How many people hunt preserve birds?
- Thread starter onpoint
- Start date
blackthorn
New member
Living in the east wild pheasant are almost non existent. The areas where they have survived are not able to be hunted. PA. and NJ. are put and take so the only option is a preserve if I want to get my dogs on pheasant. I guide at a preserve and do enjoy putting the dogs on hundreds of pheasants a year. Is it "hunting" probably not but my dogs do not know the difference, to them a bird is a bird.
mnmthunting
Banned
I get a lot of days in the field. Have not hunted a preserve.
Preserves are fine, and I may give it a go sometime. :thumbsup:
Preserves are fine, and I may give it a go sometime. :thumbsup:
Toad
Active member
There should have been a third choice. I wouldn't say that I "hunt" preserve birds, but I do use preserves sometimes for training. I plant the birds myself, so I wouldn't really call it hunting. To me, they are very useful for that purpose.
I did a preserve hunt a long time ago, and also did a scratch hunt at a preserve last year. The scratch hunt felt an awful lot like a wild bird hunt, except that we shot a couple chukars too. The dogs were much more intense on the scratch birds than they are on just-released birds, although this IS Kansas, so some of them could have been wild... I might do it again if I was having trouble getting the dogs into birds and thought they needed a pick-me-up.
I honestly hope that there are always opportunities to hunt wild birds in Kansas. I really love the adventure of not knowing what you will find in the field. Maybe you'll walk all day for zero, or maybe there are 100 in the next draw and all hell is about to break loose! To me, hunting is about the freedom and the adventure, and that is something that is tough to simulate or recreate at a preserve.
The birds are just one part of the total hunting experience. I think it's necessary that the hunter believes he will see birds, otherwise you're not really hunting, just walking. But for me the birds are just one part, and I wouldn't sacrifice the rest of the hunting experience just for more shots at birds.
I did a preserve hunt a long time ago, and also did a scratch hunt at a preserve last year. The scratch hunt felt an awful lot like a wild bird hunt, except that we shot a couple chukars too. The dogs were much more intense on the scratch birds than they are on just-released birds, although this IS Kansas, so some of them could have been wild... I might do it again if I was having trouble getting the dogs into birds and thought they needed a pick-me-up.
I honestly hope that there are always opportunities to hunt wild birds in Kansas. I really love the adventure of not knowing what you will find in the field. Maybe you'll walk all day for zero, or maybe there are 100 in the next draw and all hell is about to break loose! To me, hunting is about the freedom and the adventure, and that is something that is tough to simulate or recreate at a preserve.
The birds are just one part of the total hunting experience. I think it's necessary that the hunter believes he will see birds, otherwise you're not really hunting, just walking. But for me the birds are just one part, and I wouldn't sacrifice the rest of the hunting experience just for more shots at birds.
onpoint
Active member
Seems to me I'm learning something. I always thought it was too expensive to hunt preserve birds because I always find some kind of wild upland bird to hunt near where I am. I see most have to choose to hunt preserve birds or hunt nothing in some cases. Traveling is both too far and too expensive not to mention not a possibility with time restraints.
IMO, wild pheasant hunting has seen it's hay day. Oh it may get better in places then it is right now because of the last few hard winters but in most places,if not all places. It will just continue to decline. Today's farming practices and greed for ever growing profits and farm size. Pheasants are not in the equation. Preserve hunting is the future of pheasant hunting, to be played like a round of golf. Even I have pen raised Chukars and quail now and I would have told you not that long ago, that would never happen. At least we have the Ruff Grouse her in the big woods. They will survive but continue to be heavily pressured in many locations by the ever growing number of people looking for some place to enjoy their sport of hunting. Kind of a neat poll IMO. Thanks everybody
IMO, wild pheasant hunting has seen it's hay day. Oh it may get better in places then it is right now because of the last few hard winters but in most places,if not all places. It will just continue to decline. Today's farming practices and greed for ever growing profits and farm size. Pheasants are not in the equation. Preserve hunting is the future of pheasant hunting, to be played like a round of golf. Even I have pen raised Chukars and quail now and I would have told you not that long ago, that would never happen. At least we have the Ruff Grouse her in the big woods. They will survive but continue to be heavily pressured in many locations by the ever growing number of people looking for some place to enjoy their sport of hunting. Kind of a neat poll IMO. Thanks everybody
You have left one option out. That is guys like me that farm and ranch with wildlife in mind. Yes I make pheasants a business but they are all wild birds. You still can find wild birds to hunt the way you want to hunt them. I am not the only one and you may have to sort out the ones that release birds fron the ones that let God raise them, but they are still wild hunts out there.
FCSpringer
Moderator
No preserve or pay to hunt birds for me. I am lucky to be able to go close to home on land and get all the wild bird hunting I want. And during off season, we train on live pheasants all year so that is basicly the same ting, but at a fraction of the cost right out the back door. Pheasants we get for about 6-8 bucks a piece, so why go pay 15-20 to just shoot them on someone elses land.
:thumbsup: They get put out, and ya run your dog out there to find and blast them just the same. And the training permit is free.
:thumbsup: They get put out, and ya run your dog out there to find and blast them just the same. And the training permit is free.
Dakotazeb
Well-known member
I think the question should of had a 3rd possible answer. Those that do both. I would guess that 99.9% of the pheasants I've shot over 55 seasons of hunting are wild birds. But I'm not adverse to going to a preserve and paying a reasonable fee to shoot a few birds. Heck, with today's fuel prices it might be cheaper to do that driving to hunt some public land a 100+ miles away.
Phil V.
New member
The reason that I hunt preserves and dnr ground. The reason for this is that it's going to cost me more 2 grand to go any place out west to go after wild birds. The price is why I'm planning on seeling a lot of my hand tools and other stuff to make one trip to have the experience at least once in my lifetime and to be able to meet some uph members.
jeffstally
Member
There is MN state land you can get a permit for right next to the metro, and growers right there as well. I have had great luck hunting right around Buffalo,Owatona, Howard lake, New Praig and so on. All on private land, just asking. All within closer distances then most preserves are from the metro. There is growers in Monticello, Maple Lake area, New Prague and else where I suppose close. So that option is pretty much on the table for all to enjoy if they choose. A person could drive an hr or less from the twin city's with a small dog crate, buy some birds, and go right down the road to state land and train. You can use chukar or pigeons. Pretty easy:thumbsup:. You can find plenty of private CRP type land close to the metro that is private to ask, where you could use pheasants as well. And within an hr of any part of the metro. just sayin, it's not a big deal really
I agree. I do it all of the time. Plenty of places to hunt roosters.
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jeffstally
Member
I am not sure what your travel plans are, but I go on 3-4 trips west per year and do not generally spend more than $500 on a trip including food, lodging, license.
Last year I went to Kansas- $575
North Dakota- $450
South Dakota- $450 and $200. (second trip was 2 days and I already had a license)
Granted, you would pay a little more in fuel coming from Indiana. Do you have someone to travel with to split expenses?
onpoint
Active member
When's the last time you shot a Pheasant near Bemidgi? NEVER! How far is Bemidgi from the metro..near 200 miles. A little far to drive for most to utilize more then a few times a year and Ruff Grouse and Woodcock for a short time in the fall are the only upland birds. Just what kick am I suppose to get off?
By the way, I live in the northern part of Minnesota. I know all about hunting public land. Don't try and school me on it from hundreds of miles away in another state.
mnmthunting
Banned
To me it's just a matter of priorities. How much do you guys spend on guns and gear? Golf, lottery, Cabala's etc, all the fun stuff.
Me I use old pumps shotguns, Federal ammo, work clothes [mostly, My Wife got me this deluxe Cabala's Upland outfit for Christmas]
Anyway, I go West at least 5 times hunting all kinds of critters. Stay in the topper, in the back country. Truly enjoy the camp cooking/food and the night sounds on the prairies, peaks and badlands. Don't need to drive to town everyday, sometimes for supplies and phone service.
All licenses included total cost is around $3500. And literally millions of acres to tromp around in. :cheers:
Me
I use old pumps shotguns, Federal ammo, work clothes [mostly, My Wife got me this deluxe Cabala's Upland outfit for Christmas]Anyway, I go West at least 5 times hunting all kinds of critters. Stay in the topper, in the back country. Truly enjoy the camp cooking/food and the night sounds on the prairies, peaks and badlands. Don't need to drive to town everyday, sometimes for supplies and phone service.
All licenses included total cost is around $3500. And literally millions of acres to tromp around in. :cheers:
bauerline
Well-known member
As mentioned before by myself and others if you live in the east preserves are almost the only option for pheasants and even quail. There are also put and take birds provided by different states but these are not wild birds either. Traveling from Pa to the midwest would be quite expensive for me to do with travel, lodging, food, license. I think gas would be the biggest expense. Last year I went to a preserve a couple hours away and stayed in a cheap but nice hotel that allows dogs. I hunted for scratch or extra birds only and had a great time. We got into quail and pheasants at a price that was a lot cheaper than going to KS or SD. Don't get me wrong, I would love to go hunt where the wild birds are but with time and money it is not the best option. I could buy my own birds and put them on SGL but parts of Pa pheasant season starts in late October and ends the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And a persons experience from one preserve to the next can be quite different. There are preserves I wouldn't go to again and others that I go to several times a year.