Other Than Upland Birds.......

TheMorningRise

New member
What else do you all hunt or have you hunted before upland?

Wasn't really sure how to title this, or which way to take it. Just thought I'd start a thread inquiring what everyone hunts or has hunted before switching to upland (if that is all you hunt now).

Since I started it, I'll go first......

For me personally, I did not grow up in a hunting family. My father saw no need to hunt because he had all he needed in terms of meat from the store. Fortunately for me, he had a passion for fishing. As a pilot, he used to fly trips from the US, into Canada. Some of these groups even paid for his week of fishing, on top of his flight pay. Well, he introduced me to fishing and I fell in love.

I have guided (fishing) in two countries and countless states. I have fished in and won tournaments. I then became addicted to fly fishing and started an outfitting company guiding fly fisherman. During this time, I became passionate about all things outdoors. Before I knew it, I had opportunities to chase Waterfowl, Upland Birds and Big Game. My immediate hunting addiction was bow hunting Whitetail. I then became a competitive archer. To this day, I still LOVE chasing Whitetail.

However, I have always had a fondness for bird hunting (both Waterfowl and Upland). A large part of this passion stems from watching a good dog work. The bond between handler/hunter and K9 is unmatched. To me, there is nothing that compares to watching a great dog work!

As I become older (late 30's), despite my love of bow hunting, I find myself thinking of chasing birds and working with dogs more. Perhaps it is a shift in ideals. May be it is my fondness for nice shotguns, good whiskey and a walk in the fields. May be it is that bond with the dog. Quite honestly, I couldn't narrow it down, even if I had to.

Yet, as I get older, I find myself more and more interested in the dogs and birds, than the bow and Deer. I do not know why.

How many of you hunt big game and birds? Or, may be even more inquisitively, how many of you abandoned big game hunting, soley to focus on birds?

Thought this may be an interesting thread!
 
I hunt deer for the meat. Unlike many people, I prefer ground venison to ground beef in almost everything. And we love making jerky, and backstrap steaks... My preference is to bow hunt, but I will drag out the rifle if I still have a tag when rifle season rolls around. I'm not picky about trophies. If it gives me a broadside shot inside 20 yards, it's coming home with me... :laugh:

I hunt waterfowl for fun, but the meat isn't my favorite. I limit my waterfowling to what I will eat. Goose makes nice jerky, but it doesn't take much goose meat to fill the dehydrator. It can be fun hunting sometimes, so I try to get out a few times a year.

Upland is where it's at for me. :thumbsup: It's always an adventure. I like to explore new places and get out and walk, and run dogs.

Starting a new adventure this season. I have applied for, and in the next couple weeks should receive my falconry license. I think I'm going to go gunless this season as long as I can retrain my dogs to run with the hawk. I hope I can teach my old dog new tricks, like NOT trying to fetch the hawk when it goes down on quarry.
 
I started my hunting at age 11 in an Iowa crp field in the late 80s. Killed my 1st rooster that year. Deer hunting at the time for my family was more "deer shooting" since 99% of it was shotgun hunting driven deer. Basically, you took a weekend off of bird hunting and shot deer. In 2000, I discovered bowhunting. This was during the decline of our birds and an increase in deer. I hunted hard. I saved my vacation and sat in a tree, every day all day, for 3-4 weeks during November. Killed some bucks, some big, some old, some that I wish I hadn't. Then it happened....everyone started looking at the sport as a money making opportunity and commercialized it so much that it was hard to find a spot that wasn't leased or didn't have multiple hunters competing with each other...some rather ugly. It wasn't fun anymore...no need to do it if it isn't fun.

Now I am back to my roots. Following a couple hounds that love to chase birds more than I do. Shooting some, missing some, taking some grief and returning the favor to the hunting partner when I can. I'm back to having fun!
 
I dont know what its like to not have bird dogs around. I grew up in the country and all there was to do is throw a ball up against a wall and catch it. When my arm got tired, I would run the birddogs. It started when I was 7. I would hook my dad's big running setter up to the sled because you know how they run when they've been in the kennel all day. She would take me on a wild 2 mile ride in the snow. One time she stopped suddenly. I yelled "C'mon" and slammed my foot down in the snow. Up popped a huge covey of birds. Goosebumps, eyes wide open, I was hooked right there! I hunt other things but I dont go outta town to hunt other stuff. Deer, I really like turkey hunting. Its a second place finisher to upland. I bow hunt deer only. My kids use rifles. I will grab a rifle if we need more jerky. My two daughters eat about 300 lbs of jerky per year! Favorite fish to eat is crappie. I have a good deal worked out with a friend. Trade crappie for quail if I have extra. So I dont get to the lake much, 3-4 times a year. I spend the rest of my time at the ballpark. I do take my dogs though. They are great shaggers during batting practice. My old vizsla even puts the ball in the bucket. Still cant get her to drop the quail in my vest though!!
 
I grew up in the 70's in South Carolina. I hunted almost every day after school chasing quail, doves, rabbits and squirrels. I didn't have a dog, just walked and walked. Usually found a covey or two each day with occasional doves and rabbits. I Dove hunted hard in September as I had a friend that owned a big farm and we had lots of good dove shoots.

Started deer hunting with dogs when I was 13. I really enjoyed it and the club atmosphere. Dog hunting gets a bad rap, but the sound of a pack of big hounds heading your way through the swamp on a crisp November morning truly has to heard to be understood. Killed my first deer at 14 after missing about 5 or 6.

I got my best bird dog, when I was 14, a Vizsla named Jingles. I trained her as best I could. She was a dove retrieving machine, not perfect, but always ready no matter how hot. We started her on quail and after about two years she was locked on. I hunted with two high school friends and one had a setter and the other an English Pointer. We had long range, mid range and short range dogs and we found a lot of quail. Those are some of my fondest memories - watching all three dogs locked up on a covey in abandoned peach orchards.

Started still hunting for deer at 16 or 17 when I could drive, but had no idea what I was doing. I finally killed my first deer still hunting when I was 17.

Went off to the Marines and took up bow hunting in NC. Killed my first deer the second year of trying. Got out of the Marines and came home to go to college. I scheduled my classes so I could hunt in the both the evenings and mornings of our 4.5 month deer season with no limit on buck. I was 22 years old and a possessed man when it came to deer hunting - I literally killed truck loads of deer.

In the 80s the quail all but disappeared. Dove hunted from time to time.

Moved to Louisiana in the 90's and got into some good duck hunting and loved it.

Have fished all my life, mostly for bass, but also redfish in Louisiana. There is no better saltwater fishing than in Louisiana. It is simply incredible.

Fished Great Slave Lake in the NW territories with my dad and brothers three different times. My dad has now passed and the videos of him fighting big lake trout are hard to watch for me.

I continue to deer hunt here in SC, but my passion is somewhat fading. I am taking up bow hunting again this year to bring back the excitement of taking a big fat doe.

Last year I was invited by Hockybob on this site to join him and his group to SD - thanks Bob. . I had always wanted to hunt pheasants, but kept putting it off. Hunting SD was truly one of the best experiences of my life - it was more than I expected it to be. I am going back again this year and will be taking my brother with me - he has no clue how this is going to affect him!

After realizing how much I missed bird hunting, I purchased a French Britt and started training her. I will be taking her to SD with me. I have found a few areas in SC where the DNR is managing property for quail and she and I will chase a few coveys when we come back from SD. We may also chase some woodcock down around the Charleston area in January when they migrate down that way.

My goal when I retire is to spend my summers fishing for smallmouth bass on Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin and then spend a month or so chasing birds in SD and Kansas each year. I will probably then head back to SC to avoid the harsh winters and take a handful of deer each year and maybe shoot some ducks with a friend in Arkansas. I can't wait to retire!!

Sorry to ramble, but it was fun laying it out there for you.
 
Good stuff!

You both have hit some great points. I guess in terms of bow hunting, I am a trophy hunter. I say this because I am not shooting a buck unless he is going on the wall. Since we are not in dire straits and do not rely on the meat (however, we love deer meat), this is what I do. However, I will harvest a Doe for the freezer.

btomlin.......

You said it perfectly!

I have been fortunate to see the "commercialization" of the archer/whitetail industry first hand (the better half works in this industry). What you said is spot on and quite honestly, the main reason I got out of Bass tournaments. It is also, now the reason that I am contemplating leaving the fly fishing guiding career and focusing on my photography and graphic design business. Simply put, there are too many people attempting to try to earn a living in the industry. This isn't a bad thing. What is, is their approach. They will do it "by any means possible". No fun.

Chasing birds seems so much more relaxing for us. Watch the dog, be frustrated by the dog. Shoot a bird, miss a bird. But at the end of the day, it is fun!
 
My hunting life started when I was about 13, rifle hunting for whitetail in NW Wisconsin with my dad. It was and always has been two weekends a year. 2 years ago, my father-in-law invited me to join him and his son-in-law for a trip to SD in October. I absolutely loved it. I wasn't able to go last year because my son came down with strep throat the night before we were supposed to leave. I can honestly say that I am hooked. The area we deer hunt also happens to be a good area for ruffed grouse. I haven't hunted for them yet, but when I buy my first shotgun, I certainly plan on going for a walk in the woods. :D (I borrow my father-in-law's 11-87 for pheasant hunting)

Other than hunting, I also do some bass fishing, walleye fishing, and on a rare occasion, fly fishing on the Kinnickinnic River in WI. This past summer, I went salmon fishing on Lake Michigan for the first time with my dad now that he has started to get into fishing and also went to LOTW in Canada for fishing trip with the in-laws.
 
Growing up in southeast Kansas in the 80's, I caught the tail end of the good quail hunting and the start of the rise of the deer population, my hunting really started in the early 90's which gave me plenty of opportunities. Dad had Irish Setters before my time, then switched to shorthairs. I never knew a time that we didn't have at least one to hunt the local quail, and then trips out west for pheasants. Dad doesn't even keep a dog anymore because there just isn't any local birds to bother with.

I keep a shorthair and use her on pheasants and dove as a retriever here locally. Dad used to make 1 trip a year out west, I think we have 4 or 5 trips planned this year. Opening weekend, day before Thanksgiving, likely one in December, and then at least one in January. Don't really care what the population is, as long as there are a few birds to keep us interested we will go.

I used to get pretty well consumed in deer hunting, but now could really care less whether I go or not. I don't think I even bought a tag last year. Properties that I hunted have been sold off and changed hands, so access has been lost. I shot a monster whitetail when in high school, (26" INSIDE spread, 13 point, 26" main beams), so that kind of ruined me on what to expect. But to be honest, if I had a choice of shooting another that size, or walking into a CRP patch at first light and hearing roosters cackle out in the grass, I'll take the cackling roosters every time.

Dove season opens up in a week, and I'll be out on a conservation area over sunflowers with my shorthair. Limits in an hour aren't uncommon if you get on the right flight path. Will take my 5 year old boy on the weekend and hopefully a few will still be in the area then for him to see.

Teal season will open in a few weeks. Just started getting into duck hunting a few years ago to add something to the mix because quail aren't local anymore. Don't know what we are doing, but have managed to kill a few birds. Ducks are almost as nice to look at as a rooster pheasant.

We always try to go rabbit hunting when the snow is on the ground, just something about it. When the snow flies I'm looking at my calendar to see if I can get off to grab a .22 and go for a walk looking in hedgerows and brushpiles.

Squirrel hunting had been neglected for several years, but started going again a few times a year. .22 only, head shots only. Been starting to see gray squirrels where we used to only have fox squirrels. I think that is due to the maturity of the forest has changed and the grays like it better.

Coyote hunting is another fun favorite. Camo up. Primarily mouth calls only. See how close you can get one to come in. Just when you are about to give up, haven't seen one in 15 different stands, then all of a sudden you get one to come in on 4 stands in a row.

Started packing for elk hunting this week. DIY on mules in Colorado. I've never pulled the trigger in 4 or 5 trips, but have had spikes standing 5 yards away from me. Last time watched a spike from 60 yards away on a meadow for 45 minutes. Good times.

Antelope is a fun hunt in Wyoming. Shot my buck and two does last year in a day and a half of hunting. Nothing monsterous, but good representative buck and it beats work.

Again, I pretty much hunt everything, but enjoy the simpler, less commercialized aspects. Pheasants with a bird dog are number one, but I'll take coyote calling and rabbits and squirrels and doves too.

My fear is the commercialization that has happened in my 30 year lifetime is going to continue down its path and the next generations pretty much don't have a chance. If they can't get access and lots of success early, they're not going to try for more.
 
cheesy......"My fear is the commercialization that has happened in my 30 year lifetime is going to continue down its path and the next generations pretty much don't have a chance. If they can't get access and lots of success early, they're not going to try for more."

Nailed it!

Big game hunting of any sort, especially Whitetail in the Midwest (but anywhere for that matter), has become almost impossible. I don't trust anyone on public land. Rifle season, forget it. I won't even be in the woods. Archery season, most are ignorant. Land, it is all tied up. Opportunities are short and getting shorter.
 
Cheesy,

Your post made me remember a thing or two; I LOVED teal hunting in Louisiana. It was hot during September but the action was simply incredible. They are a really fun duck to hunt.

I'd love to go on an antelope hunt and want to make that happen soon. Might take my boy next year.

I have elk hunted twice. Once with a bow by myself and got into some bugling bulls and that was about as good as it gets. Didn't get one, but it was crazy. I'd like to do that again as well. My rifle hunt was a disaster as I got severe altitude sickness and had to come off the mountain.
 
The whitetail craze is ridiculous! Ruins quail and pheasant season here in Missouri. Kind of how flooding the bottoms for ducks ruined all the upland hunting down where I grew up. Caught a trespasser on my game camera this year already. He opened it and took the sym card out of it. Little did he know my camera texts the picture to me when it is taken. So I have a picture of his face straight into the camera. When I knocked on his door and confronted him about it. He denied it, all the way until I showed him the picture on my phone. He wouldnt open the screen door either. I should have kicked it in! Currently pressing charges. Trespassing and theft. No choice.
 
I find myself thinking of chasing birds and working with dogs more. Perhaps it is a shift in ideals. May be it is my fondness for nice shotguns, good whiskey and a walk in the fields. May be it is that bond with the dog. Quite honestly, I couldn't narrow it down, even if I had to.
I think this comes pretty close to why I enjoy upland hunting more than other types of hunting.
 
Used to hunt squirrel and deer when I was younger. Gave it up. Too boring. Got in to rabbit hunting with beagles and pheasant hunting in my early 30's and loved it. After a few years we lost all of our rabbit hunting spots due to housing developments being built. Got in to goose hunting in my late 30's and loved it. All I hunt now is pheasant and goose. I have to go to either PA or SD to hunt pheasants because we don't have any here in MD anymore.
 
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Used to hunt squirrel and deer when I was younger. Gave it up. Too boring. Got in to rabbit hunting with beagles and pheasant hunting in my early 30's and loved it. After a few years we lost all of our rabbit hunting spots due to housing developments being built. Got in to goose hunting in my late 30's and loved it. All I hunt now is pheasant and goose. I have to go to either PA or SD to hunt pheasants because we don't have any here in MD anymore.

I hear Baltimore has Ravens. Maybe you can hunt those!
 
I've been chasing wild ringnecks here in SD for as long as I can remember. My dad let me start walking along and coming on trips when I was ten. I carried a BB gun back then. It didn't have much power as you could see the BB fly through the air but if you asked me at 10 I hit every bird I tried to shoot. Other than pheasants I really enjoy chasing mule deer in western SD along the Cheyenne river breaks. I usually take 7 to 10 days and spend it out there with family and friends trying to bag a big one. Some years we get some very nice ones and some years we strike out. We can usually count on at least seeing one or two very nice deer. Whether we get snuck up on them is another thing. But that's hunting. Along with pheasants and deer I have been fishing since before I could stand. Riding in the boat and learning from my father, grandfathers and uncle has made me a pretty good fisherman. I usually fish the lakes around home and practically grew up on the Missouri river on the weekends. Never got much into waterfowl hunting as I just don't enjoy the taste, nor do I like getting up that early. After graduating college and getting my own dog and my own place it has made pheasant hunting even more special as I have trained her myself and couldn't be prouder. With my job I work a lot of weekend which affords me time off during the week. The two of us tend to make great use of my off days chasing crafty late season public land roosters.
 
When I was starting to hunt in the early 80s pheasant numbers were down a bit in SD so the majority of our hunting then was for ducks. I still enjoy waterfowling but upland is my top choice.
Even when I duck hunt a rooster sometimes has a way of getting into the bag. :)
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I will also deer hunt from time to time but that is more like grocery shopping. I do love to eat venison so I'm no trophy hunter. The first good sized deer is going in the freezer.

I do a little dove and snipe hunting before pheasant season...and if a rabbit sits too long in front of me I'm not adverse to frying it up.

Tim
 
I've hunted about every upland bird in the US and in addition I've hunted & harvested the following:

Moose
Elk
White-tail Deer
Mule Deer
Antelope
Turkeys
Geese
Ducks
Coyotes
Fox

That now spans 60 years. Started as a 10 year old in 1956.
 
I buy a deer tag every year, not sure why as I never really go deer hunting but I do buy one.:cheers:
 
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