MN Hunting Reports

LoneRooster

LoneRooster

New member
I figured I would start this topic and we could all post our hunting results (both good and fair) I will get it started:

Opener 10/11 - Shot limit of roosters in Central MN area, saw plenty more. Crops were slowly coming out. Signs were positive for pheasant hunting.

10/18 - Hunted down in the Rochester area all day on Saturday. I knew numbers were probably the worst in the state down there but it was bad. Hunted 8 hours, flushed 6 hens, didnt see a single rooster. Still a good time.
 
9/28-9/30 MN prairie chicken hunting was great rainy opening hours but that evening it cleared up & was beautiful 1st walk 15 min into hunt flushed 1 bird my cousin got it later that evening took my dad & uncle with & we got got into about 15 birds shot a few times but no luck!!! missed all shots sunday everybody wanted to hunt a area i know is a roosting area & the birds were not going to be there so the group went 1 way i went another i had my birds 2 bird limit in a hour or so walk & i even spent 20-30 min looking for a lost bird out of a double i should of had!!!

10/12 pheasant opener sucked cold windy rainy & 1 bird for 9 guys is horrible!!! we missed 2-3 EZ shots but seen no wear close to our limit in birds let alone roosters worked out butts off for little reward!!! had a blast at dinner & had a few beers to forget the low bird numbers...

10/13 sunday good weather still low bird numbers got 2 more bird for 8 guys poor poor opener to say the least i tickled 1 birds foot so i should of had my limit on sunday but that was my only 2 shots i had sunday missed 1 long shot saterday but slow going 3 birds 2 days for 8-9 guys 5-6 dogs bummer!!!

10/17 went to SE MN for the early antler-less gun deer season kicked 1 deer up walking in could not tell if it was a small buck or a doe so had to let it go later at sundown i had a doe come in & give me a long shot 90+ yards & i missed of course!!! seen more hunters then deer so we left that nite...

10/18-10/20 went out west pheasant hunting again to a core area i like to hunt my family likes to hunt farther west any way got to the area at 5:25 so had a hour left to hunt the golden hour i was not out the car 15 min when my dog went on point & i dumped a rooster had a hard time finding him so took me for ever to get moving after the shot i had about 20 min to go & i seen 3-4 rooster flush wild into some corn i picked up the pace & got to the spot in a hurry my dog was get n birdy when she locked up on point & 5-6 hens pilled out of some cattails she wanted to hang there but i moved her on i should of trusted her as soon as i was 60 yards away 2 more rooster flushed into the corn!!! any way it was about sun set so i called it a day... 10/19 found a few birds at every WMA i hunted got 1 rooster at sundown but i shot at 3-4 more they were in cattails & get n into the wind fast & i was miss n EZ shots to say the least!!! my dog must of pointed 9-11 hens & 3 rooster i was happy at least 6 the day B4... 10/20 rainy weather a duck hunters dream day to hunt spit n snow & sleet any way walked 1 nice cattail near standing corn pointed & moved 3-4 hens & 1 rooster that i missed!!! it the weather was get n worse so i headed home early sunday my dog could of went longer but she was slowing down & them cattails are no joke we both were tired of that style of hunting!!! lol

i didnt care about the misses as i could see my dog was learning to hunt as i watched she was put n it all together looking for cover to hunt & working close in cattails & farther out in open terrain im happy 2 say the least!!!

will try to head back out soon like thursday-friday???
 
Did okay opening weekend as I posted in another thread. Shot crappy and had some dog struggles that kept us from a weekend limit. Heading to SD in 10 days so I won't hunt MN again until Black Friday. Then it will be every weekend. Except for the other 5 days I'll be in SD in December :cheers:
 
I've hunted three distinct areas. Opening day I hunted on three WPAs in west-central MN. My buddy shot his limit but some SOB tied my gun barrel in a knot and I missed the 6 roosters I shot at. We flushed birds at every stop and saw encouraging numbers of hens.

This past Saturday, I hunted private land in western MN with a small group courtesy of a hunt donated to our PF chapter. We had our limit in no time flat and again saw encouraging numbers of hens.

This past Sunday I stopped off for a short hunt at a deserted WMA in South-Central MN close to home for a quick walk after a less than fruitful duck hunt. In less than an hour of hunting, I had two birds and missed two others. Again, a number of hens were flushed as well. The two birds were both probably young of the year birds but of different ages so I'm confident I wasn't hunting the family of pheasants that happened to wander onto the WMA that morning.

The lack of harvested corn is all the more reason for optimism, for this season at least. The idiosyncrasy in our bird counts is that rooster counts were up and hen numbers down. Hopefully all the hens were on the nest and thus underrepresented. My anecdotal experience so far this season is that there are more birds than last year.

We'll see what my first trip to SD holds. Reports from my friends out there are not encouraging.
 
happy you are seeing birds but to think birds in MN may be up is a tad off base you are just hunting in areas that did better then most lol i hunted alot in areas that held alot of birds last yr & the numbers are way way down this yr so maybe its just spotty at best in western MN...

to hunt 3 WPAs i have a feeling on wear u hunted that area is a traditional pheasant strong hold as is north east of there get hit kinda hard & is popular
 
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Opening day SW MN 1st spot WIA 5 min in we put up 7 birds 2 were roosters dropped one could not tell the 2nd one was a rooster until it was out of range. Kept walking ran into some hunters made our way to the other side. Walking a grass edge with beans the dog got on a bird put it up at the end. Same story could not tell it was a rooster until it was to late. Went to a WMA walked some grass put up 8 birds 3 were roosters dropped 2. Took a break walked magic hour put up 8 birds and took out last bird at that WMA.

Sunday 10/13 Went to a WMA pushed a shelter belt put up 40+ birds 10 of them were roosters. Missed everyone. BAD shooting plain and simple. Kept walking some grass put up 1 shot it and it sailed 1/4mile into the corn. Tried to find it but never did. Went to a large WIA put up 5 hens and 1 rooster that we cackled at 50+yards otherwise we would have not know it was. To far to shoot so we watched it fly away. Look a long break let the dogs rest it was getting hot. Decided to find 1 more spot to hunt and call it a day. Head a little north found a WMA that the corn was cut around it. Walked the edge put up 12 birds. 2 were roosters and should have been an easy double but it was not my day. Took 1.

Saturday 10-19 Went to a WPA by my house. Not the best place to find a lot of birds. Hunted from 4:30-6 Put up 5 hens saw 1 rooster fly into the corn.

Thats all i have been out this year. Headed to South Dakota this Wednesday.

 
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went out to western MN with birdybritt thurs-fri took em to some spots we ended up with a 2 man limit both days 8 birds 2 days all 100% public land birds had to work for them & if i shot a little better we could of been done early each day but there was birds out there to be had just have to know wear they want to be there not in seas of grass ill tell you that much!!!

crops are coming down fast we followed a combine on 1 hunt got 1 bird & could of had another was great hunting but it took us till sundown both days to get birdy his limit i normally shoot like crap but i was on this last 2 days we left friday B4 the waves of orange clad armys were to hit the fields due to 60 degree weather i cant handle hunting around the masses any more give me a wed-fri any day of the week less hunters & the birds act like they are supposed to again on monday-tuesday them birds are on high alert & hard to get up they just run to the next county lol

seen loads of birds of all ages young old & every where in between all the bird we got were at least 1.5-2 yr old mature with long tails & decent spurs only 1 bird i got was this years hatch but he was a early hatch heavy bird good color & all birdy got a nice old long spur for his 1st bird in the bag!!!

i had a blast good things happen when you share a hunting spot with a person i guess good karma lol we will have to do it again rob next time i will have to blind fold you lol thanks to sinner your dog for the 2 wonderful retrieves she maid for me in the thick stuff she was great on the hunt!!! it was a good time keep in touch rob...
 
duck hunt 10/26

went out to a petro area pond, set up early and was primed fora good day. Saw zero ducks during the morning flight. With winds coming out ofg the NW at 17 mph I was expecting a lot more birds to be back in the area. Started packing decoys up arond 8:30-9 am and of course as soon as we get decoys wrapped up the mallards starting flying in..typical. Did not pheasant hunt this wknd. Am going to try to get out during the week a few times.
 
Hunted west of Hutch today, kicked up 5 roosters and 2 hens. Didn't go home empty handed but we definitely didn't get our limit. Was encouraging to see as many birds as we did with the amount of crop still in.
 
Report from Duluth hunter

I don't get a chance to get out hunting pheasants much but so far, I've had a good season. I went to SW MN for 2 1/2 days and got 5 roosters. I put up about 35 birds, including about 15 roosters on the first day. I also went on a day trip to central MN and put up 5 roosters and 2 hens. Missed 3 easy shots on roosters that day but it turned out OK in the end because I used that as justification to buy a new O/U shotgun when I got home. Can't wait till my next trip.
 
11/2 went out today with birdybritt again & another 2 man limit out west all on public land had our birds by 12:00 with better shooting could of been done B4 11:00 a.m. should of had 3 by 9:30 if not sooner!!!

happy to hunt with you rob have to do it again ASAP i think ur my good luck charm or its the other way around either way your dog saved us again today in the cattails happy to have shared some quality hunts with you man... look forward to more in the future...

just happy my dog maid a point held 2 the shot & maid a retrieve once down hope it all comes together for her here soon she is learning every time out cant beat that!!!
 
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Good report smo. It is rewarding to see your pup in action like that and getting better and better. :thumbsup:
 
Saturday was the most perfect pheasant day that Minnesota could ever offer.

Corn is in - in many places and some fields have even been plowed under. :(

My favorite two spots were still surrounded by uncut corn - meaning a return trip will be necessary. Certainly a few hunters out, but plenty of my spots were open and I even found a couple new ones.

I was impressed with the dog work and number of roosters I saw. Number of hens were a different story (seven all day).

My younger dog went on a beautiful point. Boy was I surprized when it was a brood of 6. I took what was probably the smallest rooster (especially for November) that I have shot. Needed one bird and after some morning misses ... this one ended up in the bag.
 
i also shot a small my smallest rooster ever missed 1 that was called a hen it had no tail lol i missed a nice long tail & could not get to 1 in thick stuff my dog was pointing both huge long tails!!! all the birds we shot were young at least 2-3 age classes or hatch times i could tell??? at the this area we seen loads of hens saturday seen mostly roosters that ok i know the hens are there some place still...

saturday was a perfect pheasant day in MN i agree...
 
I was able to sneak out last Friday for a few hours. I'm bummed when I can't stay until the golden hour, but it is what it is - would rather get out a little than not at all.

Worked some public land an hour or so Southwest of the metro, couldn't justify driving much farther than that, unfortunately. Flushed a DC-10 of a rooster out of a line of shrubby trees with a 25 foot buffer between some crazy thick cattails. Crossed left to right, probably an easy shot for the old boys, but I didn't even tickle him and then short-pumped, so there was no second shot to be had. Watched him land around the other side of the cats, so dog and I went around. Dog flushed him again, but this time the flush was a little farther out and he was headed straight toward the a farm. Farm was 400 or 500 yards away, so I didn't shoot. Nice straight flush though, would've been a better shot than the crossing one earlier (would've likely missed it as well anyway!).

Dog and I loaded up to go find more land. Ended up talking to a farmer who graciously gave me permission to work his land, which borders a WMA - pointed me in the right direction. He had corn out, and we worked the edge of habitat between the field and some thick cats. Another rooster, right to left crossing, another miss (are you starting to notice a pattern here?).

Kept working, dog was working close, but not necessarily birdy. Literally, 10 seconds after the dog checked in last, I though to myself "Where did he go?" About that instant, a rooster flushed 75 yards down, and I see the flash of the dogs blaze vest. Nice vertical flush, I just didn't seem him give chase, otherwise I might have been in range for a shot. He and I are fairly new to the sport and learning together, as you might be able to ascertain.

Looped around the knoll where that rooster flushed, and the dog put him up again, this time 35 yards out.... and another miss by me. Dog is now giving me the stink-eye.

On the walk back to the truck, he flushed the biggest hen I've ever seen, I couldn't believe it wasn't a rooster - but it was definitely all brown. We looped from the farmers land onto some public land and worked the edge of some cattails - where within about 400 yards, he brought me two roosters buried in the cattails, both dead - must have been wounded birds that hunters weren't able to find from the day before, or earlier that morning.

Anyway, it was nice to get out for a few hours nonetheless. Saw 3 roosters, multiple shots at all of then, but went home empty handed. Mirrors my last trip out where I was 0-2 as well. Time to go shoot more clays!
 
did you take the dead birds home with you??? were the still eatable???

im pretty sure if you shoot at a object 400-500 yards away with birds shot you will never hit it ever??? if theres a house 400-500 yards away you can shoot that rooster even if its flying write at the farm???

better safe then sorry i agree 100%
 
I'm fairly new to hunting in general, so I didn't know if those dead birds were salvagable or not. I grabbed a few tailfeathers to use for fly tying and left the rest for the coyotes.

Same comment goes with the farm buildings in my sight picture. Firing in the direction of buildings no matter how far is something that just seems like a bad idea to me. Not that it isn't safe, as I've read that most shot doesn't travel over 300 yards. However, with my inexperience, I'd always rather err on the side of caution instead of making the wrong split-second decision that happens when these birds pop up. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I hit the same number of birds whether or not I pull the trigger :rolleyes:
 
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