Bob Peters
Well-known member
I went last Sat, Sun, Mon on a 3 day prairie chicken hunt in MN, my first time ever going. My buddy did not draw so it was just me and Skye. I was nervous, excited, and just going through a whole range of emotions on Saturday as I made the long haul up 94 towards Fargo. Left at 5:30am and hunting by 10AM. As soon as I hit the WMA I saw a bird on the bordering 2-track!!! I slow rolled it in reverse, geared up post-hast, and off we went. Walking down the 2-track, near the sighting, a sudden whir of wings and my gun was shouldered 60 seconds into the hunt! I heard some weird noises from this bird, and as I tracked with bead, I was in disbelief at a juvenile rooster flapping away. You're not supposed to see pheasants while hunting prairie grouse!! (More on that to come)! I got in the grass and continued walking and made it about 250 yards to an abrupt edge where the forbes went from belt high to a grass area about 3 inches tall. Before I had any indication 3 birds flushed and I took a long shot at one but missed, then suddenly a 4th bird flushed a little closer and I missed her twice. This hunt started out at a fast pace 
. We tried a second spot, mainly I picked it because it was near a bean field and I heard prairie grouse like beans. We didn't find a single grouse, but the pheasants were popping like popcorn at the theater during dollar days!!! Skye chased one rooster up and he landed in the top of a willow bush while she stared intently at him till he beat it for good. I felt bad she was doing such great work and didn't get any retrieves. Frustrating but fun to watch at the same time. As I was leaving bumped into another hunter and he hadn't seen any chickens so far on the 2 spots he had tried. The 3rd spot was a WIA that had large patches hayed off of it. I was ready to try some really thin/short cover and try to figure these birds out. It was a section long, I walked half of it and didn't put up any birds, but think I may have found a prairie chicken roost sight(see pic). The third spot got checked by warden in parking lot while pulling burrs off dog, got good info from him, while hunting saw two chickens but they flushed wild and no shot opportunity. Rest then a final spot for golden hour, Skye put up a rooster right in front of me, and later a hen, day one done. Sunday was gonna be warm and windy, so I knew morning would be key. First stop was some very short grass on wma. I wish I was better at describing it, but I need to learn more about the land, plant species, etc. Walked for an hour, then Skye got hot, really really hot on some scent. She put on the track shoes and was off like a lightning bolt. I hustled and ran fast as I could, then had to beep her collar and she stopped for 5 seconds and resumed. I was perfectly in range for the shot on... a hen pheasant
! Skye was huffing so we sat down and took a water break. Resuming our walk Skye got birdy again right away, and working in front of me birds started boiling out of the thin grass, here was the flock of chickens! Unfortunately whether due to the commotion with the pheasant or our approach direction/thinness of the grass the birds flushed just out of range, I'm guessing about 8 of them. We hunted 2 more spots that day and quit early due to heat/wind. No more chicken sightings, but yes, lots of pheasants. Monday looked like a good day, very cool (39) in the morning and winds around 7-10 instead of the 20-30+ we saw on Sunday. I didn't know whether to zig or zag and was starting to think I'd come home empty handed. I decided to go to a large WMA and do a long comfortable walk out in the prairie, let Skye set the pace and direction, and enjoy myself. It was near a 4 hour trip, we flushed pheasants(of course), saw massive hawks and eagles in the very RARE dead old cottonwoods that looked over 100 years old, and jumped ditches, drains, and creeks. I stopped thinking of so much strategy, stopped myself from thinking about everyday life, and just watched a good bird dog work and was present in the natural beauty of the land. Three hours in, Skye got birdy in the light prairie grass, worked quickly and nosed up a big beautiful male prairie chicken. Flush, Shot, retrieve and all was right with the world. I took some pictures, sat down in the grass to enjoy the moment and relaxed. Ten minutes later we got up, went 40 yards and Skye put up a hen chicken right on a platter for me. Shot MISS, shot leg drop, shot wing broke, retrieve, we were done. I unloaded the gun, took off my sweaty hat, and had a feeling of happiness and contentment wash over me that told me it was indeed a rare day. My first ever limit of upland gamebirds was a bag of MN prairie chickens. I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for reading my long report, have a great day.
Picture descriptions
1. First ever chicken (boomer)
2. Second chicken (hen)
3. WIA (look at that short grass!)
4. Is this a chicken roost sight?
5. Happy dog, good trip
6. Day two, hot, no retrieves, jumped a duck pond so Skye could get a bird and cool off
7/8. Sunset pics(click to view)
. We tried a second spot, mainly I picked it because it was near a bean field and I heard prairie grouse like beans. We didn't find a single grouse, but the pheasants were popping like popcorn at the theater during dollar days!!! Skye chased one rooster up and he landed in the top of a willow bush while she stared intently at him till he beat it for good. I felt bad she was doing such great work and didn't get any retrieves. Frustrating but fun to watch at the same time. As I was leaving bumped into another hunter and he hadn't seen any chickens so far on the 2 spots he had tried. The 3rd spot was a WIA that had large patches hayed off of it. I was ready to try some really thin/short cover and try to figure these birds out. It was a section long, I walked half of it and didn't put up any birds, but think I may have found a prairie chicken roost sight(see pic). The third spot got checked by warden in parking lot while pulling burrs off dog, got good info from him, while hunting saw two chickens but they flushed wild and no shot opportunity. Rest then a final spot for golden hour, Skye put up a rooster right in front of me, and later a hen, day one done. Sunday was gonna be warm and windy, so I knew morning would be key. First stop was some very short grass on wma. I wish I was better at describing it, but I need to learn more about the land, plant species, etc. Walked for an hour, then Skye got hot, really really hot on some scent. She put on the track shoes and was off like a lightning bolt. I hustled and ran fast as I could, then had to beep her collar and she stopped for 5 seconds and resumed. I was perfectly in range for the shot on... a hen pheasant! Skye was huffing so we sat down and took a water break. Resuming our walk Skye got birdy again right away, and working in front of me birds started boiling out of the thin grass, here was the flock of chickens! Unfortunately whether due to the commotion with the pheasant or our approach direction/thinness of the grass the birds flushed just out of range, I'm guessing about 8 of them. We hunted 2 more spots that day and quit early due to heat/wind. No more chicken sightings, but yes, lots of pheasants. Monday looked like a good day, very cool (39) in the morning and winds around 7-10 instead of the 20-30+ we saw on Sunday. I didn't know whether to zig or zag and was starting to think I'd come home empty handed. I decided to go to a large WMA and do a long comfortable walk out in the prairie, let Skye set the pace and direction, and enjoy myself. It was near a 4 hour trip, we flushed pheasants(of course), saw massive hawks and eagles in the very RARE dead old cottonwoods that looked over 100 years old, and jumped ditches, drains, and creeks. I stopped thinking of so much strategy, stopped myself from thinking about everyday life, and just watched a good bird dog work and was present in the natural beauty of the land. Three hours in, Skye got birdy in the light prairie grass, worked quickly and nosed up a big beautiful male prairie chicken. Flush, Shot, retrieve and all was right with the world. I took some pictures, sat down in the grass to enjoy the moment and relaxed. Ten minutes later we got up, went 40 yards and Skye put up a hen chicken right on a platter for me. Shot MISS, shot leg drop, shot wing broke, retrieve, we were done. I unloaded the gun, took off my sweaty hat, and had a feeling of happiness and contentment wash over me that told me it was indeed a rare day. My first ever limit of upland gamebirds was a bag of MN prairie chickens. I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for reading my long report, have a great day.Picture descriptions
1. First ever chicken (boomer)
2. Second chicken (hen)
3. WIA (look at that short grass!)
4. Is this a chicken roost sight?
5. Happy dog, good trip
6. Day two, hot, no retrieves, jumped a duck pond so Skye could get a bird and cool off
7/8. Sunset pics(click to view)
