Opening Weekend

Saw more than we’ve seen in several years. Had some good luck with some and bad with others. Couple of things I noticed... didn’t see many hunters in the area we were but there is little WIHA. Lack of CRP was really noticeable this year. Having said that, there seems to be more birds In this particular area. Did notice that areas seemed to be holding a lot while five miles away wouldn’t. Cold front at 4:00. that wind was incredible. Dad shot one with the tailwind and I bet it bounced two feet when it hit the ground. Will try awhile tomorrow then back to Oklahoma. Good luck everyone. Have a good season and stay safe.
 
akp said:
Saw more than we’ve seen in several years. Had some good luck with some and bad with others. Couple of things I noticed... didn’t see many hunters in the area we were but there is little WIHA. Lack of CRP was really noticeable this year. Having said that, there seems to be more birds In this particular area. Did notice that areas seemed to be holding a lot while five miles away wouldn’t. Cold front at 4:00. that wind was incredible. Dad shot one with the tailwind and I bet it bounced two feet when it hit the ground. Will try awhile tomorrow then back to Oklahoma. Good luck everyone. Have a good season and stay safe.
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On warm day like today, what kind of habitat did you find the most birds in? Heading out next Wednesday with weather forecast similar to today, so trying to figure out which type of habitat is my best bet. Thanks
 
Five of us (including high school niece and junior high nephew, neither are much of a handicap though) ended with 6 pheasants and 2 quail. Only shot at 2 other roosters. Saw birds in about every field, just not very many of them. Only hunted WIHAs.




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5 of us hunted yesterday and shot 5 roosters and 4 quail. Saw 6 good coveys, should have had way more quail: opening day jitters... Saw a total of about 35 pheasants. Some were super wild some were running.
 
Mostly corners of irrigated fields, so what you’d call CRP type grasses. Five people, using one to block down at the point. Did pretty well again this morning before we left. Overall a really good weekend.
 
Thanks for the info. Did not know if there was much CRP left in the state anymore. Figuring in the part of the state that we are going to, might have to rely on grassy draws in cut milo/corn fields.
 
Man the lack of it is noticeable if you’ve hunted Kansas for long. Luckily these guys leave most of their corners alone and let them grow. They had a little CPR strip we’ve hunted for three years. Gone.
 
Only two of us going so we will have to find small areas that we can work effectively and work into the wind as much as possible. Will be hunting WIHA and public lands around reservoirs. Weather is supposed to be more like a day at the beach instead of hunting season.
 
If it was just me or me and another person, I’d just follow the dogs. Some of those birds will hold tight especially if the grass is thick.
 
akp said:
If it was just me or me and another person, I’d just follow the dogs. Some of those birds will hold tight especially if the grass is thick.
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I agree. I hunt alone or with one other person almost exclusively and prefer to hunt big open patches. The small patches get hunted a lot more. Just follow the dogs even if you think they are going the wrong way. When I hunted WIHA the bigger the patch the more likely I was to hunt it. A lot of times the middle or back sides will hold birds because most hunters will hunt along the road.
 
Three guys, two dogs (one in his prime and one rapidly getting older english setter) 10 roosters and 5 quail. Rooks County, private land. We found them in grass next to milo stubble or vice versa. They had a ton of rain early in the year and the cover is incredible. CRP is tough to walk through. Draws full of tall cattails. We had perfect weather in the morning. They had rain about a week ago and so good scenting conditions. At 2:15 the bomb of a front hit and it started blowing 40 MPH, spitting rain and soon basically a dust storm. We cleaned the birds and hit the bar. (Burgers and Beer in P-Ville. Cold red beer and good burgers.

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I will add that the corners adjacent to cut milo or corn was better than the corners with winter wheat. I'll second that... Was a bomb of a cold front. Dad shot a rooster with that tailwind and that thing blew 50 yards past him and hit the ground. Probably bounced two feet. And that thing hit sudden.
 
Saturday we were in NE KS hunting with family. We ended up joining with another hunter and saw more pheasants than we’ve seen in that area for years. The gentleman who joined us managed 2 roosters and a couple of quail. He let my sons hold one of his roosters. A younger guy who clearly loves the hunt and couldn’t have been more kind to us. Sunday we hit a field close to the house and kicked up a rooster. My son took a shot but missed. Overall it was great to get out and seeing birds was a bonus. Don’t read into the comment above, the place we hunted Saturday was the best looking habitat in 2 counties. I’m hoping to get my son some good opportunities to bring his first rooster home this fall. Best of luck everyone and remember that being kind and courteous turns conflict into memories.
 
Sunday was much better. The temps were cooler and the birds seemed to hold. We managed three roosters and three quail. However we had a lot of fun and lots of laughs.
 
Sat. morning only due to high wind in the p.m. Found 15 phez and a small covey of Q in our best spot. Hunted what is tradionally two good, private CRPs on Sun. which had one phez each. Very disappointing. Back home to wait for some phez hunting friendly weather. Will throw my one phez in the crock pot.
 
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