Lack of public land birds. Recommendation for out of state permits

That1uncle1776 said:
Im not pleased with the amount of birds ive saw this year, Im pretty free during the winter and can travel. What states would you recommend?
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No need to leave right away. Any public land in Codington County is pretty much guaranteed limits. Once that gets boring & you're wanting a challenge, I'd try for some of them famous bluebacks in Kansas. Or extreme eastern Montana.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
No need to leave right away. Any public land in Codington County is pretty much guaranteed limits. Once that gets boring & you're wanting a challenge, I'd try for some of them famous bluebacks in Kansas. Or extreme eastern Montana.
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If you end up going the Montana route, try around Hilger, that place is lousy with birds. Just don't piss off the ranchers by dumping mud behind the barn, shooting a pet turkey, or asking their daughter on a date.
 
That1uncle1776 said:
Can you ditch bang in Minnesota or Iowa?
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Rumor has it the Iowa farmers aren't fans of it, even though it is legal?

In Minnesota, it depends on the municipality. Without knowing the local property laws, there would be a risk of trespassing. You can shoot from the road (for non-big game, and on non-interstate roads) so you could always wait for them to fly over. Public land ditches are okay too.

If someone in the know could publish which Minnesota towns/counties allow for it, that would be great!
 
Limitless said:
Rumor has it the Iowa farmers aren't fans of it, even though it is legal?

In Minnesota, it depends on the municipality. Without knowing the local property laws, there would be a risk of trespassing. You can shoot from the road (for non-big game, and on non-interstate roads) so you could always wait for them to fly over. Public land ditches are okay too.

If someone in the know could publish which Minnesota towns/counties allow for it, that would be great!
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My cousin is a lawyer
 
Limitless said:
Rumor has it the Iowa farmers aren't fans of it, even though it is legal?

In Minnesota, it depends on the municipality. Without knowing the local property laws, there would be a risk of trespassing. You can shoot from the road (for non-big game, and on non-interstate roads) so you could always wait for them to fly over. Public land ditches are okay too.

If someone in the know could publish which Minnesota towns/counties allow for it, that would be great!
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You need to know whether the road you are on is owned by a township/county/state/federal, or is it an easement? If it's an easement the landowner owns to the centerline and can trespass you. 100% of the township roads in the two townships we own land in in MN are easement. 100% of the county paved roads in that county are owned by the county. County gravel roads in that county are a mix of easement and ownership. Good luck finding out what's what in the area you want to hunt.
 
Westok said:
Montana bird numbers were down in my opinion, this was my 6th year hunting eastern mt and it was the fewest birds I’ve seen. There are still a few but not like some other years.
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We go out there to hunt mule deer. One of the guys in the group was out there in June I believe, and said it looked like the greenest year he's seen in the last handful. I haven't verified by looking at actual precipitation reports. Last year, we saw tons of sharpies. Any ideas why the bird numbers are down? Hopefully the deer are doing OK with the EHD reports coming out of those eastern regions.
 
MNMEAD said:
We go out there to hunt mule deer. One of the guys in the group was out there in June I believe, and said it looked like the greenest year he's seen in the last handful. I haven't verified by looking at actual precipitation reports. Last year, we saw tons of sharpies. Any ideas why the bird numbers are down? Hopefully the deer are doing OK with the EHD reports coming out of those eastern regions.
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I heard several theories, the one I heard the most was. They started out dry early then got a flood right about prime nesting time. I also heard hail. But I hunted pretty close to the whole eastern side of Montana and the numbers were down . Hail doesn’t hit the whole eastern side. Habitat looked good. Sharps were way down. Huns were probably just back to normal after being phenomenal last year. Pheasants were so so.
 
Westok said:
I heard several theories, the one I heard the most was. They started out dry early then got a flood right about prime nesting time. I also heard hail. But I hunted pretty close to the whole eastern side of Montana and the numbers were down . Hail doesn’t hit the whole eastern side. Habitat looked good. Sharps were way down. Huns were probably just back to normal after being phenomenal last year. Pheasants were so so.
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Interesting. Flooding should be localized as well. I will have to see what I find in a few weeks.
 
Westok said:
Montana bird numbers were down in my opinion, this was my 6th year hunting eastern mt and it was the fewest birds I’ve seen. There are still a few but not like some other years.
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Agree.. worst year of the last half dozen I've gone west for sharpies and hubs. Still birds but a lot of space between flushes. Very few coveys also, pairs and singles.
 
Westok said:
I heard several theories, the one I heard the most was. They started out dry early then got a flood right about prime nesting time. I also heard hail. But I hunted pretty close to the whole eastern side of Montana and the numbers were down . Hail doesn’t hit the whole eastern side. Habitat looked good. Sharps were way down. Huns were probably just back to normal after being phenomenal last year. Pheasants were so so.
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Thinking too much rain at the hatch, followed by a fast dry up, and for the first time in at least 3 years, almost ZERO grasshoppers. Pockets of limited number of birds, but huns seem to be less than half of last couple years...
 
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