Look I really need help on this one

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
The MN season just went offline. I got a couple but it was a rough go of it. One day I never saw a rooster. Back to topic at hand, Iowa is still open, and I'm tryin' to get friday off and have a possible Friday, Saturday, Sunday hunt down there in the corn state. I've prolly hunted down there about 20 days in my life. I stick to mostly the northern tier of counties as I am a migrant, and hunt NC and NW. Here's what I know right now. The best chance to catch one off guard is right in the first half hour and again during the last hour. The birds have been chased around like Barbara Eden, so they're wise to the hunt. All the usual things about not blabbing in the field, slamming doors, etc. I know. I've read that PF article 15 times in the last 5 years. What can I do to up my odds of a rooster contact? Do I want to try ditches a lot? Are there going to be any birds on public land during mid day? Any specific cover types I should try? Now I know this seems like I'm on the internet trying to fish for answers. Let me tell you, I'm a lot better at actually fishing than I am at trying to butter up internet buddies for inside intel. Yes, I post on here a lot. If you've followed that you'll know this, I take my lumps. I go out and pound ground, burn boot leather, and test my limited wits against these wild public land birds every chance I get. For this working man, this means I'm usually out there on the weekends with every Tom, Dick, and Larry. If I was afraid of being humbled, I'd have chucked my shotgun in the irrigation ditch many moons ago and bought a set of golf....well no, not that. I guess I'd be reading books and writing poetry. Anyhow I'll have both dogs this weekend. Without getting into my life story, sometimes it's tough hunting two dogs at once. If I get a chance to rotate the pooches I will. But I would sincerely appreciate any advice on the topic. I love pheasant hunting, all of it. The rare highs, the more common lows, and even the seemingly endless walking suddenly interrupted by the glimmer of hope when a scarcely sighted rooster finally shows himself, if even for a brief moment in time. Yes, for those of us hunting late season public ground, like gold dust are the days complaining of too many birds around for good hunting. Too many eyes and ears together so to speak. Alas, I've never begrudged one minute of it. Even these past few days of tough hunting, I do not regret. If ever I wish that I was an expert in this field, with easy late season limits coming my way, or even part of the early season mob, who only hunts a few days a year, then my life would be different, and I wouldn't be me. I do know that with all the joys of pheasant hunting, the guns, the birds, the great meals, the heady feeling of isolation in a landscape beautiful in that it has not been marred by the advances and encroachment of technology and civilization, there's one thing for me that surpasses all else, watching a dog act not from advanced knowledge nor intuition, but from a primordial instinct in doing what it was born to do. Hunt. Through all the stiff joints and sore muscles, miles driven, dollars spent, nothing matters more to me than if I can do my part and knock down one smart old late-season rooster for the dog. I feel as though I'm about to set out on some ill-fated journey with Ahab. Down with the ship I go. Call me Ishmael.
 
Understanding entropy, and the realities of life, tomorrow is likely to be the best day I’ll have for the remainder of my life…what better way to spend it than pheasant hunting? I was humbled yesterday by the birds, but it was glorious being out there with the dogs and a good friend…the sun was shining, the dogs were in their happy place, and so was I…it’s about being there, and taking it all in…limits aren’t a given…what would you choose, a 15 minute limit, being done right away, or hunting for several hours, even all day, and having just one opportunity? I’m here to walk the countryside with my dogs…would a skier leave the slopes of Vail if he made a perfect first run down the mountain? No way, he’s there to ski, and experience the mountain. It’s hard not to constantly think about birds in the vest, but I realize being there is the prize, for none of us know when things change, and we’re unable to do this…I’m grateful to be here and to feel the highs and lows of this passion, frustrating though it can be…the dogs make it worthwhile…hard to experience that joy in life doing anything else! ❤️
 
I can't help you Ish, You've probably forgot more than I know about pheasant hunting. But I do know that you and b.b. need to get together and write a book. You could call it....Trials, tribulations and boot leather.. by Ishmael and the benelli banger. Or Ring necks and hopeless romantics...or sunsets on the pheasant prairie...I see a best seller!!
 
So I have had a myriad of experiences pheasant hunting in about every conceivable condition. Hunting in northern Missouri in a sudden hail storm and taking refuge in a hedge row with lightning strikes all around. 😮. A blizzard in SD so bad I didn’t know where the road was. Stuck my truck so bad one time I had to climb out the windows in Kansas. Walking 2.5 days in Kansas without firing a shot. Being done at 8:15 in Iowa back in the 90’s. I remember all of these with different degrees of fondness. If I had the perfect hunt it would be cold, a little snow and we would shoot a limit after 6 hours of hard hunting. Unfortunately the outcome is rarely predetermined, and would that be fun anyway? As I sit here thinking about where I will take my last trip of the season in the next couple weeks, I am a little envious that you are going this weekend. You can’t win if you don’t play.
 
You already know the answer. Put on your comfortable boots, grab a nice lightweight shotgun and a pocket full of light shells (dare I suggest a 5.5 pound 28ga Ethos? 😂) find some decent cover and just go follow your dog.

it is it’s own reward.

As a side note, I find following one dog at a time is more pleasant. So I rotate dogs as I go. You have to ignore the look you get from the other dog that gets left in the truck kennel.
 
My last few goes have been frustrating. Seen birds but all get up out of range. Some way out of range. Every time I think, if only I could just block and have my dog work to me. At this point I’m hoping for a weather event to help me get in on them. Good luck I’ll be following along here.
 
You know what to do. If you wrote that post as an assignment for creative writing class at the local community college, I hope you get an A. Put the same effort into your last hunt and you should reap the rewards you deserve. Finish strong Bob! Do you have an English minor?
 
As pheasants tend to bunch together, it is a physical reality that there are less pheasants spread around. Whereas a guy might hunt a quarter section in late October and have four or five contacts of a bird or two, those 4-10 pheasants are now likely to be in close proximity to one another.

Ditches are good, as is any "smaller" spot that offers great cover in proximity to food. Where I hunt, pheasants really like the thickets next to thick cover for a loafing spot. I guess what I'm saying is rather than dedicating several hours to one spot, dedicate yourself to hunting several spots in a couple hours.
 
remy3424 said:
You know what to do. If you wrote that post as an assignment for creative writing class at the local community college, I hope you get an A. Put the same effort into your last hunt and you should reap the rewards you deserve. Finish strong Bob! Do you have an English minor?
Click to expand...
I have always liked reading and books. That post was the coming together of five years pheasant hunting, six strong beers down the hatch, and 100 pages into Moby Dick. Hence the references at the end to Cap'n Ahab and Ishmael, a couple of the main characters in the book.
 
Can you access the public from a spot that isn't normally entered? Birds might still be spooky but might throw off one bird. Walking ditches around the public might hold a skittish bird or two.

Gaining private land access near public might get you more sightings. Those birds are still the well educated ones that roost on public though. Late season is always a challenge, but makes success that much sweeter.

I'm sure you know far more than me. I'm sure what I stated are things you know or tried. Good luck out there. Enjoy every moment out there. Never know when it will be your last.
 
We sometimes talk about "just being out there" "the scenery" "the dogs love it" "peaceful quite" and on and on. While all these things are somewhat true, it is the possibility of a shootable flush that really makes the difference. Honestly, whether birds numbers are high or low, how many of us regularly walk cover once the season is closed and that possibility is gone? From Sept 15 through the end of January, I'll spend a little over 20 days chasing my dogs. From Feb 1 through Sept 15 how many times will I just be out there enjoying the scenery and the quiet and letting the dogs think we're hunting? It won't be zero, but probably fewer than I could count on one hand. And those trips are about exercise and training for the dogs, not for enjoyment. I suspect most of us are the same.

It's the possibilities that keep us going. A solid point, an otherwise shootable flush that happens to be a hen, a couple birds busting out of range, etc., just a little is all I need to keep the possibilities alive. But there has to be something. My sons and my dad need more. They aren't plugged into my dogs the way I am, they need higher possibilities.

I went elk hunting once. A friend and I tried to DIY-it with no more relevant experience than bird hunting and tree-stand whitetails. My friend lives in Colorado and made several successful scouting trips and we thought we had a herd patterned. A big snow storm came through Thursday before the season started and of course there was 10x the amount of normal human activity in the area. We didn't even see elk fur. After a couple of days it was really hard to convince myself that there was a possibility. When you're having trouble convincing yourself of the possibilities, it becomes a grind.
 
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