Numbers so far...

J

JSMITH

Member
Haven't got a great feel for how everybody did from the opener until now, but the general feeling I'm getting is that numbers are the same or down from last year, just as the forecast predicted. We hunted southwest on opening day and had our worst day since probably 2013- but I attribute some of that to the odd conditions and bird patterns being off (none of the pheasants we shot had grain in their crops, and we never saw a bird in the milo). What say ye?
 
Opening weekend we hunted a little bit of grass the rest milo. Corners on corn circles. Emaculate not a weed in it. Like a perfectly manicured yard. Feedlot operation, gives you second thoughts about the beef that your eating. Might become a vegetarian.
 
Definitely not better than last year, maybe worse. At least in the areas I hunt.

Maybe things will be different once all the crops are cut.
 
matto said:
Definitely not better than last year, maybe worse. At least in the areas I hunt.

Maybe things will be different once all the crops are cut.
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i took my lumps in SD and NE, mainly because the standing corn was still everywhere....waiting until after TG to sample Kansas.
Hoping that pays off.
 
Hunted NE Kansas mostly WIHA. Found 6-8 coveys on S,M,Tu - no repeat coveys- hunted different WIHA's each day. Birds were buried in heavy cover. They were hard to find and walked 7 miles each day. The covey's were healthy with most having 15-18 birds. Killed one rooster each day for total of 3. Good dog work with English Pointers.
 
We did see lots more hunters this year. We saw none last year and six or seven different groups this year. There were bow hunters on most WIHA's we hunted
 
Hunted great cover in Smith County on Friday, one hen and one covey of quail pointed. I will give some consideration to the fact that I was using an 9 month old pup, but still seemed like bird numbers were down from last year.

Rut
 
I think you'll see an increase in numbers as the crops get cut. Here in the south central part of the state, we've still got beans out, and uncut milo. I know of two near half sections of uncut milo which was drilled into sprayed wheat. Those birds don't have to leave and are getting fat and happy sitting in the field.

One thing of which I am shocked, is we have yet to see a covey, but I'm wondering how many were wiped out by those October floods.
 
It's very, very early for me to draw any conclusions. My opener sucked, but not as bad a last years. Since then hunts have either been poor or stellar. All day walks with 3 or 4 pheasants and few quail, but I’ve had a couple days of seeing 60-75 birds while hunting with a small group.

Last year ended up being one of my best seasons ever, mostly in an area that got ravaged by untimely hail. I would say that the lack of quail this year that I've incidentally bumped is a little troubling. I don't usually target quail, but can't remember the last time I've walked as much in Kansas's quail belt as I have this year and had the dogs flush fewer coveys.
 
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Saturday was fun. WIHA in North Central, walked a little over 10 miles in 20-30 mph winds, 28 degrees. One point, lonely single that I normally wouldn't have shot, but both me and the dogs needed one. Cover looked great but birds just weren't there. They weren't there last year either...when will I learn.
 
We have covered 41 miles in two weekends. Birds have been spotty at best. I have found pockets where there were good bird number but just a few miles away nothing. Still a lot of milo and corn standing. When everything is harvested it might be a different game. Thankfully prairie chicken season has opened back up and I can get back to their pursuit.
Plus a covey of quail I know of managed to make through. I don't ever shoot them just let the dogs flush them and move on. Once an awhile there will be a rooster hanging out in this grove of trees if I'm lucky otherwise it's just the buzz of the covey.
 
Hunted SW of Hays for one day on last Thursday. Just myself with no dog. It was more of a scouting trip but enjoyed the nice day. Did not see any birds but the cover was really good and the milo was about half harvested. Did get to see a nice herd of 29 antelopes moving around in the area. Enough snow left in some shaded areas to see some tracks so I know there are at least a few birds around. Only saw two other hunters. Hunted only on WIHA.
 
Quail are still looking good in southeast Kansas (Chautauqua county) most coveys have 20+ birds in them.
 
Gumboot said:
Saturday was fun. WIHA in North Central, walked a little over 10 miles in 20-30 mph winds, 28 degrees. One point, lonely single that I normally wouldn't have shot, but both me and the dogs needed one. Cover looked great but birds just weren't there. They weren't there last year either...when will I learn.
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I was in this same area on Saturday. It was miserable. We didn't see one single bird in about 3.5 hours of hunting. Friday however, we flushed three hens and a young rooster in a field of thick grassy cover. One dog and two hunters.
 
Hunted opening weekend. First day moved 9 coveys by 2 pm and killed 5 roosters. Pheasants were hard to find because of milo still in field. Day 2 moved 13 coveys by 3pm and killed 8 roosters. Hunted a mix of WIHA and private ground. My observation was quail about the same as last year. Big coveys and there was a covey where you would expect to find one. Pheasants I think will be up from last year when milo gets cut in the areas I hunt. Have heard from people I hunt with that they have been killing their limits of pheasants after opening weekend. I guess some of the milo got cut?
 
Hunted SC/SW. Pheasants seemed about the same as last year. We did fair. We did find a lot of quail, but we didn't mess with them and try to follow them. Kids shot at a couple of them on covey rises. Dogs had probably pointed 8 or 9 coveys by midday on Sunday of opening weekend. Coveys seemed on the small to average side and they had not been hunted by anyone. Did not see any coveys with more than a dozen birds. I almost don't count Saturday due to the wind. Sunday we found quite a few pheasants. My observation was that most of the crops were out in the immediate area we were hunting. We did as good or better than anyone I talked to at our hotel. Guys were struggling and I didn't talk to anyone that would have averaged over a bird per person (pheasants). We hunted primarily private corners of grass around harvested crops. Found a covey of quail on almost every corner-even out in the grass. Found pheasants on most corners. Hunted two WIHAs. Found and killed a couple of roosters on them. Saw quite a few hens.

One think I have noticed in my last few trips out there. I don't see the pheasant droppings out in the fields like I used to. I'm assuming that's because the density just isn't there.
 
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