leave them be this year.

To get your dog on some birds, my best suggestion would be a one- or two-day hunt at Clear Creek Sports Club in Corning (about 100 miles north of Sacramento on Interstate 5). As pen-raised operations go, it's absolutely the closest thing to wild-bird hunting that exists in this state -- the proprietor works his a$$ off to create that scenario. He also raises his own birds and they're smallish and spooky -- just like their wild cousins, their first choice of escape mode is their feet and there's lots of places for them to go out there. All I ever do is scratch-hunt, mostly on the perimeter, and I find plenty that have gotten away from other people either by land or by air. It won't be dirt cheap, but I think you'd find it satisfying.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

P.S.: Did you know any of the Pheasants Forever guys in Minneapolis? I'm acquainted with a few of them -- Bob St. Pierre and Anthony Hauck, in particular.
 
Welcome-

Assuming this is a pheasant forum I guess that's what you want to hunt. The Calif Dept Fish & Wildlife website has tons of info (if you can sort thru it). It also lists the licensed bird clubs and farms. I think the closest one for you is in Stevinson.

If you're after other game Hunter Liggett south of King City offers opportunities as well. Los Padres NF south of Big Sur has quail, pigeon and dove.

good luck-
 
Ditchparrot,

You're right on, that is most certainly an Ithaca Model 37 featherweight - even better, it's a 16 gauge - an ideal upland gun. It was my grandfather's, and he only used it with slugs for deer hunting, but it's been a fantastic pheasant dropping machine.

The only downside to the older shotguns is that I'm hesitant to shoot steel with it, so it looks like it won't be getting much action in CA.

The red-head on the Pheasant tail is key! I actually only tie them with flashbacks too, the only reason that one is tied bare is I needed to photograph it for a magazine article. I do the same with my prince-nymphs. Always a bead-head, and always a few bright red wraps behind the bead. Some refer to it as a "bloody prince."

Thanks for all of the advice - much appreciated!! Oh, and I happen to know those PF boys well - I'll shoot you a PM.
 
Pointem, welcome to UPH.
I'm thinking for a MN guy, :) You done good by checking out UPH.
These CA guys know things, for sure.

Good hunting. :cheers:
 
Anthony Hauck is a nice guy, he and I have exchanged quite a few emails trying to get a PF chapter started in my area. He has a really nice looking little cocker too, so I know he's one of the good ones.:D
 
Pointemstraight said:
You're right on, that is most certainly an Ithaca Model 37 featherweight - even better, it's a 16 gauge - an ideal upland gun.
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Yeah, two of mine are 16s -- one approximately 70 years older than the other. I also have three 20s and two 12s.

You're wise to avoid shooting steel through yours, as it won't handle it well. There are other non-toxics you can go with, though. They're pricey, but most people here in California don't do a tremendous amount of shooting at wild birds these days.

There's an excellent book (also pricey) on the Model 37 by a guy named Walter Snyder that covers absolutely everything about the gun up through the late '90s. My wife got it for me for Christmas a couple of years back. If you send me the serial number on your gun, I can look it up in there and tell you which year it came out of the factory.

It's not quite as old as mine, though -- I can tell that by the ringtail fore end. The very oldest ones have checkering there.
 
quail hound said:
Anthony Hauck is a nice guy, he and I have exchanged quite a few emails trying to get a PF chapter started in my area. He has a really nice looking little cocker too, so I know he's one of the good ones.:D
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Yep, he's even better in person. He smiles constantly and has a pretty thick North Country accent (like the people in the movie "Fargo"). You can't help but be in a good mood when you're around him.
 
If you think Hauck has a thick accent, wait'll you hear mine! Hah! Those PF boys are good people. Really sad about Bob's dog last year, though he got a new pup last fall, I imagine they've been out this year.

Here's Hauck and one of the other PF guys on a photo shoot we did a few years ago for their Marketplace (in the spring, nonetheless, trying to make it look like bird season - not a final image by any means).
 
Really? I didn't pick up on much of an accent when we talked last night.
 
Haha, alright. Here's one of those Delta largemouths I was telling you about. A few trips later I was reeling in a 14" and had a massive 12 plus pound female come up off a bed and explode on it feet from the boat.:eek: Never could get her to move off her bed after that.:(

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Pointemstraight said:
Really sad about Bob's dog last year, though he got a new pup last fall, I imagine they've been out this year.
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Yeah, I recall he had that shorthair he named Trammell (after the former Tigers shortstop). Did something bad happen to it?

This isn't even close to the same level, but the extremely sad state of U. of Michigan football has to be wearing on him as well.
 
ditchparrot19 said:
Yeah, I recall he had that shorthair he named Trammell (after the former Tigers shortstop). Did something bad happen to it?

This isn't even close to the same level, but the extremely sad state of U. of Michigan football has to be wearing on him as well.
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No, it was their younger dog Izzy. If I remember right they were hunting and she ran into a log that poked her carotid artery, she was gone in a matter of minutes. I can't imagine having to watch that happen.
 
Pointemstraight said:
No, it was their younger dog Izzy. If I remember right they were hunting and she ran into a log that poked her carotid artery, she was gone in a matter of minutes. I can't imagine having to watch that happen.
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Brutal.

I know Steve Smith, the editor of the Pointing Dog Journal and Retriever Journal, lost a pointer that way a few years back.

My yellow Lab Zeke, who's 13 1/2 now, came down right on top of a sharp one when he was maybe a year and a half old, but it didn't penetrate. Only time I ever heard that dog cry about anything that happened in the field.
 
Wow, that is terrible. Hunting is inherently dangerous for man and dog but an accident like that is the farthest thing from our minds when in the field with our four legged friends.:(
 
I took my lumps this summer - broke my leg on a backpacking trip. At least they didn't have to take me out back and shoot me!

By the way, quail hound... you're probably too young to understand the reference, but "Wow, that's fantastic bass!"

(For your eductation: http://www.hulu.com/watch/19046)
 
For some reason I didn't notice this thread until today. Anyone who can chew gum and punctuate is welcome on this forum in my view. Others have given help but for some history...
Pointemstraight said:
Missed it by that much!
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...you actually missed it by 20 years. In the 1990s there were guys driving from out of state to hunt pheasants here. No more. The traffic goes the other way now.

Pointemstraight said:
there state-owned parcels worth exploring that one can hunt with just a license alone?
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I think what you're asking is, can you access land grant parcels and hunt like you can in other states where hunting is allowed on all state owned lands?
It's pretty rare to impossible. The state didn't take the position of say Montana which retained the public's right to hunt when they lease out the sections they got when it entered the union. At least I can't think of a piece in pheasant country where that's true.

I was going to be clever and observant about the Mod. 37 but ditchparrot19 beat me to it. In 20 ga. those are the chukar hunters "go to" gun where you can hunt w/o a plug in the adjacent states for upland birds. With one of those you have a light gun with 6 rounds that you can hump up a mountain and shoot a limit w/o reloading from one covey rise. The chukar hunter's dream.
 
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