BRITTMAN
Well-known member
This weekend was fun. Saturday was breezy and generally cloudy. Birds were really tough to find. I took my bird (second of the season and done) when it flushed a little wild under point as we approached ... it was too far but the bird decided to circle (horseshoe) back to its backup cover. I made a very long shot (second shot) and dropped that bird at 50+ yards. Dog found him pretty quickly. It was a young male just getting his pinnated feathers on his head.
Sunday is the weather I dream of for Western MN ... Pheasant Hunts ...
but we were hunting prairie chickens. It was mostly sunny with temps around 40 to start moving into the lower 50s and a light breeze. We walked quite a bit and found the most birds we had seen - many in cover that were bare the day before or even the weekend before. Every walk produced multiple birds and the dog was locked in. Head high points ... BUT the birds would flush about 60 yards out and provide very few shot opportunities (well none actually). They did not seem to worry about my Brittany ... but as two humans got closer ... they would lift off and go.
October prairie chickens love that thin grass on a crisp sunny day ... much like sharptails ... they are pretty safe in that they see hunters coming from a long distance away.
One interesting story ... we were heading back to the truck. My Britt veered off and started working cattails (about 1-foot wide strip) along the road. On point ... we kind of stood there ... should have hustled. A prairie chicken flushed out ... I thought for sure it would have been a pheasant ... but the barring on the side of the chest told us otherwise. Would have been the best chance for my son to get his #2 bird.
Sunday is the weather I dream of for Western MN ... Pheasant Hunts ...
but we were hunting prairie chickens. It was mostly sunny with temps around 40 to start moving into the lower 50s and a light breeze. We walked quite a bit and found the most birds we had seen - many in cover that were bare the day before or even the weekend before. Every walk produced multiple birds and the dog was locked in. Head high points ... BUT the birds would flush about 60 yards out and provide very few shot opportunities (well none actually). They did not seem to worry about my Brittany ... but as two humans got closer ... they would lift off and go.
October prairie chickens love that thin grass on a crisp sunny day ... much like sharptails ... they are pretty safe in that they see hunters coming from a long distance away.
One interesting story ... we were heading back to the truck. My Britt veered off and started working cattails (about 1-foot wide strip) along the road. On point ... we kind of stood there ... should have hustled. A prairie chicken flushed out ... I thought for sure it would have been a pheasant ... but the barring on the side of the chest told us otherwise. Would have been the best chance for my son to get his #2 bird.
