PA pheasant hunting:

I

irish1

Member
Due to personal circumstances, I cannot make my annual trip from Central, VA to South Dakota. I'm seriously considering a trip to South Central and South West , PA to pheasant hunt. I will hunt during the work week to avoid weekend crowds. I have the release schedule put out by the Game Commission. My question is: Are the birds pretty much gone following a release? I know these are not wild birds but I want to give my Springers some bird work. I'm not asking for secret spotsa. I would love to hear some honest opinions.
Thank you in advance. PM me if you wish.
 
Irish,

Your Springers should find plenty of birds to keep them busy. We take a few weeks off every year for the pheasant season and honestly I think we had action almost every day. Now granted we've been at this a long time and have some tried and true spots, but I think with a little homework you should do fine. The State releases over 200,000 birds and the South West gets a good chunk of them. That's a lot of birds and there are the hold-overs from last year and despite what you read, there are some wild birds. It's by no means South Dakota, but here in the East it's hard to beat.
 
Last year was the best year I had hunting pheasants in PA since I got my first dog. He will be 9 this fall, so I missed the good ol' days by a good bit. But it was still a fun year. I try to hunt during the week when I can and I see a good number of Maryland and VA hunters at the gamelands. I'm sure they come up here for a reason.

I think you'll have some good luck since you'll be hunting with a dog. The gamelands have some good bird cover but don't be afraid to hunt the woods for pheasants. They will get pushed in all directions. Don't be surprised when your dog flushes a bird out of a hedgerow and of course you'll be on the wrong side. Happens quite a bit.

I was lucky enough to still get a bird on the last day of the season last year. I expect similar hunting conditions again this year.

Do you know what county or gamelands you will head to? There is a good chance I hunt the same areas.
 
^
they know what they are talking about, ha! its worth the trip and reading about all thats in store for this season, i think its going to be a good one...
 
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