Pheasants without a dog
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AtTheMurph
Well-known member
I'm just outside Indy and apparently very unlucky!
I'm heading up to Benton Co to hunt Wed, then to Iroquios Co IL, Sat. Have been getting some good reports on numbers and some bad. I think we need a little snow!
Good luck. Take your time. stop for often. Maybe the only way to get birds up in that big of a field with no dog.
Well no luck. We only saw 1 bird. It was nothing like the hunt my Son and Dad had last year on another one of the managed properties. Heard that the farmer that lives on the property isn't seeing them this year either. Wetland on property was dried up. Maybe that was the problem. Oh well, got some exercise. Maybe someday I will get a pheasant. Probably have to go to a put and take.
If there were lots of birds there I expect that the farmer would be hearing/seeing them, so I think you're right that low abundance was a factor. As has been mentioned often above, hunting pheasants without a dog is a low-percentages game at best, so when there aren't many around, your odds go down even more. Glad you had a nice day outside. If it makes you feel any better, the dog and I were stuck in the office all weekend, so we didn't even get to go for a walk! lol!
Even with a dog I still get shots at birds that were not put up by the dog (like in the situation where you or your partner almost step on one). So you should see some.
Here is my one suggestion that may help you get a bird or two. One of the big advantages of a dog is the early warning you receive by watching the dog get "birdy". Without the dog, one is often surprised when a pheasant gets up unexpectantly. So your chances of hitting a bird will increase if multiple birds get up in succession. The ones that get up later you will be more likely to hit since you are less surprised. So, if someone in your party is shooting, get ready to shoot the birds that get up when scared by the gunfire from your partner. Also, if you have three shells, don't use all three on a rooster that is rapidly getting out of range. You are unlikely to hit it with a third shot anyways. Save that last shell for the one that takes off in response to your other blasts from your initial two shots. I use an over/under, and it is not uncommon to be standing there with an empty gun after missing a bird with both shots and now another is getting up.
Here is my one suggestion that may help you get a bird or two. One of the big advantages of a dog is the early warning you receive by watching the dog get "birdy". Without the dog, one is often surprised when a pheasant gets up unexpectantly. So your chances of hitting a bird will increase if multiple birds get up in succession. The ones that get up later you will be more likely to hit since you are less surprised. So, if someone in your party is shooting, get ready to shoot the birds that get up when scared by the gunfire from your partner. Also, if you have three shells, don't use all three on a rooster that is rapidly getting out of range. You are unlikely to hit it with a third shot anyways. Save that last shell for the one that takes off in response to your other blasts from your initial two shots. I use an over/under, and it is not uncommon to be standing there with an empty gun after missing a bird with both shots and now another is getting up.
AtTheMurph
Well-known member
I was in Benton Co yesterday and walked my butt off. Hunted two areas that are adjacent to those IN Game Bird properties so was hoping to catch birds moving out to feed.
Only saw one cock and 14 hens. Couldn't get a good shot at that cock because he flushed up low with my dog directly between us and he never gained much altitude.
We had three dogs 4 hunters. Those sneaky cocks have been hunted I think and they are gone fast now. Too much cover to hide in. The one I did get up I think was because I had flanked the rest of the party pretty far to one side in a large grass area and he was booking away on a right angle when my dog caught wind of him.
I really need some snow soon.
Only saw one cock and 14 hens. Couldn't get a good shot at that cock because he flushed up low with my dog directly between us and he never gained much altitude.
We had three dogs 4 hunters. Those sneaky cocks have been hunted I think and they are gone fast now. Too much cover to hide in. The one I did get up I think was because I had flanked the rest of the party pretty far to one side in a large grass area and he was booking away on a right angle when my dog caught wind of him.
I really need some snow soon.
BrowningCitori
Member
If you happen to get fresh snow, DO NOT pass up the chance to track birds down (and yes you can tell hens tracks from roosters). A friend used to always kill 3 birds with no dog as long as he had fresh or relatively fresh snow.
Good luck and enjoy your hunt.
Good luck and enjoy your hunt.
beach004
Member
Rope trick?
I don't really have a dog in this fight ;-) but my family and I have had to hunt most of the time the past decade, in NE and SD, without a dog (we fly in from North Carolina), so we know about suffering. This year my daughter shot a rooster that fell in a plowed field, very badly wounded, and crawled to a hedgerow not four feet wide. Three of us looked for ten minutes before she looked down and saw tail feathers sticking out right at her feet! Last year I downed one at 15 yards in waist deep grass, ran to the spot; saw something moving under the grass, dropped my gun and hurled myself down on the spot, and groped around till I found a neck...at age 68, hurling is not something I do lightly, and my back hurt for a week; but I hate, just hate, losing a cripple; I echo the recommendations to load heavy; I shoot only fours, take the plug out, and if a bird stands up I shoot it again--anything rather than lose one down.
Let me make a diffident suggestion; I saw this done in Texas, on TV not live, I must say; but it seems to make sense, assuming it's legal where you hunt. Get a couple of 50-foot clotheslines, the lighter the better; then three hunters take these in hand, spread out to their limit, and walk across a grass field; this won't work well if there are cedars or the like in the field; but if it's pretty uniform, and not too high, you can drag the line across the cover between you; and it's going to take a pretty laid-back pheasant not to flush when that motion passes overhead. I've only tried it one time, and we didn't get any birds up. But "it ought to work," he says. Anyone know?
Beach004
I don't really have a dog in this fight ;-) but my family and I have had to hunt most of the time the past decade, in NE and SD, without a dog (we fly in from North Carolina), so we know about suffering. This year my daughter shot a rooster that fell in a plowed field, very badly wounded, and crawled to a hedgerow not four feet wide. Three of us looked for ten minutes before she looked down and saw tail feathers sticking out right at her feet! Last year I downed one at 15 yards in waist deep grass, ran to the spot; saw something moving under the grass, dropped my gun and hurled myself down on the spot, and groped around till I found a neck...at age 68, hurling is not something I do lightly, and my back hurt for a week; but I hate, just hate, losing a cripple; I echo the recommendations to load heavy; I shoot only fours, take the plug out, and if a bird stands up I shoot it again--anything rather than lose one down.
Let me make a diffident suggestion; I saw this done in Texas, on TV not live, I must say; but it seems to make sense, assuming it's legal where you hunt. Get a couple of 50-foot clotheslines, the lighter the better; then three hunters take these in hand, spread out to their limit, and walk across a grass field; this won't work well if there are cedars or the like in the field; but if it's pretty uniform, and not too high, you can drag the line across the cover between you; and it's going to take a pretty laid-back pheasant not to flush when that motion passes overhead. I've only tried it one time, and we didn't get any birds up. But "it ought to work," he says. Anyone know?
Beach004
birddog456
Member
..."Take your dog to work" weekend, they have that in Canada? Eh? EXCELLENT!:thumbsup:
birddog456
Member
Heard a story in South Dakota about a similar technique, probably goes back a few years. They would drag a board using horses, or horse drawn buckboards to bust the birds. Think of all the ground you could cover quickly! Buckboards may have been the original vehicle for the handicap hunter, the horse the original atv. You could really clean house. For me it would take all the joy of working my dogs...but then this post is all about no dog.