Looking for hunting area Minnesota

L

LABS HUNT

Member
Hello all,

I am trying to research some areas in Minnesota to take a young Lab pup hunting this coming fall. I have been a avid pheasant hunter for 35 yrs. Most of my hunting is always in North Dakota. I moved here to the Saint Michael area of Minnesota two years ago. The problem is that because I'm so new to Minnesota I don't know where to hunt on a hour or so drive from home. Ive always been blessed where I've lived to get my Labs on pheasants right away when they were young. I will have my new pup this coming August and will be getting her on some training. I would love to start getting some ideas on where to go not far from my home on some field walks with my new pup and hopefully a flush or two for here. I know nothing about Minnesota public hunting areas , but willing to learn. I just need a push in the right direction. Thanks, God Bless.
 
Go on the MN DNR website click on destinations,on that page click on recreation compass and it brings up a map.You can look for state and federal wildlife management areas to hunt.
 
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Thanks "Mr. Condescending" us amateurs really appreciate your obvious superior knowledge and guidance. I'm also using a .410 with 7 1/2 shot and can't seem to knock any roosters down. Want to tell me what I'm doing wrong there also?
 
gimruis said:
I'll let you in on a little secret. You don't have to do this. In fact, I wouldn't even head west...
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Ok, let me answer your question with a question. So your original reply to us was "I'll let you in on a little secret" So question to you is, how should we have responded? We simply asked, Do tell? I'm going out on a limb here to say, We didn't ask for you GPS spots.....We didn't ask for your "honey holes"
Remember you opened the door with your original responds of " Let you know on a little secret"

You know, all you would have had to say is check the Minnesota DNR maps for public access spots and wish me good luck. When I said I am new to Minnesota I simply asked for a push in the right direction. I didn't ask for GPS coordinates or "honey holes". Instead I got a lecture from to treat us like a child and to remind us that you put roosters "in the bag" every fall. We really didn't need to know that either.
 
I'll second the going west. You may not need to go to the SD border, but close to it is usually good. However, openers are usually nuts out there in the "main" pheasant towns so best to find smaller spots big groups of guys pass over because they're too small or places out of the way. I have a spot I hunt every opener, I get there early (like 7 AM) to hold it down but I rarely see people drive by. This spot is way out of the way. Most guys (especially the guys that just hunt opening weekend and never go back out) want spots that are clustered together so they can hit one spot, drive 10 minutes to the next spot, etc. The spot I hit is like 35-40 mins from any other public land so I think guys skip it for that reason.

Also, you don't HAVE to go west, however that's where I go. I will say I see pheasants often around the Mora area in the ditch or in the fields when I head to my cabin that's north but I've never hunted the area but always mean to.
 
Thank you so much Munster927! Thats very kind of you to share that info with me. Chances are I won't be able to get out for opener this year as I will be working harvest out in ND. If you ever want to get out to ND for a change, I can put you on some pretty good spots. Thanks, God Bless!
 
No problem LABS. Another area to try outside of the opener, typically into November, is around the Glencoe area. If you're looking for somewhere you can hit closer to home for a quicker hunt.

I personally never hunted the area, but my cousin will hunt it a few times in November/December and has done decent enough considering the location to the metro area. He said he got into a ton of birds on a WMA right off of 212. He said he figured it must have been a case of "well that's already been hunted to shit, so ill skip it" and nobody really hunted it.

And thanks for offer on the ND spots. I've made it up there once before and hunted around the lake on the Missouri. We did pretty well there but it's a hell of a drive from here. I do plan to go to ND again sometime
 
Labs. I suggest investing in an app like ONX hunt. You can see all public areas and then mark the ones you are interested in. Then do some scouting prior to the season to see what habitat looks like and near by crops etc. I use it all the time in several states and it really saves some window time.
 
Thanks again Munster, you guys are awesome!

And thanks Hunt1, I am very new to ONX and its just a matter of getting used to it I guess. But I am also finding that you can see property owners names in there as well, which is great since I don't have to guess what land I get permission to hunt and if I accidentally stray off their property.

God Bless.
 
Yeah I have an ONX chip for my Garmin Alpha. It's handy. Most of the time I use the MN DNR Recreation Compass site on my phone. Shows everything there as well for free but doesn't show landowner names. But shows all public land and boundaries.
 
Put in some road time checking out some different areas before the season. It would be more than a 1 hour drive but there are some areas in Streans and Kandiyohi counties to check out.
 
I would second the OnX app, also there is a lot of good areas off the 94 corridor. I am sure you are familiar if you are driving to ND a lot. I have found timing is key in MN, first snow, right after harvest, and when the sloughs freeze are best times to go. Opener is great but if the crops are up and it’s warm it can suck. If you have labs late season can be great!!!
 
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