Lost birds

AKSkeeter

AKSkeeter

Well-known member
Got to hunt my pup 46 times, starting in September on MT grouse in the high country,
then mostly wild MT roosters and ending with MThuns.
One thing I strive for is minimal loss of cripples.
2023 was a great year for me...zero lost birds, and many memorable retrieves.
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Lost cripples is something that is just inevitably going to happen at some point, I think. You just have to try and reduce the chances the best you can. Obviously a keen nose on a dog helps, but taking closer shots and using the right ammo for the shotgun you carry is also important. Making a good shot is important but not always possible due to operator variability.

No lost birds for this guy either in 2023. I lost one last season, which was my first in almost 3 years. I don't even raise my shotgun on roosters that are 40 yards or more though.
 
Goosemaster said:
I lost 15 birds.
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You're doing something very wrong. Either you are a terrible shot, you're using the wrong ammo/shotgun combination, or your dog isn't doing their job. I don't think I've lost 15 birds over the course of 20 years. Its rare that I lose more than one/season.
 
gimruis said:
You're doing something very wrong. Either you are a terrible shot, you're using the wrong ammo/shotgun combination, or your dog isn't doing their job. I don't think I've lost 15 birds over the course of 20 years. Its rare that I lose more than one/season.
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I'm a crack shot.I always use magnums.My dog isn't great at runners.However, she retrieves all birds that are gone, and to hand.I did not do much training,just hunted a lot.
 
Goosemaster said:
I'm a crack shot.
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Something isn't adding up here. If you were a "crack shot" you would be dropping birds stone dead and you wouldn't have 15 lost cripples.

Check your choke, pattern your gun with multiple types of ammo, and fix the problem. Losing that many cripples is irresponsible and morally unacceptable in the realm of bird hunting.
 
gimruis said:
Something isn't adding up here. If you were a "crack shot" you would be dropping birds stone dead and you wouldn't have 15 lost cripples.

Check your choke, pattern your gun with multiple types of ammo, and fix the problem. Losing that many cripples is irresponsible and morally unacceptable in the realm of bird hunting.
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One thing I like about full choke,#4 is I either make a clean kill, or totally miss. Maybe IC is not right.
 
I seriously doubt I will ever go a season without some lost birds. Honestly the cover I hunt, it is hard to find dead birds much of the time. The dog struggles due to height of the cover and the amount of bird scent. Just trying to mark where a bird falls it no easy task in a sea of switchgrass that doesn't have much to mark off of, and so thick you are using your gun to sweep the grass aside to see to the ground. The dog is lucky just to see the bird fall, he can't see where it landed. I hunt where there are a lot of birds, but the cover is the real challenge....but that is why there are a lot of birds. I have done better in recent years but if I can keep the loss under 10% it should be good on much of my hunting ground. Oh my, 10%!, you are thinking. So if I shoot 59 birds, that is 5 lost birds to stay under 10%. We sure aren't in knee/waist high prairie grass. I sure can't see a winged bird run, as I can't see my dog if he is 10 yards away in a lot of the cover. Flame on....until you come out. The habitat has more to do with lost birds than the shooting or the dog in my situation.
 
I recently lost a bird, thought for sure it was dead, cloud of feathers, but when I got to the spot it should be there was nothing there. The dogs couldn’t see it go down cause they were in tall cattails. we looked for quit awhile but never did locate It. Shot it on point at like 15 yards. I thought that bird was going to be too blown up to eat. It was a straight away shot and it fell out on edge out of tall cover. i hate losing birds
 
I just returned from SD, used IC and standard #5 lead 1 1/4 oz @ 1200 fps…lost one bird that was shot and crested a hill and likely entered a slough that had a hundred birds + in it, as did the 2 adjacent sloughs on that 1/4 section we were hunting. I searched about 30 minutes til dark, major scent everywhere I was looking. My recovery rate was about 93% given my 1 lost bird. Earlier this season I battled hot, extremely dry conditions and lost a handful of birds, still above 90% recovery rate. Hate to lose them, had many, many heroic finds by my dogs. Back to gun/choke/shell scenario, lots of long shots this season…won’t quantify, but long…my set up works very well for me…lots of close shots, too…I believe choosing a combo that is optimal for the “middle ground” of the shots I routinely take makes sense…30 yard shots, +/-….not 15 yards, not 45 yards…but I kill many at 15 as well as 45. My dogs find many of my buddies’ birds, and they help me at times, too. I try to mark any bird that goes down like a hawk…and I watch “missed” birds fly away…many fall after 100 or 200 yards.
 
I had one that dropped hard early this year, on the other side of really tall "thistle", might be called giant ragweed, I'm not 100% sure. The dogs couldn't see anything, but we got there quick, the distance was perfectly average. We never saw him again. He landed on the opposite side of the thistle, in a large area of flattened canary grass. Maybe he burrowed under. I've had dogs dig hit birds out of that stuff before.
 
My strategy is to essentially run right to where I mark the bird down, never taking my eyes off of it until I get there. Then stop and stand there. The more you walk around you add your scent to the area and, I think, encourage the bird to run more. If the dog saw the bird fall and got to that same area, let them search on their own. I’m sure we’ve all had times where we are cussing the dog for running away while we search for a bird only to have the dog come back with it from the opposite direction. If the dog didn’t see the bird fall, call them to that area to start searching. If you don’t come up with the bird after a good search, I carry some ribbon and tie some around the grass where I first marked the bird down. Go hunt for awhile and circle back through to your ribbon with correct wind 30-45mins later. That gives the scent time to pool around the bird so the dog has more to smell. I’ve had really good luck with this, I still lose some birds (2 this year, none the 2 seasons before that) but at least I’m being intentional about my search. The biggest thing is running right to where you mark the bird down. One I lost this year was because I broke my own rule about that. Still makes me mad.
 
I circle wide and get 20-30 yards past where the bird went down and let the dogs work into the wind…I don’t handle them at all at that point…if they disappear, that’s usually a good sign…I stay put, typically…usually works. This technique is for downed birds that appear crippled and likely will be challenging recoveries…most birds I shoot the dogs go get right away…90% are marked fairly precisely by the dog(s)…some aren’t, for various reasons…
 
Elksniper said:
My strategy is to essentially run right to where I mark the bird down, never taking my eyes off of it until I get there. Then stop and stand there. The more you walk around you add your scent to the area and, I think, encourage the bird to run more. If the dog saw the bird fall and got to that same area, let them search on their own. I’m sure we’ve all had times where we are cussing the dog for running away while we search for a bird only to have the dog come back with it from the opposite direction. If the dog didn’t see the bird fall, call them to that area to start searching. If you don’t come up with the bird after a good search, I carry some ribbon and tie some around the grass where I first marked the bird down. Go hunt for awhile and circle back through to your ribbon with correct wind 30-45mins later. That gives the scent time to pool around the bird so the dog has more to smell. I’ve had really good luck with this, I still lose some birds (2 this year, none the 2 seasons before that) but at least I’m being intentional about my search. The biggest thing is running right to where you mark the bird down. One I lost this year was because I broke my own rule about that. Still makes me mad.
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That's a good idea.
 
remy3424 said:
I seriously doubt I will ever go a season without some lost birds. Honestly the cover I hunt, it is hard to find dead birds much of the time. The dog struggles due to height of the cover and the amount of bird scent. Just trying to mark where a bird falls it no easy task in a sea of switchgrass that doesn't have much to mark off of, and so thick you are using your gun to sweep the grass aside to see to the ground. The dog is lucky just to see the bird fall, he can't see where it landed. I hunt where there are a lot of birds, but the cover is the real challenge....but that is why there are a lot of birds. I have done better in recent years but if I can keep the loss under 10% it should be good on much of my hunting ground. Oh my, 10%!, you are thinking. So if I shoot 59 birds, that is 5 lost birds to stay under 10%. We sure aren't in knee/waist high prairie grass. I sure can't see a winged bird run, as I can't see my dog if he is 10 yards away in a lot of the cover. Flame on....until you come out. The habitat has more to do with lost birds than the shooting or the dog in my situation.
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I think that's right. I hunt very thick cover,and that's where I loose them.
 
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