Hunting in the heat

S

Swagdaddy

Member
Continuing with strategies and tips on hunting roosters in different conditions, what is some advice for success when hunting in unusually warm, early season weather.
 
If it's October and over 60, I'm likely going to be close to water or up in the light grass. Cattails might hold pheasants, but I have had more success working grassy edges of lakes or in the middle of light grass as they loaf in between feeding as opposed to dense cover.

I'll add that I like lake shores because my dog can drink and cool down whenever she wants or whenever I think it's time to take a 10 minute breather.
 
I concur w/ Golden Hour. Light grass, especially near water. Sloppy cattails.
Finding roosters typically isn't the problem & I don't really hunt them any different than I do in "normal" weather.
But I had a springer once who was pretty much all dark brown. He didn't handle heat very well.
He taught me how important it was to hunt near water in unseasonably warm weather.
I can't carry enough water for an overheated dog. Whereas it only takes a couple minutes in a slough/pond for them to recover & be ready to hunt some more.
Put a dark colored dog & a light colored dog together in the sun. Then feel both their coats. Huge difference.
 
Just like hunting in high winds, I stay home and wait for more favorable conditions. The heat is not only dangerous for me, but also my dog. October openers are notorious for being too hot with tons of standing crops lately, so success is minimal anyways. I'd much rather hunt in January when its 20 out than in October when its 70 out.
 
Try to kill them, cripples and heat are to hard on the dog. Inevitably it’s usually hot the one time a year I hunt with a group. Afternoons I put my dog up or she and I become the blocker.
 
I carry plenty of water with me to take a break even why walking a field-take frequent after drive breaks-and switch out and rotate dogs-
also carry either raw honey or caro syrup at truck or on means keep very close eye for any signs of stress
QUIT HUNTING IF IN ANY DOUBT ON DOGS WELL BEING
 
1st hr and last hr if not too hot in afternoon, short hunts and smaller cover. I would rather hunt in negative temps.
 
This is one of the reasons I run short-haired dogs with relatively light-colored coats. I carry water with me. I also put water down BEFORE we start the field and in the shade provided by the vehicle. The dogs almost always beat the people back to the truck, even if only by 30 seconds or so. With the water already out they can get right to it if they want it. If they know it's there they go straight to it. I'll also rest them more in the warmer weather.
 
You boys are a lot braver than I letting your dogs drink slough water. Many dogs have died over the years ingesting blue green algae. My dogs get water I carry with me or back at the vehicle.
 
Wind is not a big deal for me, but if it STARTS over 50 degrees, I am not taking my dog out. A hard working GSP will not do well in 50*+ temps, they just won't slow down....not sure how other breeds tolerate heat.
 
Like others have mentioned, I don't change my hunting tactics a ton as far as habitat. The biggest challenge in the heat is the dogs. Carry plenty of water and be prepared to sacrifice your own water for the dogs. Have plenty of water at the truck to fill up your dog water bottles.

I carry two 24 ounce gatorade squirt bottles of water for my dogs and a 20 ounce bottle of water for me. I've had to use the rest of my water for the dog when I'm running low in the field.

Also if you're running multiple dogs like me, I cycle them and just run 1 at a time when it's hot. I usually just run 1 at a time anyway, but especially in the heat.

I also make sure I'm at my spot at/before first shooting hours, hunt a spot, maybe 2. I quit around noon and don't hunt again until around the golden hour in the evening. Otherwise I get drained myself as well as the dogs.
 
PeteRevvv said:
Duh- road hunt with the AC on.
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This one is funny, but I appreciate all of your insight to road hunting. Contrary to popular belief, it's more than slamming on the brakes and doing the 20 yard scramble. There is great habitat in the road ditches and provide opportunities for those without access to land or perhaps don't have a dog or whatever. But yeah, the AC comes on if it's over 60 during hunting season. :)
 
Golden Hour said:
This one is funny, but I appreciate all of your insight to road hunting. Contrary to popular belief, it's more than slamming on the brakes and doing the 20 yard scramble. There is great habitat in the road ditches and provide opportunities for those without access to land or perhaps don't have a dog or whatever. But yeah, the AC comes on if it's over 60 during hunting season. :)
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It's also illegal in Kansas.
 
The fields I hunt are 20 miles wide and 20 miles long. I just have 33 feet wide strips cut into them to give me a chance.

We spend far more time walking ditches than driving up on them and often have had a dog to flush them out on those walks. I would bet they get a tougher workout in a ditch than most fields. Thicker and tangled with a lot of steep climbs up and down hill. So much scent from all the birds crossing back and forth so they are constantly circling back to figure out where all the scent trails go and following them up to the fence line. You must have 100% whoa control on them since a there are plenty of hoopleheads on the roads who will fly by you and a dog coming out of the ditch has no chance. We always put them in the cab to get to the next spot so they get cooled down and we get a chance to check them over and keep an eye on them.

When we take off to the next spot we tell him to "hunt them up" like we would in a field and roll down the window if it isn't too dusty. Head goes out the window and he is scanning the ditches with us. We get the same WTF look as a missed shot on a flush if he yelps and we don't stop and then a bird flushes behind the truck as we drive by. Have to train them to sit when their head is out the window otherwise if they get birdy, you get wacked in the mouth with a tail a whole lot if you're riding beside them. The more experienced they get, the smarter they are about looking ahead to give us advanced warning on a bird so we can slow down.

I should start a kennel that gets bird dogs "truck ready". Just imagine AKC field trials with blinged out pickups instead of horseback.
 
PeteRevvv said:
The fields I hunt are 20 miles wide and 20 miles long. I just have 33 feet wide strips cut into them to give me a chance.

We spend far more time walking ditches than driving up on them and often have had a dog to flush them out on those walks. I would bet they get a tougher workout in a ditch than most fields. Thicker and tangled with a lot of steep climbs up and down hill. So much scent from all the birds crossing back and forth so they are constantly circling back to figure out where all the scent trails go and following them up to the fence line. You must have 100% whoa control on them since a there are plenty of hoopleheads on the roads who will fly by you and a dog coming out of the ditch has no chance. We always put them in the cab to get to the next spot so they get cooled down and we get a chance to check them over and keep an eye on them.

When we take off to the next spot we tell him to "hunt them up" like we would in a field and roll down the window if it isn't too dusty. Head goes out the window and he is scanning the ditches with us. We get the same WTF look as a missed shot on a flush if he yelps and we don't stop and then a bird flushes behind the truck as we drive by. Have to train them to sit when their head is out the window otherwise if they get birdy, you get wacked in the mouth with a tail a whole lot if you're riding beside them. The more experienced they get, the smarter they are about looking ahead to give us advanced warning on a bird so we can slow down.

I should start a kennel that gets bird dogs "truck ready". Just imagine AKC field trials with blinged out pickups instead of horseback.
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Yep but in Kansas you have to have permission from the landowner to hunt the ditches.
 
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