Monkey still on my back...

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BakkenRoosterMan

New member
So I've moved to a nice 40 property out here in ND and it is extremely birdy. I hunted it this morning for the first time, and was was a little disappointed. Only got a couple long shots which I missed. I know there are birds here. I've seen them. Never close, but they're here. My question is this: is it possible that there are more birds here than I'm seeing? I'm a solo hunter with no dog, so I'm wondering if I'm walking past dozens of birds without realizing it.
 
Most likely you are walking by some if not a lot. If they are educated and have been hunted a bit they know to run or sit tight and not fly. Try changing direction frequently, even back tracking a bit. Stop often, sometimes five to ten minutes of just standing there silently. They will get nervous and tend to fly more. When you get to your spot don't slam doors or make a bunch of noise.
 
That is good advice. Without a dog I suggest that you walk through the property in a zig zag pattern that is unpredictable and pause frequently. Better yet, get a springer to follow and trust it.
 
When the snow flies........

When the snow flies it will be game on for you, finding a set of tracks and following them out worked well for me as a kid too young to drive and stuck on a farm 15 miles from town. Until then mix it up, start your walk from different directions and not the same path everytime out. Always walk into the wind too, that can slow a rooster that flies straight away and on occasion a rooster that flushes way ahead will "peel" back and give you a shot as it comes back by.
 
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BakkenRoosterMan said:
Getting a dog spring of 2017. Until then I'm mostly on my own.
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Good for you, having a dog will change a lot of things for you. Another thought has come to mind. Living in ND, you have an abundance of great hunting areas to visit spanning thousands of acres. If I lived on a 40 acre parcel, I'd leave those birds alone and enjoy seeing them year around.

As an aside, I did quite well on roosters and sharptail this year near Westby on the Waterfowl Production Areas established many years ago by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and are open to public hunting. Due to the drought, many were dry or nearly dry, but the cattail edge around them provided great escape and holding cover that I think should provide yo with some close flushes, even without a dog. In any event, good luck!
 
Sportnlyf said:
Good for you, having a dog will change a lot of things for you. Another thought has come to mind. Living in ND, you have an abundance of great hunting areas to visit spanning thousands of acres. If I lived on a 40 acre parcel, I'd leave those birds alone and enjoy seeing them year around.

As an aside, I did quite well on roosters and sharptail this year near Westby on the Waterfowl Production Areas established many years ago by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and are open to public hunting. Due to the drought, many were dry or nearly dry, but the cattail edge around them provided great escape and holding cover that I think should provide yo with some close flushes, even without a dog. In any event, good luck!
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In answer to your question, it is most likely that you are indeed walking past and over some and I failed to mention that in addition to stopping regularly, I find it helpful to walk very slowly at times. Plus I like the comment about tracking them in the snow.

We don't have snow where I hunt on the ag edge of the Sonoran desert, but the Border Patrol drags the dirt roads near the border and I do pretty well by looking for tracks that lead into ditches.
 
I'm sure there is someone on this site in your general area with a dog that would be glad to help you check your property for the presence of birds.

My first move if I didn't have a dog (and couldn't have one) would be to hook up with someone who has a dog. If you don't want to do that, I would wait until a couple inches of snow bunches the birds up in the thicker cover and I would walk that in the manner described by the previous posters.

:cheers:
 
One guy hunting alone without a dog is about the worst recipe I can think of for getting roosters. They'll hold as you walk past, run ahead out the end of fields, run off to the sides, or just get up and cackle away 100 yards out. These guys live and survive evading fox, coyote, hawks and all kinds of professional, stealthy killers. You'll only get the dumb ones and chances are one of the four footed pros has beat you to them.
If you don't have a dog, go to a local range, be friendly, talk to the guys and mention you have a lot of land with birds. Won't be long before someone with a dog will volunteer to help you out. Other wise, get some buddies and work as a group. Depending of the size of the fields, a couple of blockers, a wing man on each side and a few noisy drivers should get some shooting.
The proper answer, of course, is get a dog.
 
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