nstric
New member
Hey all -
Gunner and I hit the fields . . . public ground in south central Iowa . . . Saturday and Sunday morning. We'd never hunted this ground before, but I scouted it on a whim the week prior and was happy with what I saw. This was the first time I'd hunted south of DSM in over a decade.
Bird Numbers: WAY up! I was shocked at the amount of crowing and birds eventually seen afield. In excess of 100 . . . BUT . . . nearly all running ahead and flushing wild. It certainly didn't help that a yellow lab from another party decided to bolt ahead and bust them up. While frustrating in the moment, it was still a great site to see!
Cover: I was mostly hunting big block bluestem grass, the exception being the first draw pushed where the birds busted wild. The combination of thinner grass, woody cover, and a rangey neighboring party dog didn't help matters.
Birds Harvested: Three each morning, 5 of the 6 taken off of Gunner's points. Shot a perfect 6 for 6, but any fool can do so as easy as Gunner made it for me.
Bird Appearance: To my surprise, half of the birds I'd shot looked to be young (size, beak, tail feather and spur length, etc.). Given how dry it's been, I'd have thought the hens to nest in April or May, and these roosters were no doubt too young for that to have been the case. And hens only look to raise another brood if the first is lost, right? If not via flooding, how would whole broods have been lost? Weird.
Oddity: This was a first for me. One of the roosters I'd shot was banded. A simple, yellow band numbered "21". I first thought the DNR may have been responsible for such, but there wasn't any number to call, etc., on the band. Now I'm thinking it may have been an escaped game farm bird? Your thoughts? He certainly behaved wild, which could mean good things for the possibility of restocking numbers.
I'm next heading out on Wednesday. Taking two buddies, one that has a younger dog. Should be fun!
Gunner and I hit the fields . . . public ground in south central Iowa . . . Saturday and Sunday morning. We'd never hunted this ground before, but I scouted it on a whim the week prior and was happy with what I saw. This was the first time I'd hunted south of DSM in over a decade.
Bird Numbers: WAY up! I was shocked at the amount of crowing and birds eventually seen afield. In excess of 100 . . . BUT . . . nearly all running ahead and flushing wild. It certainly didn't help that a yellow lab from another party decided to bolt ahead and bust them up. While frustrating in the moment, it was still a great site to see!
Cover: I was mostly hunting big block bluestem grass, the exception being the first draw pushed where the birds busted wild. The combination of thinner grass, woody cover, and a rangey neighboring party dog didn't help matters.
Birds Harvested: Three each morning, 5 of the 6 taken off of Gunner's points. Shot a perfect 6 for 6, but any fool can do so as easy as Gunner made it for me.
Bird Appearance: To my surprise, half of the birds I'd shot looked to be young (size, beak, tail feather and spur length, etc.). Given how dry it's been, I'd have thought the hens to nest in April or May, and these roosters were no doubt too young for that to have been the case. And hens only look to raise another brood if the first is lost, right? If not via flooding, how would whole broods have been lost? Weird.
Oddity: This was a first for me. One of the roosters I'd shot was banded. A simple, yellow band numbered "21". I first thought the DNR may have been responsible for such, but there wasn't any number to call, etc., on the band. Now I'm thinking it may have been an escaped game farm bird? Your thoughts? He certainly behaved wild, which could mean good things for the possibility of restocking numbers.
I'm next heading out on Wednesday. Taking two buddies, one that has a younger dog. Should be fun!
