How many is a ton, a bunch, or a gob?

P

Point!

Member
I had intended to head out hunting for a few days, but instead, I sit here checking the weather trying to decide where to go and when to leave. I guess I'm just not as tough as I used to be. As a result, I have a little time to outline and ask a question to those who frequent this board.

Last week while taking break after finishing a couple of limits on quail a buddy, and I decided to have lunch in town rather than on the tailgate or in the cab. The place we walked into had a lot of hunters doing the same thing. As we sat and listened, we heard most talking about pheasant and quail numbers. Whether or not they were talking about this year or even Kansas, the terms "a bunch", "a ton", or "a gob" all came up.

The three guys next to us were from TN and were quite thrilled about the number of birds seen. All they could talk about was seeing "a ton" of pheasants. Finally, my buddy had to ask just how many they saw. They said that they only been "here" two days and had probably seen at least 30 birds.

When we went to pay for our meal, we saw a couple of guys who were complaining about the bird numbers this year. They were somewhat vocal and disappointed as they had come quite a distance (from GA) and been in the area for 3 days. I asked how many birds they thought they were seeing a day...on average. The answer was 60.

So this brings me to my question. With regard to either pheasants or quail in Kansas, what do you call "a bunch", "a ton", or "a gob" of birds? In addition, how many birds to you see on an "average" day?

I don't want to know where, the habitat they're in, or how many were killed...just seen while hunting. The reason I ask is that I think one of the reasons folks are somewhat upset with bird numbers this season is that everybody has a different definition of what constitutes a lot of birds.

Thanks,

Point!
 
I would call gobs or tons of birds is moving several groups and or coveys a day a ton of birds. Here at my place when we move a hundred plus birds we say we have seen a chit load of birds.
 
a "ton" of pheasants a person can quantify: an average pheasant weigh between 41oz - 46oz that would be between 697 - 780 birds
a "bunch" and a "gob" are hard to do the math, unless you come up with some arbitrary formula

let say that a "bunch of birds" = # of hunters * # of birds taken * # of shots fired / # of hours in the field
4 hunters * 6 birds taken * 12 shots / 6 hrs = 48 birds or a "bunch")

then lets say a "gob of birds" = (# of hunters * the daily limit * # of hours in the field * # of shots fired) / # of birds taken
(2 * 4 (KS limit) * 6 * 6) / 3 = 96 birds or a "gob"

please pass on these ways of figurnin' "bunch" and "gob", that way when we listen in on those conversations about bird numbers we will all know exactly what each other is talking about

sorry, I was having a little more fun with this than I probably should
 
Beaker, IMO you have passed the test! A+ for sure! LMAO :10sign:

Rod​
 
Beaker is Dazzling Mathematician

beaker said:
a "ton" of pheasants a person can quantify: an average pheasant weigh between 41oz - 46oz that would be between 697 - 780 birds
a "bunch" and a "gob" are hard to do the math, unless you come up with some arbitrary formula

let say that a "bunch of birds" = # of hunters * # of birds taken * # of shots fired / # of hours in the field
4 hunters * 6 birds taken * 12 shots / 6 hrs = 48 birds or a "bunch")

then lets say a "gob of birds" = (# of hunters * the daily limit * # of hours in the field * # of shots fired) / # of birds taken
(2 * 4 (KS limit) * 6 * 6) / 3 = 96 birds or a "gob"

please pass on these ways of figurnin' "bunch" and "gob", that way when we listen in on those conversations about bird numbers we will all know exactly what each other is talking about

sorry, I was having a little more fun with this than I probably should
Click to expand...

Talk about "crunching" some numbers. LOL!
 
There must be a pony in here somewhere

The three guys next to us were from TN and were quite thrilled about the number of birds seen. All they could talk about was seeing "a ton" of pheasants. Finally, my buddy had to ask just how many they saw. They said that they only been "here" two days and had probably seen at least 30 birds.

When we went to pay for our meal, we saw a couple of guys who were complaining about the bird numbers this year. They were somewhat vocal and disappointed as they had come quite a distance (from GA) and been in the area for 3 days. I asked how many birds they thought they were seeing a day...on average. The answer was 60.
Click to expand...

The psychology is most striking there. The GA group was seeing 400% more birds per day, and yet those hunters were miserable.
 
Ok, gob is new in SD tho we have heard of a bunch or ton. I'll go with your defs as close enough.
What gets us excited up here is when the birds are boilin'. That means they are constantly getting up in front of you and hopefully relanding in the field you are hunting. A good field will have a thousand birds boilin'. Pouring in is a good bunch of birds coming into a field. Sounds like we are either cookiin' or drinkin'.
________
Mercury brougham
 
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A couple of more definitions:

A "wave of birds" = 50 birds in the air at once flying in formation

"Sky is black with pheasants" = 250 birds in air at once

"so many I did not know which one to shoot first" = three bird flush

"more birds than you can shake a stick at" = 23 birds flying

" a "cackle of birds" = 10 birds flying
 
Beaker, love the formulas! But I really don't want to work that hard! I do think I found a bit of a flaw in your math, I stated that I didn't want to know how many birds were shot....just seen. Perhaps you can rework your formulas and resubmit :D.

Perhaps a simple example of what I'm looking for will help. Assuming I'm west of I-135 and hunting hard, I would say that I expect to see at least 100 pheasants and 4 to 5 coveys a day. Am I disappointed if I don't? It depends, many times I hunt areas that others (locals, friends, and farmers) have said have few birds. In those cases my expectations drop.

For example, last year on the second to last weekend of the season, I hunted an area in the southcentral just because I thought pressure would be light. I was told that the area really didn't have many birds. I didn't get into the field until 10:00 (that's another story) and had a double limit (8 quail and 4 pheasant) at 2:15. One of the best hunts I've ever had. I moved over 300 pheasants (estimated) on 1/2 section and 6 coveys on that same 1/2 section. My expectations were low and quite the opposite happened.

Short version, 100 pheasant a day and 4-5 coveys a day is what I expect as a general rule. How many is a gob, ton, or a bunch? I'd say 10 coveys and 250 pheasants. How many is a really bad day? Less than 25 pheasants and less than 2 coveys.

But that's just my definition. What's yours?
 
I think when I hear that much complaining about any game numbers I think the real point of being outdoors hunting has been lost...I could care less if I killed another pheasant,duck,goose,deer,elk,chukar or quail...theres more to it than just the harvest...
 
Hats off to you 2britsnafool. I quite agree with regard to bag totals. That being said, I am in it to see my dogs work. If somebody told me I could go to a place where I'd get a point every 15 minutes but wouldn't get to take my gun, I'd go there before any place else.

Please keep in mind that when I started this thread I specifically said I didn't want to know how many birds were shot/bagged just seen while hunting.

So, how many birds to you call a lot of birds?

Thanks,

Point!
 
How does the weather fit into this equation?

I like to limit more quickly if the weather is very windy or very cold or both so I don't have to be out in it for as long.

If the temps are in the 50's with a 5 to 10 MPH wind I like to hunt all day before limiting.

If the temps are around 30 degrees and a 15 MPH wind then I like to finish at 4PM

If the temps are around zero with a 20 MPH wind I want to have a limit by 2PM.

If the temps are well below zero with a strong wind then I want a limit in 30 minutes (for safety reasons).

My dog, on the other hand, wants to hunt all day regardless of the conditions, except when it is too warm.
 
Seeing my dogs experience the hunt through casting,making game pointing etc..and then looking at me with a big fat smile on their face and enjoying the freedom to pursue their instincts in an uncrowded area...man and dogs working together as a pack comunicating not with yelling or blowing a whistle but with a nod a look or a hand signal and so much more ...to me is more fulfilling than how many birds go into the bag...quality not quantity make great hunting memories...
 
Yeah, I was having a little fun with the "gob" and "bunch" calculations

Let me preface the following by saying that I have never shot my limit on any trip to Kansas . . . ever (I have gone more than once). Call me a bad hunter, bad shot whatever else may come to mind it doesn't matter to me.

For me, it has never been about the number of birds, that is not what makes me an upland hunter; as stated by others it is the time in the field. The great thing about going out and chasing birds is there is that "one" thing in each of us that we love and keeps us going back for more (dogs, scenery, peace and quiet, etc...)

As far as the perception of birds numbers, its an individual, subjective assessment; for me I have not seen more than 150 pheasants and 6 coveys of quail in the area that I hunt in the last 10 years combined (I tallied my hunt log to verify my #s), but I keep on keeping on.

My perspective on birds seen in the field are far different than most based on my experience and the #s are far less than 30, 60, 100 and up.

a bunch of birds may be 3 - 6 per field including hens
a gob of birds maybe 2x that
a ton of birds could be more birds than I saw last year in the same field or a flush of a dozen at on time

the numbers are just number to me

any of you guys wanting to show me on of those fields where there are 100, 200 or more, a "black sky" or a "wave" of birds, I'll be more than happy to bring my camera, I'd love to see that one day:thumbsup:
 
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Thanks beaker, that answers my question. Since this is such an arbitrary question it has a nearly unlimited amount of answers. Five or 6 birds in a field and 6 coveys a trip answers my question nicely.

For what it's worth, the biggest pheasant flush I've ever seen in Kansas is probably 60 birds or so (who really knows). I've never seen the sky turn black with pheasants in Kansas either.

Interestingly, on opening weekend, on Sunday (when it rained in most places), we only hunted a few hours and saw very few pheasant and quail. On the way out of the field, about two miles from where we were hunting, we counted 43 pheasants standing in the road.....in the rain (go figure). I'm not sure how many pheasant we saw while hunting that morning, but it sure wasn't 43. That day, I too would have called 43 pheasants "a bunch".

Thanks again,

Point!
 
Potload

The biggest flush I have ever seen while actually hunting with boots on the ground has to have been around Artesian, South Dakota. While hunting the creek bottom of a pasture I shot at a single and that shot brought to life what looked like to me about 150 to 175 birds all within about 20 feet of each other. At that time I would have considered that a bunch of birds.

In the same vicinity I experienced the "black sky" once while scouting for birds on some public areas. My dad and I were driving down a dead end road with public food plot on one side and private cattail marsh on the other. As we turned down the road a bird got up so I honked the horn to see if anyone else was home and by the time they all flew across the road we counted 50 pheasants and the last bird was the only rooster. When I got to the end of the road to turn around I looked out across the private cattail marsh and couldn't see the horizon because wing to wing there was well over 300 birds lifting off with not much more than a foot or so between each bird.

I used to be all about big flushes and monster bird numbers and please don't misunderstand me as I still like seeing "Potloads" of birds. Over the last few years it just seems that I appreciate every flush more from an individual occurence perspective. I actually started to crave the added excitment of going to places and fields that I haven't been before and wondering what surprises they might hold. It is kind of risky in that it reduces my chances of success but when I find a bird or two it is like the best rush I have ever had.

:cheers: to your next flush, your next new experience, and your next opportunity to describe bird numbers of mythical proportions.
 
Call it whatever you want - but a gob, a bunch, a ton of birds is what we collectively saw today out busting thru the snow in sub-zero temps...A "pinch" is what we took home, a nice limit for the two of us over three yellow dawgs! :cool:

It was the best pheasant hunt of my life so far...Have always heard about & dreamed of chasing roosters in the cold & snow - it was better than advertised! The birds held so tight that the dogs had to root around & literally push em' out with their noses (even the many hen flushes were a hoot & really good learnin for the dogs)...I don't think we even got half the birds up in some of the gnarly stuff we were bustin! There was still a "boatload" left at the end of the day!!! :D
 
landman said:
A couple of more definitions:

A "wave of birds" = 50 birds in the air at once flying in formation

"Sky is black with pheasants" = 250 birds in air at once

"so many I did not know which one to shoot first" = three bird flush

"more birds than you can shake a stick at" = 23 birds flying

" a "cackle of birds" = 10 birds flying
Click to expand...

In SE Minnesota a good day of pheasant hunting would be: "I think I saw one hen get up about 300 yards in front of us after walking hard ALL day."
 
Truck Load

Virginia term. Either applies to manure or literally a truck load of harvested (or live) deer. In my particular County (Loudoun) there is no public land. Accordingly the deer grow big and they grow numerous. The few privileged folks (not me or my friends) who have connections often do deer drives to push the deer on the big farms that have been in the same families for generations. We are talking horse farms here, and horses that are bred to chase foxes. The gentleman's sport with the red coats and black caps and lots of hounds.

Sorry, lost my train of thought for a second. Anyway, it is very common at the end of so called deer drive's to have well over a hundred deer heading to the well armed blockers. Think big pheasant hunt, however instead of pheasants we are talking whitetail. A truck load at the end of those drives, was literally a flat bed truck with about 20 deer piled on top of it heading for the processors. Only saw one truck load with my own eyes, but it was headed through a downtown area with probably between 20 and 30 deer piles on the bed and secured with straps. Pretty ugly. That was years ago and I think common sense prevailed and they still do the drives, they just now put the carcasses in the bed of pick up trucks where they can't be seen.

PS. Can't imagine what a truck load of pheasants would look like. I'm guessing far more then "Gobs" or "Wave's" or a "Pile".
 
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