First ever pheasant hunt-- I need to pick your brain

cheesy said:
tire tracks, boot tracks, and dog tracks in the road are about your only indicators. Hunting WIHA its always a gamble on how hard its been hunted. On opening weekend, after the first field you hunt after daylight you're mostly trading fields with others anyway.

I'll admit to my poor navigation abilities on the opener. left a WIHA, idea was to go check out some others, didn't like them, kept driving, checked some others, kept driving, flipping between map and phone, kept driving.

Oh, this one looks good, wheat and milo. Lets hunt it. Dog gets birdy on first pass, my buddy shoots a rooster. Hey, this is a good field. Only 100 yards further before we realize that it was the same field we'd just hunted, shot birds out of, and left to go look for a different field, only to enter it from the other end of the field.

Point being, after a field has been hunted, it can still hold birds.
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😂😂 That is great!
 
Timing of grass v feed:

My take is that it depends on the type of feed. When the feed source has little cover I think the birds feed in the dark and return to the cover by daylight. Think short, clean wheat stubble, beans, most corn. When the feed source has cover they'll sleep in and feed in early hours of daylight. Think decent milo stubble, some corn. I've seen them flying back to cover from feed just as the sun comes up and also 9:00-10:00.

In my experience WIHA tends to be grass or cover, so I just hunt it regardless of time of day. I've also seen roosts in milo stubble.

Just go hunt...
 
If it was my first pheasant hunt and the dogs first pheasant hunt also, I would wait for fresh snow and hit the thickest stuff you can walk. Birds will be concentrated in the heavy stuff and they'll hold better for you and the dog in the snow. That's going to give you the best probability of shooting a bird over the dog quickly and often. You want the dog to figure out ASAP what you are looking for, and what is expected of him.

Otherwise the dog doesn't really know what you are doing walking through a field. He's just happy-timing... Until you shoot a few birds over him and he gets a couple retrieves, it's just a walk, and he probably isn't even "looking" for pheasants.
 
Toad-I understand your sentiment but have to disagree. Simply for the fact if he waits for snow he might never go. Making snow schedules line up with school and work and family commitments just might not work.

Opening weekend had my 7 month old pup out with us. He was just "happy timing" on Saturday. On Sunday had one all fall together. He was running back to us, wind in face, my old dog on point, we got him "whoad" beside her and just let the scent hit him for a solid minute. Then a gen flushed. The next few hours he pointed another hen, a covey of quail, and some singles.

These guys won't need snow to fall into the perfect setup to make them bird hunters. It will all come together just fine.
 
cheesy said:
Toad-I understand your sentiment but have to disagree. Simply for the fact if he waits for snow he might never go. Making snow schedules line up with school and work and family commitments just might not work.

Opening weekend had my 7 month old pup out with us. He was just "happy timing" on Saturday. On Sunday had one all fall together. He was running back to us, wind in face, my old dog on point, we got him "whoad" beside her and just let the scent hit him for a solid minute. Then a gen flushed. The next few hours he pointed another hen, a covey of quail, and some singles.

These guys won't need snow to fall into the perfect setup to make them bird hunters. It will all come together just fine.
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Love it when the "Light Switch" clicks on for the first time.
 
I've been getting into some pheasants but haven't put any in the bag. Lots of the crops are still in, and there's lots of birds staying In the uncut milo and corn. Found a couple spots with nice grass, and I've had several flushes, but they're wild as hell and often flush far out of gun range. I'm getting closer, and hopefully I can get a bird or two tomorrow. Seeing good numbers around. I suspect when the crops are out and it cools off the conditions will be a little more conducive for pheasant hunting.
 
Kansan said:
I've been getting into some pheasants but haven't put any in the bag. Lots of the crops are still in, and there's lots of birds staying In the uncut milo and corn. Found a couple spots with nice grass, and I've had several flushes, but they're wild as hell and often flush far out of gun range. I'm getting closer, and hopefully I can get a bird or two tomorrow. Seeing good numbers around. I suspect when the crops are out and it cools off the conditions will be a little more conducive for pheasant hunting.
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Pheasants will only get more wild. Weather won't cause them to be any less spooky it will just concentrate them more. Keep your dog in close, inside of 30 yds. Don't talk or blow your whistle, be as quiet as possible. Always go into the wind. The key is being stealthy as hell. Don't slam the doors on your vehicle and don't park to close to where you expect birds to be.
 
Toad said:
If it was my first pheasant hunt and the dogs first pheasant hunt also, I would wait for fresh snow and hit the thickest stuff you can walk. Birds will be concentrated in the heavy stuff and they'll hold better for you and the dog in the snow. That's going to give you the best probability of shooting a bird over the dog quickly and often. You want the dog to figure out ASAP what you are looking for, and what is expected of him.

Otherwise the dog doesn't really know what you are doing walking through a field. He's just happy-timing... Until you shoot a few birds over him and he gets a couple retrieves, it's just a walk, and he probably isn't even "looking" for pheasants.
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That is why a dog should be trained with pigeons in the off season.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Weather effects hunters more than it does game.
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Disagree almost totally . Driove a hundred miles on Friday before opening day and saw 1 rooster. Cold, blustery, temp didn't get above 30 all day. Temp warms up, heavy mist on Saturday and saw 15 roosters before we ever got to our land. Only difference is weather
 
westksbowhunter said:
That is why a dog should be trained with pigeons in the off season.
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Can't argue with that! Just saying if I was in his shoes today and had no off season left, that is what I would do.

And Cheesy, I would say whatever he does, he needs to find a slam-dunk for the dog to get going. If the dog is trained to walk at heel mostly, and doesn't know anything about quartering fields, how long is he going to search for smells before he gets hot and tired and walks at heel? Then you are talking a couple tanks of fuel, possibly a hotel, and a weekend making a trip out west to pheasant country and after an hour in the field, you'll be walking up your own birds unless the dog gets the picture... I'm just trying to give the OP a slam dunk.
 
I've had 4 dogs that have never been pheasant hunting in there lives and picked it up within hours to a couple of days. My puppy turned a year on 10/24 and I was shooting birds over him the next week. I would probably get another dog if it got hot and tired and walked at heel.
 
jhb076 said:
Are you having any luck. Sent a PM a while back.
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Didn't have any luck the first trip. Saw lots of birds, but they we're wild as hell. Temps were around 80 during the day with 30+ MPH winds. Going back in a couple of weeks when Christmas break starts. I found several spots with lots of birds in them, so hopefully they hold a little tighter.
 
Drive a beater, look dirt poor, knock on doors, be very humble.Bring lots of water, do lots of shooting practice, and find the right choke.Just get out there and walk.Enjoy the day, cease the day, be aggressive, but don't rush it.
 
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