Pheasant Hunting Information

outdoorslife89

outdoorslife89

New member
Hey everyone. I am not new to the game but I would consider myself a beginner on the pheasant hunting scale compared to those whom have been doing it a long time. Always been an outdoorsman and now the fields are calling me. Its a direction I need. Ive hunted solo, with others, and with a dog. It was always a "treat" for me to hunt pheasant but Ive already committed to much less deer woods time and more field time for the pup, for me and maybe to get some family into the sport. We shall see on the latter part, lol. I now have a lab mix of my own(8 weeks) and really look forward to(being patient) spending the time with her along the way, giving her a chance she may not have had, hadnt we been the ones to get her. You may have see my post asking about books/dvd's etc. I chose Tom Dokkens Beginner Puppy Dvd/Upland Dvd and Retriever Training book to get started.

So now, Im on the search for some recommended books/dvd's/material on pheasant hunting/pheasants in general. Information that will or may include different pheasant species, different species I may encounter depending on where my next hunt may be, pen raised vs wild vs public, different terrain, pheasant hunting strategies, etc. What books are good? Dvd's? Popular websites? Here!? Lol

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks in advance for any and all info you provide.
 
Well, get the dog downwind of the area you're hunting and go across the wind. When the dog turns into the wind and seems birdy, follow the dog. Following the dog is almost always a good idea.

The only wild pheasant in the U.S. is the Chinese ring necked. You may encounter other types on a bird hunting ranch.

A bird ranch is a good way to dial in a new dog about what is going on when the two of you are walking around in the country and you're carrying a gun.

Hunting alone or with just another hunter, best is to hunt edges of grainfields and cover, tall grass/CRP along grain fields, draws with good weed and brush, koshia (fireweed) and plum thickets. One or two hunters can't really effectively hunt a big field of wheat stubble or corn or milo stalks.

Birds usually feed at first light and again late afternoon/early evening. In between they hang out in nearby cover. In late afternoon/early evening they will go out on the road to eat grit too.

Good hunting. It's a great sport, especially with a dog.
 
There is a fine man here in Montana, has several books on pheasant hunting and is a superb photographer. I have a leather bound book of his on my coffee table in my man cave....ROOSTER!, check out spartasphoto.com, or google Dale Spartas photography, worth the visit.
 
Huntsmith

hi not REALLY answering your question, but I attended a HUNTSMITH dog foundation seminar last June in Montana... it is a 3 day seminar, that really is about training YOU... the dog benefits , as you are taught the tools to get the dog quickly understanding your communication's... he has DVD's out.
His seminar is called the silent command, Rick Smith is the Son of Delmar smith and they have been training gun dogs for 60 plus years...

I signed up again to attend , our local gun dog club is sponsoring him in April in Bozeman.
Google huntsmith and you can see where his the rest of his foundation seminars are this year... if you are interested...
I have trained my own 3 labs , and think this seminar is really worth the 400.00 he charges...

Dale Spartas is a great friend, and Rooster is a fine book ! great pictorial and notes!
 
Awesome information here, thanks to everyone that has chimed in to help! Dustin, the seminar sounds like an invaluable piece of training for US!
 
Montana Husker said:
There is a fine man here in Montana, has several books on pheasant hunting and is a superb photographer. I have a leather bound book of his on my coffee table in my man cave....ROOSTER!, check out spartasphoto.com, or google Dale Spartas photography, worth the visit.
Click to expand...

I just checked out the website. Some BEAUTIFUL photos! I will definitely grab a copy of ROOSTER, thank you.
 
Richard Wolters has written a series of training books, "gun dog", "water dog", "game dog" and "family dog". I would recommend any of them, I have read and used techniques from the first three listed, I have not read family dog. There overlap between them but it does help re-enforce what you are to do. As your dog progresses then I would look for a local dog club as they may have training days where you can work your pup over live birds, other alternative is a pheasant farm.

One last suggestion would be to run your dog with another seasoned dog that could help with getting your pup into a bird.....just my $.02.
 
outdoorslife89 glad your on our side of the fence. About everyone is a rookie on the first day and at the first flush, if your heart don't pick up a couple of beats when your dog goes on point, your either dead or in the wrong sport. There are a lot of good thinks to watch on Youtube that people post in reference to bird hunting. If you have a Half Price Book store in your area or any other book store that sells used books look there for books and magazines on the cheap side. I have some bird books that I can send you at no cost, if you send me your address my email is odisdenney@gmail.com anything in a older book pretty much applies still today. Look to get hooked up with a sporting club that you can work your dogs on live birds, also a trap/skeet range to keep you tuned up during off season, a dog don't like it to much if he can't fetch.
 
odenney said:
outdoorslife89 glad your on our side of the fence. About everyone is a rookie on the first day and at the first flush, if your heart don't pick up a couple of beats when your dog goes on point, your either dead or in the wrong sport. There are a lot of good thinks to watch on Youtube that people post in reference to bird hunting. If you have a Half Price Book store in your area or any other book store that sells used books look there for books and magazines on the cheap side. I have some bird books that I can send you at no cost, if you send me your address my email is odisdenney@gmail.com anything in a older book pretty much applies still today. Look to get hooked up with a sporting club that you can work your dogs on live birds, also a trap/skeet range to keep you tuned up during off season, a dog don't like it to much if he can't fetch.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome, advice and an extremely generous offer! I do plan on looking into a club, just not exactly sure on which one just yet, and was planning on using the preserves to our advantage!
 
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