New here - Cold Weather Hunting Question

T

teej89

New member
Hey guys! New here and a newbie to pheasant hunting! I'll give a brief intro on me but the question I'm asking is in the second and third paragraph... My pup, Boomer, is a lab and the intent was to run him in AKC hunt tests, well he ended up tearing his ACL on his 1st birthday then his other 7 months later in october 2016.... Anyways with hunt tests being outta the picture he was just a house pup and we did retrieving drills, blinds and marks to keep him sharp if I ever started duck hunting. I ended up running outta things to do this fall after deer season and took my lab out to go chase some pheasants and fell in love with it. We've killed 8 birds in 5 trips out, I had two hunts we didn't limit and we should have but I whiffed on my shots....


So I'm here in PA and the birds are stocked, now the question is it's been 0-10 degrees the last 3 weeks, do most of them die off? If not then my next question is tomorrow I'm looking at going out, it's going to be 2 degrees with a wind chill of -20 degrees, 15-20MPH wind with 30MPH gusts...

Is this a terrible idea to go out? The dog is fine in the cold and as will I be but is it even worth it cuz I heard taht the birds are going to sit so tight, are they even in the grass fields or do they go find heavy cover? I haven't learned how to hunt heavy cover yet having a hard charging flushing dog, I feel when we hunt a thicket and he works it they flush the other side where I have no shot.

If it is not a terrible idea to go out, would you go right at sunrise to try and catch em feeding in the fields? Or wait until later in the day? From what I'm reading it seems they feed early on cold days and head back into thick cover to fight out the rest of the day.

Thanks guys!
T.J.
 
I'm not familiar with PA stocking program so I won't guess as to what time of the year they are released or how much time they get to acclimate. I will say given enough food sources and good cover adult Pheasants can withstand the cold with no problem. The question is can you? :D

Now... if YOU are brave enough to withstand those kind of temps I see no reason not to. But please take note of your Pooches condition as that cold and with snow it can play havoc on their feet if there predominately inside dogs. Keep him out of the wind when traveling and believe it or not keeping the dog hydrated is also important in cold temps.

Better you than me in those cold temps. Course when I was In my twenties I remember hunting in those conditions. Now I know better .... :laugh:

They are likely going to be in the thickest cover available. Wind generally makes them spookier, but given the cold temps they may sit tight. If you can find thick cover that is out of the wind such as a tree grove, deep draw or creek bed if you have them, that's always a good bet on days like that.
 
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I hunt in deep snow, very cold temps, a lot.Find the thickest cover, don't stay out more than a few hours. Sharp tails will borough under the snow, pheasants will hold very tight.Put a vest on your dog, and take it off when you get in your vehicle.
 
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