First time hunter

V

VAnArkS

New member
Hey everyone!
I have been trying to find a good discussion board for weeks now. Tomorrow will be the first time that my wife and I hunt, let alone pheasant hunt and I have a few questions.

First, we are going to hunt Logan and Yuma county WIA. I assume it will be busy and I wanted to know protocal if someone is already working a field. Is it first come first serve? Or can two groups of hunters work a field? I want to be sure we are as polite as possible. (If anyone is working these areas and willing to take on a couple new hunters, that would be amazing!)

Second, does anyone have any suggestions of where to begin the day in that area? I was thinking the area around Flemming because there are a lot of fields, however I figure because it is near town, it may be packed.

Thanks everyone! Happy hunting!
 
Opening day and the first couple weeks will have a lot of peeps out there. There have been some rants on here about hunters moving into a field that others are already in. MY thinking, which is obviously right, is if I see a group moving into an area, and I get into the field opposite them and we meet in the middle, we have a better chance together putting up birds. Just watch out that you don't shoot someone and wear plenty of orange. Public access requires cooperation and safety.:thumbsup:
 
So you do this without going up to the group and talking with them?

When people are complaining about lots of people out, does this mean like most fields are being worked? Or there is a queue for fields?

Our plan was to try and drive around (I know, I know, I should have scoped the fields prior.... buts its a few hours away from us) and see if we can snag a field at sunrise.
 
You need to get on the dow website an get signed up for the novice hunter program. It gives you access to the novice fields which can only be hunted by novice hunters. For tomorrow, fields are usually first come. But lots of people don't care an will just start hunting a feild you are already working. If someone is just starting to get into a feild I would talk with them an see if they would like to hunt it with you.
Good luck out there
 
VAnArkS said:
So you do this without going up to the group and talking with them?

When people are complaining about lots of people out, does this mean like most fields are being worked? Or there is a queue for fields?

Our plan was to try and drive around (I know, I know, I should have scoped the fields prior.... buts its a few hours away from us) and see if we can snag a field at sunrise.
Click to expand...

Every public access field you hunt will have been walker before you unless you get there before anyone else in the AM. After that, you are dealing with spooky birds that have already been flushed. Hell, if four groups of guys get into a field working towards each other it's a good thing. Once you meet some other guys, you may decide to hook up and plan your next attack together.
 
I disagree with these comments, and this is just me and the way i have been taught but it depends on the field and if it can hold more hunters. If i pull up to a field with hunters in it i will usually move on to another field. i do get up early and make sure i am out at first light to try and get the field i really want to hunt and if someone else comes into the field when i'm in it then i try to determine which direction they are heading and try to give them space unless it is in my direction and they are trying to beat me to it then i press on and hope they realize they should give way to the group that was there first. out of the many years hunting WIA's i can really only remember a few times when i ran into others hunters that ended up in a meeting and all were polite and understanding that it is public areas and we are all just trying to find birds.

White T has some great advice, try the novice program, as for where to go just look for cover by food. Good luck.
 
My policy is simple. If you beat me there, you get the spot. I'll check another spot if I see a group where I want to go. Now, if the piece is 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile, I might go in an opposite corner and try to give you space. Yesterday a group was walking private land right toward my truck parked on the road by some WIA, and I got the heck out of there so I didn't mess them up. We all need to be courteous to each other, we all want to hunt the best WIA.
 
It all depends on the cover. If there is a ribbon of cover thru a section and someone has already started at one end, they have the entire mile. Do not block the other end. If you catch them while they are still on the road, ask them if you can block. Remember guys have dogs out and not everyone is a safe hunter. I would not trust a hunter who suddenly appeared in front of me.

If it is a section of CRP, several hunters could safely hunt it.
 
Had this happen this weekend.. I was in the field first..large field.. I was walking into the wind...Group of 2 guys beat path to get out in front of where I was heading. They were thinking they were going to block for me as they had no dogs in tow. When I got within several hundred yards I turned and headed South. They beat path to get to the South end of the field.. I turned and headed back East and they went back to their vehicle... You don't know these people or how they handle a weapon. I just try and avoid coming within any sort of gun range and if the field is big enough I don't mind if you are there, but I won't be walking into your range....:cheers:
 
BleuBijou said:
Had this happen this weekend.. I was in the field first..large field.. I was walking into the wind...Group of 2 guys beat path to get out in front of where I was heading. They were thinking they were going to block for me as they had no dogs in tow. When I got within several hundred yards I turned and headed South. They beat path to get to the South end of the field.. I turned and headed back East and they went back to their vehicle... You don't know these people or how they handle a weapon. I just try and avoid coming within any sort of gun range and if the field is big enough I don't mind if you are there, but I won't be walking into your range....:cheers:
Click to expand...

That's the worst! A big reason I hunt is to watch the dogs work and I don't want any random hunter to try and "Block" where I'm headed. Also to a previous comment, a quarter section (1/2-1/2 mile section) is a small piece of land to hunt IMO. I will hit a half dozen fields that size in one day. I got peppered last year by some random hunters that decided it would be a brilliant idea to try and block for me. Not a good way to make friends out there.
 
When hunting WIA at day break the groups or single hunters should always walk away from the sun coming up. That way you can tell from hen or rooster. I dislike when groups or single hunters walk toward the sun because they can't see other hunters. So the guys that get to the field first on the east side at day break are the ones that have the right away to that field.
Remember we are all pheasant hunters, we all love the sport so be kind and respectful to one another out there.
 
First off - Definitely sign up for the Novice Hunter deal. I looked at a couple of those properties yesterday and they looked great. If I was a novice, I'd spend all day just hitting as many blue squares as possible.

For me - 1/4 section is 'small' - just the stuff I look for as a solo w/dog or another guy. A roughly 2 mile walk with a dart into the center and you've covered the whole thing in ~30 minutes. Less with a dog.

As a general guideline, I won't hunt a field with strangers without chatting with them first. There are too many unknowns and lots of potential negative outcomes. I've had more than a few times where we've hooked up with another small group for a few big fields and had great hunts.
 
I started opening morning in a walk in field. The first field I had planned on already had a hunter in it so we moved on down the road to another field. I think if there is a hunter in the field, that field is his regardless of how big it is. I will say that I talked with several groups around the walk in areas Saturday morning and everyone was very nice and helped each other out. We had some good chats about strategy and what fields we had walked. Met some great people in the middle of the road! :cheers:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top