Finding Roosters

[cyclonenation10]

I have been posting quite a bit here lately, and really enjoy some of the feedback and ideas people have been sharing on various aspects of bird hunting. The last two years have been my first couple of years hitting the pheasants really hard almost everyday) when I can sneak out before/after class. The beginning of the season I saw fewer birds hunting public ground, but a much higher percentage of roosters/hens than I have been finding lately. It seems I may go walk a spot and flush 20-30 birds, and be lucky to find a rooster in the bunch. My question is, is there a chance I may be hunting the "wrong areas" ? For example, I have flushed dozens of birds out of cattails this year, but don't think a single one has been a rooster. Do they hang out in different areas? Obviously there have been quite a few roosters taken out of the majority of these areas, but I didn't know if there was anything I could be doing to increase the roosters I am seeing? Should I try different areas within these spots? Any suggestions, or is it really as simple as the roosters are just that shot up at this point in the season?

 

[Logical]

The following comments are my opinions, based on my experience in the area that I hunt often. They may not apply to your area, or anyone else's area.

Roosters get shot at, most hens don't. Those that survive each encounter with a hunter get skittish, and may realize that, when they hang with the hens, they can be found. So, they hang a little bit away from the hens. When the hens flush, the roosters run. If hunters always come from the south, the roosters loaf or feed north of the hens, and run when the hens fly.

I have found many later-season roosters away from the hens completely. If I bag some, many are not this-year's birds. They are older, and have been through at least one hunting season.

Birds are not always in the same spot, week-to-week. I can hunt a field multiple times in a season, and sometimes birds are there, other times they are not. They return to an area, but can't always be found there.

If you don't find roosters in the cattails when the hens flush, they may have run, so you need to work the edges of the cattails hard. Or, they may not be in the cattails at all. Is there reasonable cover nearby? I find roosters in short grass, sometimes, when the hens are in longer grass. Or, roosters right next to the corn field, in the wheat stubble or grass, while hens are 100' away from the corn, but also in the wheat stubble or grass. Proximate, but not in the same spot.

Good luck! That's part of what makes pheasant hunting fun - trying to figure out where they are, and why they are there. The more you hunt and pay attention, the better you will become at figuring out the behavior of the birds in your area.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

This late in the season, roosters will tend to separate themselves from the hens, particularly if their cover is severely limited because of snow. If they don't feel there's enough room in town for everyone, they'll actually kick the hens out. If you're hunting public ground, there may not be many roosters left, either because they've been killed, or they've found some private land where they feel safer. Those that are left will most likely be as far as they can get from a road, in the nastiest cover possible. If there are trees that offer good cover & protection from wind & hawks, particularly close to a food source, that's where roosters like to hang out late morning & early afternoon, between chow times. Then of course they head for real thick weeds or cattails to roost. The end of the day late season can be hard to figure out. Sometimes they'll be in roosting cover by 4:00; sometimes not until after sunset. I've seen them act all sorts of ways at the end of the day, in all different sorts of weather. But regardless of what type of cover you're hunting, there are a couple things that become VERY important this late in the season. 1) Be quiet. Hunt into the wind & no yelling at the dog. Don't slam cars doors. Ease that first shell into the chamber. 2) Mix it up. If you hunt a spot the same way you or somebody else hunted it, chances are the roosters will give you the slip. Hope you find some the right color!!

 

[Goosemaster]

That's a very good comment. They become very wary, and bring quiet, and looking in out of the way places, can work.I hunted some cat tails last week, where they would not flush.They were very smart.