Opening Pheasant next week!

calamari said:
That's funny. I feel the same way and only wear orange when it's required by law.
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I have no issue with wearing it -- I'm not real fashion-conscious and I don't want to get shot. I just can't handle looking at so much of it in a single place. It's hard on the eyes.

It makes you feel like you're just part of a big cattle-like herd, with everybody gathered in the same place for the same reason. Very similar to a major sporting event or concert, which I attend very few of these days due to my dislike of crowds.

It's an uncomfortable feeling for me.
 
I don't have a problem with those that wear it either but to me it's for out in the field and not in a restaurant. In my experience the people I know who have been shot, and I know two who carry shot today, blaze orange played no part in preventing the accident. High visibility clothes is no substitute for good gun handling and situation awareness. Not arguing and I apologize to the OP for hijacking his thread.
 
calamari said:
I don't have a problem with those that wear it either but to me it's for out in the field and not in a restaurant.
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Yep, I agree with that. I leave that stuff in the truck until just before the dogs hit the ground.
 
What do you guys do at the wildlife refuge's when you have to be there so early? Shoot time isn't until 8am and the reservation expires an hour before shoot time, and I assume they are going off of waterfowl shoot times. So I have to hang out from 5 until 8! Do any of you guys just try to get flyover ducks/geese? I don't want to piss off any of those guys though.
 
They call reservations first thing so you need to be in line when they start doing that. I doubt that they will fill but I've seen guys turned away who came later and the area had already been filled from the sweat line when the hunting was better. Look to see when they call reservations because that's often 4 something on waterfowl shoot days.
I looked and it's 2 hours before shoot time which is 6:13 on the 8th. so 4:13 is when they open the check station calling reservations soon after.
Once you get your permit you can't leave the area so that leaves duck hunting until 8 AM, making breakfast and passing the time, or going back to sleep for awhile. What you want to avoid is walking out into a pheasant field until shoot time. Even walking down a road to get to it isn't a real good idea because you can jump a bird anywhere but you'll also be caught in a bind by guys who don't have enough sense to wait until you can shoot before you go where you can shoot.
Make sure your party has entry passes for the day! That's different than a reservation.
Welcome to refuge hunting!
 
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Take a good book. I'd suggest A Sand County Almanac. :cheers:
 
For books, I might suggest "Thursday's Bird" by Joel Spring about hunting disappearing wild pheasants in New York. Jim Fergus' "A Hunter's Road," about the ultimate upland bird hunting road trip across the U.S. is another good one and a personal favorite.

It's been my experience on opener at the refuges that most guys are in the fields and walking to their spots before 8 a.m. shoot time -- and of course they are jumping birds along the way, a few even shooting before 8 a.m. unfortunately.
 
Sporting Days said:
It's been my experience on opener at the refuges that most guys are in the fields and walking to their spots before 8 a.m. shoot time -- and of course they are jumping birds along the way, a few even shooting before 8 a.m. unfortunately.
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Yeah, quite a few guys do that. Don't try it on a pheasant-only day, though (such as this Monday). On those days you can be ticketed for even setting foot in a field prior to 8 o'clock.
 
Last year we had one other group show up at the parking lot we hunted out of around 7. They got out and asked what field we were hunting first and asked if it were agreeable that we all stay in the parking lot until 8 and head out. It was and we all stayed out of one another's way and had a nice hunt. A perfect world scenario I know but there are some respectful hunters left out there. Don't be afraid to talk to the guys out there.:cheers:
 
I'm writing those books down. I always enjoy a real world story about something that I enjoy. I'm hoping that our first trip goes well!
 
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