Opening weekend

1. How many people in your group? Friends and/or family? Just me opening morning, maybe my 9 year old son for the 2nd half if football is over in time...
2. How many dogs, and what kind of dogs? 2; a 2 year old PP and my 12 year old Lab
3. Region/area of the state you will be hunting? NW of Morris
4. Shotgun and pheasant load of choice? Browning A5 with 2 3/4" 5 shot bismuth
5. Public land, private land, or a combination? All Public
6. Your perfect weather forecast? low 50's partly cloudy
7. Adult beverage of choice when the hunt is over? Oktoberfest or Busch or Makers Mark
 
gimruis said:
I've never pounded ground with my dog, ever. I don't walk for hours on end. That's not how I hunt. Mostly because the spots I hunt are small. I hit one spot and then hit another. That's how the landscape is here.

I started a thread earlier about when to retire a hunting dog and I got a lot of good responses. This is my first dog, so I really have no comparison yet. As long as she can jump in the truck and has the physical attributes required to do it, I'll take her. Just needs to be limited hunts and nothing over about 50 degrees. She over heats very quickly.

Rain is looking likely Thursday night, Friday, and into Saturday. 2-4 inches by the most recent forecast I just heard on the radio this morning.
Click to expand...
Your dog rides inside the truck. If your dog can't jump in, you lift dog in.
 
If the dog rides in the cab and can't jump in they shouldn't be out hunting.

You can always tell the guys who never encounter skunks😉
 
I have hunted behind Brittanys for 42 years and one skunk 🦨 direct hit to my brother’s one year old little female. Not even many near misses.

I suppose I just jinked my self 😳
 
I pound ground…but I like getting miles in whether I’m hunting or not. Great exercise! Like to get 10 miles a day…just as well be huntin
 
Yeah I hunted southern mn over the weekend. Saturday all the grass was really wet from the big rain. We were surprised how dry everything was by sunday. I think that soil is really soaking all the water in quick.
 
I normally buy a Minnesota non-resident license and hunt a friends private land SW of Canby. However, I didn't buy a license last year and I've been debating about getting one this year, so I called my buddy. He said hunting this past weekend in his area was not good at all. He said he has seen very few birds this summer and fall. Guess I'll stay in SD and hit the public areas.
 
Dakotazeb said:
I normally buy a Minnesota non-resident license and hunt a friends private land SW of Canby. However, I didn't buy a license last year and I've been debating about getting one this year, so I called my buddy. He said hunting this past weekend in his area was not good at all. He said he has seen very few birds this summer and fall. Guess I'll stay in SD and hit the public areas.
Click to expand...
I'll find out starting tomorrow. I'm heading that direction tomorrow morning for 4 days. I'm curious how it'll compare to years past.
 
Dakotazeb said:
I normally buy a Minnesota non-resident license and hunt a friends private land SW of Canby. However, I didn't buy a license last year and I've been debating about getting one this year, so I called my buddy. He said hunting this past weekend in his area was not good at all. He said he has seen very few birds this summer and fall. Guess I'll stay in SD and hit the public areas.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update - much appreciated. If the area there around Canby is like much of the rest of SW MN, then there is probably still a lot of corn left in the fields, which makes a difference.
 
MNhunter4ever said:
Thanks for the update - much appreciated. If the area there around Canby is like much of the rest of SW MN, then there is probably still a lot of corn left in the fields, which makes a difference.
Click to expand...
That's true. But my friend lives right there on the land and just has not seen very many birds this year. Hopefully it's just a local pocket and not representative of the whole area.
 
Dakotazeb said:
That's true. But my friend lives right there on the land and just has not seen very many birds this year. Hopefully it's just a local pocket and not representative of the whole area.
Click to expand...
Just got back from that area and I can see why they thought that. It's real spotty compared to other years. Hunted some WMAs that were thick with birds, and I mean thick. Me and my hunting partner got 6 birds, and saw even more roosters in 2 different days of hunting this one piece over 4 days. Could have had a 2 man limit easily both days there with a 1.5-2 hour walk. Other places that are usually honey hole spots that we pretty much can guarantee at least one bird in the bag, no birds and very few encounters. Seems to be just a coin toss on whether or you're in the right place or not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top