grossklw
Active member
I keep pretty good notes, my golden will be 9 in January and I have a detailed log of how many birds we've killed and in which state. 15 has been a good average for WI over the last 9 years for me, this year a little better as I'm at 17 and still have a month of season to hunt yet. Bird numbers are certainly up in my area which is primarily wild pheasants with limited to no stocking on most of the stuff I hunt.
Numbers of roosters shot are great, but generally my goal for every hunt is to get at least 2 birds up in the air every time, whether or not they're roosters is a moot point. Last week I had a 20 minute hunt where 2 flushed off the end of his nose and I dusted them both. This morning I hunted hard for 4 hours and flushed 6 hens all off his nose. They're both great hunts for different reasons.
I've probably averaged 4-5 birds flushed every outing this year, I've only been skunked on flushes once and have had several 10+ bird days. I'm always happy if I get a rooster, but more so for the reward for the dog than anything else. I've got some private land spots that I leave until late December when the Land Owner's are done deer hunting, but we're up to 30 between SD/WI with a month to go, it's been a great year.
Numbers of roosters shot are great, but generally my goal for every hunt is to get at least 2 birds up in the air every time, whether or not they're roosters is a moot point. Last week I had a 20 minute hunt where 2 flushed off the end of his nose and I dusted them both. This morning I hunted hard for 4 hours and flushed 6 hens all off his nose. They're both great hunts for different reasons.
I've probably averaged 4-5 birds flushed every outing this year, I've only been skunked on flushes once and have had several 10+ bird days. I'm always happy if I get a rooster, but more so for the reward for the dog than anything else. I've got some private land spots that I leave until late December when the Land Owner's are done deer hunting, but we're up to 30 between SD/WI with a month to go, it's been a great year.