I would not bird hunt if it weren't for these dogs.
Not sure if I would or not. I spent the first 21 seasons of my career hunting sans dog. In those years, I hunted more than most people, learned a ton about how to hunt pheasants, and was fairly successful. So I don't see it as a question of whether it can be done. It can, just not near as easily. And I'll admit that those last few years, my enthusiasm for pheasant hunting probably started to wane a bit. But my last dogless year, 2001, was my first of 6 seasons spent in central Iowa. I found some pretty nice public spots, hunted pretty hard, & shot a whopping 5 roosters. I was like, "I know this isn't SD, but there've GOT to be pheasants around here." So I went on a mission, got out of a renting situation (no dogs allowed), bought a house, & got my first springer early that next summer. He turned 5 months old on opening day. That season, on the same public ground as the previous year, with a puppy, I shot 35 roosters!!! Suffice to say, my enthusiasm for pheasant hunting had skyrocketed, even above where it'd been as a kid. It has continued to grow each of my 21 seasons of dog ownership. My dog completes me & takes my all-time favorite activity to a whole 'nuther level.
But if I for some reason became dogless again, permanently, would I pheasant hunt alone again? I think so, probably, but not as much. Certainly not as successfully. I can say this. When my last springer died, unexpectedly, late in the 2018 season, I went out once alone afterward, made it about 20 steps, turned around, & went home. I then went out 3-4 times with friends & THEIR dogs. Those hunts definitely helped ease the pain, & I was really thankful for them. But it wasn't at all the same. Got Ace that next spring.
