Golden Hour Hunting???

remy3424

remy3424

Well-known member
Here is why I don't like (agree with) hunting "golden hour", deep in season. The birds, all the birds you kick-up, need to find a good roosting place as the darkness is setting in. Try hunting in the mornings during extreme cold weather, if you must hunt them in those conditions.

PF 11-30.jpg
 
I usually hunt afternoon,but the last hour I'm usually driving home before dark.I love pheasants,I'm not sure why I'm trying to kill them?
 
The problem in SD is season doesnt open until 10. You get 1.5-2 more awesome hours in IA than SD this time of year.
I know because I just shot a limit in IA this morning and will likely do the same tomorrow!
SD needs to open earlier, maybe a season adjusts an hour earlier on Dec 1st?
 
You must be mistaken, there are no pheasants in Iowa.
I wonder what the rational is for the 10:00 opening...SD guys? I am sure the is one.
 
From our extremely limited deer/turkey license lotteries to our pheasant opening time to our bounty on coon and skunk tails, nothing the SD GFP does lines up with science or reasoning.
 
Goosemaster said:
I usually hunt afternoon,but the last hour I'm usually driving home before dark.I love pheasants,I'm not sure why I'm trying to kill them?
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There must be deep psychological reasons. lol
 
Phun Pheasant Phact:

When I hunt a roosting field during the last hour of the day, the birds that will not survive til morning are in my vest.
 
How long does it take a pheasant to tuck into some cattails for the night? I feel like this might account for some pheasants dying, but I can't imagine it's many.. It's not like I've ever walked a field and saw multiple dead pheasants and thought, "wow, someone must have have hunted the golden hour last night!"
 
If there is tons of cover or the night temps aren't burtual, it likely not an issue. When it is late in season, most cover is snowed in and temps are single digits or below, it seems unnessacary to drive them out of the roosts late in the day.
 
remy3424 said:
If there is tons of cover or the night temps aren't burtual, it likely not an issue. When it is late in season, most cover is snowed in and temps are single digits or below, it seems unnessacary to drive them out of the roosts late in the day.
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I agree. I've been leaving grain, so they have winter chow.We don't let anybody hunt the old farm.
 
I typically hunt only mornings. Often that first hour is best in my areas.
By hunting most mornings, I can hunt 2 labs almost every day from Sept to the end of the year.
Plus at age 68, an all day hunt would be a marathon for me and no fun!
I also typically limit myself to one rooster, then quit for the morning and look forward to the next morning's hunt.
It is nice to see the roosters this year have lots of fat reserve and no snow yet in my areas.
fat_rooster_thighs.jpg
 
remy3424 said:
You must be mistaken, there are no pheasants in Iowa. THERE ARE PHEASANTS IN IOWA, JUST NOT VERY MANY WHEN COMPARED TO SOUTH DAKOTA'S PUBLIC LAND OPPORTUNITIES
I wonder what the rational is for the 10:00 opening...SD guys? I am sure the is one.
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There are several reasons for the 12:00pm (now 10:00am) start time. Pheasant hunting used to be a big event for the entire communities in pheasant country. Starting at noon allowed farmers to get their chores done and not have to deal with guys asking permission, as well as allow them to join friend and family on a hunt. Additionally, because we have so many pheasants, the likelihood of double dipping was limited by shorter hunting hours. Plus the businesses wanted hunters to spend money in town before heading afield. Supposedly, the late start also protected birds from being busted out of the roost. Which is ironic as a guy can do that close to sunset sometimes. I saw a lot of birds moving last night well after sunset, though. Just depends on the weather.

Obviously, things have changed in the past century of pheasant hunting, but those are the reasons I've always heard.
 
With your "handle" I should have suspected you might have some answers/ideas. Those could have some merit, when they came up with the hours.
 
AKSkeeter said:
I typically hunt only mornings. Often that first hour is best in my areas.
By hunting most mornings, I can hunt 2 labs almost every day from Sept to the end of the year.
Plus at age 68, an all day hunt would be a marathon for me and no fun!
I also typically limit myself to one rooster, then quit for the morning and look forward to the next morning's hunt.
It is nice to see the roosters this year have lots of fat reserve and no snow yet in my areas.
View attachment 9501
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Yeah,I generally don't take more than 2 off a place.Getting 3 is not important.Its about quality of the hunt.
 
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