Do you take a poke at the long range birds ?

Distance is an interesting concept…as a teen, I shot my bow a lot…10, 20, 30, 40….i think I’m still decent at judging range (in reality I may not be), but I think the size of the bird tends to tell me if it’s in range, especially past 30 yards…when my dog is rooting around, I’m focused on her distance from me…birds don’t always flush where you think they’re gonna, but lots of times they do, especially in cover with fairly obvious edges, boundaries, etc…i suspect like anything, experience helps a lot…
 
Distance is an interesting concept…as a teen, I shot my bow a lot…10, 20, 30, 40….i think I’m still decent at judging range (in reality I may not be), but I think the size of the bird tends to tell me if it’s in range, especially past 30 yards…when my dog is rooting around, I’m focused on her distance from me…birds don’t always flush where you think they’re gonna, but lots of times they do, especially in cover with fairly obvious edges, boundaries, etc…i suspect like anything, experience helps a lot…
I actually missed a turkey last spring with my bow, because I didn't have it on the right pin. I don't have a rangefinder.
 
Distance is an interesting concept…as a teen, I shot my bow a lot…10, 20, 30, 40….i think I’m still decent at judging range (in reality I may not be), but I think the size of the bird tends to tell me if it’s in range, especially past 30 yards…when my dog is rooting around, I’m focused on her distance from me…birds don’t always flush where you think they’re gonna, but lots of times they do, especially in cover with fairly obvious edges, boundaries, etc…i suspect like anything, experience helps a lot…
I shoot my bow and shotgun in a similar fashion, just point and shoot. I shoot traditional archery so no sight or anything. I don't use the bead on my gun really, at least I don't notice that I do. Just instinctive shooting my bow however I do use the arrow, so probably just using the barrel.
 
If that creating habitat and seeing the results "doesn't make you any more aware of it or have some special feelings that mean anything to anyone but me", I don't even know how to respond to that.

I wasn't 400 miles from many Kansas hunters. Maybe a mini one in Wichita? I think you are asking for more than they can do for you. They won't put one in my hometown either, but I understand that.
Then don’t respond. Just because I have some land now and work at it, doesn’t make me superior to anyone else. You act as if we should all pay homage to you for it. I see it as a privilege and responsibility to do it. It makes me happy and I do like it, but I don’t expect to get any kind of praise for it and don’t want any. Part of what I do is for me and me alone. Part is for the respect of the game. Without birds, I don’t get to watch dogs work.

I have been a hunter all my life. I’ve always had a healthy respect for the sport. Just because I wasn’t a landowner for most of that time doesn’t mean I didn’t care about the sport, habitat, etc…. I appreciated the landowners that did manage their land for it and I always thanked them appropriately for the privilege. I wasn’t less aware because it wasn’t my land.
 
I just pulled my ruger red label 28 from the safe…it’s got M/M tubes at the moment.,,it’s coming with Tuesday! Need to shoot it more…
I have one of these but haven’t shot it yet. I had one years ago that I did shoot and wish I never sold it. The one I have now is a golden quail model (1 of 250). Its used, so I probably shouldn’t be so resistant to using it. I keep my eyes open for another one that I can hunt with without any issue.
 
When we enrolled our SD land into CRP, then WRP a few years later, the $ had much to do with it. I think our CRP payment in 2003’sh was $40-45/acre…not life changing, but I was 33 when we bought it…we borrowed the $ for 80% of the purchase…every $ of income helped. WRP was a game changer, the one-time payment was 2x what we gave for the land 5 years earlier. We own it and can sell it, and of course, pay taxes on it. Land can never be farmed, developed, etc…I like that, it’s one thing I know for sure I’ve done while here on earth…buddy of mine hunted it yesterday with his 28 year old son…he went on and on about the robins in the cedar trees! I thought that was cool. He said hundreds. But again, I don’t think our conservation inclination would have occurred without the compensation…and cost-sharing from the county, etc.
 
I bet you could survey 500 pheasant hunters that live in western Kansas, and not a one of them ever heard of the Pheasant Fest in KC. I have been a member for 30 years and didn't know about it. That is what I am talking about. They need to figure out a way to target people living in western Kansas. Maybe it is sending information in the mail, maybe it is social media, but like I said, PF is a non-factor out here.
You are a member and YOU didn't know about it???? No talk about it at the local banquet? Come on. If you have opened up a PF journal you could not have missed it. Out of 500 pheasant hunters, not one would have know about it, that means to me, none of those 500 were PF members...you just can't miss it if you open the magazine. Heck there is always a thread or 2 here about who is going to the event. I see it on social media constantly prior to the events. Maybe they can send a singing telegram to your home, so you will know about the next one. Come on.
 
If that creating habitat and seeing the results "doesn't make you any more aware of it or have some special feelings that mean anything to anyone but me", I don't even know how to respond to that.

I wasn't 400 miles from many Kansas hunters. Maybe a mini one in Wichita? I think you are asking for more than they can do for you. They won't put one in my hometown either, but I understand that.
Wichita wouldn’t couldn’t handle it. OKc maybe but it would flop ,, to many duck and deerturds.
 
When we enrolled our SD land into CRP, then WRP a few years later, the $ had much to do with it. I think our CRP payment in 2003’sh was $40-45/acre…not life changing, but I was 33 when we bought it…we borrowed the $ for 80% of the purchase…every $ of income helped. WRP was a game changer, the one-time payment was 2x what we gave for the land 5 years earlier. We own it and can sell it, and of course, pay taxes on it. Land can never be farmed, developed, etc…I like that, it’s one thing I know for sure I’ve done while here on earth…buddy of mine hunted it yesterday with his 28 year old son…he went on and on about the robins in the cedar trees! I thought that was cool. He said hundreds. But again, I don’t think our conservation inclination would have occurred without the compensation…and cost-sharing from the county, etc.
Those robins should have been leaving a bit earlier, if you are getting the weather we are here.

Those conservation easements are a great way to know that land is protected....permanently.
 
You are a member and YOU didn't know about it???? No talk about it at the local banquet? Come on. If you have opened up a PF journal you could not have missed it. Out of 500 pheasant hunters, not one would have know about it, that means to me, none of those 500 were PF members...you just can't miss it if you open the magazine. Heck there is always a thread or 2 here about who is going to the event. I see it on social media constantly prior to the events. Maybe they can send a singing telegram to your home, so you will know about the next one. Come on.
Do me a favor and put me on your ignore list please! I am from Kansas and negative on PF. There is something wrong with you. How would non- members hear of a pheasant fest at a banquet? You're the one that said KS has a low number of PF members. Of those 500, they don't need to target members, they need to target non-members. Why target members? Oh wait, so they can drive 400 miles to a Pheasant Fest. If you read, I said 500 pheasant hunters, didn't say anything about members of PF. As far as banquets go, they are always NR PF members that are getting paid that attend them here. At least at the last one I attended 17 years ago.
 
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When we enrolled our SD land into CRP, then WRP a few years later, the $ had much to do with it. I think our CRP payment in 2003’sh was $40-45/acre…not life changing, but I was 33 when we bought it…we borrowed the $ for 80% of the purchase…every $ of income helped. WRP was a game changer, the one-time payment was 2x what we gave for the land 5 years earlier. We own it and can sell it, and of course, pay taxes on it. Land can never be farmed, developed, etc…I like that, it’s one thing I know for sure I’ve done while here on earth…buddy of mine hunted it yesterday with his 28 year old son…he went on and on about the robins in the cedar trees! I thought that was cool. He said hundreds. But again, I don’t think our conservation inclination would have occurred without the compensation…and cost-sharing from the county, etc.

I’m going to work with the farmer that leases the land to see if we can plant some sunflowers on some edges to see if we can boost the dove population. Just want to make sure it won’t have any deleterious effects on the soybeans or rice.
 
I try hard not to take those long stretchy shots for a variety of reasons I guess. I figure it's makes them that much spookier for me the next time or the next guy if they are clean misses. But in the event a couple pellets land but don't stone them I assume they go off and die anyhow. A chicken that gets injured or sick rarely survives and I assume a wounded pheasant is the same. I hunt with a good friend that's never seen a shot too far and I don't say anything but often shake my head. I've given him a hard time in the past and he always just says "it only takes one". We've recovered some extraordinary long shots of his over the years and some knocked dead but I'm certain he's sent some crippled flying over the horizon as well
 
Those robins should have been leaving a bit earlier, if you are getting the weather we are here.

Those conservation easements are a great way to know that land is protected....permanently.
Yeah, it snowed there about 1-2” yesterday, and was a bit windy…maybe 25 degrees? He was emphatic about the robins, a bit of pheasant commentary. Today is day 4, they have 1 rooster between the 2 of them thus far…one dog, he’s decent. This is how the trips usually go. They did go to Cabela’s to get more shells.
 
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