A lot of his advice has gotten me started on chasing Prairie Chickens, too. It is highly appreciated!
Prairie Chickens
- Thread starter RutCrazed
- Start date
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
I didn’t do much better. I went out Saturday about 500.
After all my talk they flushed off of the wrong siide of the hill. About 6 of them 40 mile an hour wind and they were gone. And one single tucked up against some milo.
Slept in Sunday got up about 8 and packed up camp. Stopped and had breakfast. The first field I think someone had already been in it . The dogs were squatting on everything. Walked and nothing. The next field there was someone already there l. Stopped and talked to them and asked them if they had hit the hill. They found a few, none shot.
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Bob Peters
Well-known member
One thing about hunting them where they live in MN it is flat as a pancake. It is a resident lottery draw 9 day season 2 bird limit. I got one nice boomer this year and happy to have him. Next time I draw I will try to hunt an evening and see if I can find any.
We got out for our final trip on Sunday morning. It was great to have some cooler weather! My dogs covered about 13 miles; couldn't tell you how far I walked. A very loose group of 3 flushed just within and just beyond range. The other guy shot once and missed. 50-100 yards later a single let us get too close and popped up on the edge of range. I dropped him. A mile and a half later and 200 yards from the truck another single popped up from the edge of a two-track. It was a bit out of range so no shots fired. Strange for that bird to be completely alone.
I've only hunted two spots this year and both seemed to be too thick. Maybe it was the amount or timing of the rains or maybe the grazing rotation. Never did see that relatively tight flock of 10-15 birds that I expect to see. Maybe the warm weather has delayed them "flocking up".
I've only hunted two spots this year and both seemed to be too thick. Maybe it was the amount or timing of the rains or maybe the grazing rotation. Never did see that relatively tight flock of 10-15 birds that I expect to see. Maybe the warm weather has delayed them "flocking up".
I think everyone was taking advantage of the cooler weather. I have been out 4 out of the 5 weekends hunting and haven't seen anyone else until this last weekend when I saw 4 other trucks in a pretty small area.
I have also noticed the thickness of the cover this season as compared to last year.
The first time we went--two weekends ago--we had to switch to plan B because someone was already there. There was one truck, a more-or-less local truck, parked right where we were going to park. Like many chicken spots, it's a big WIHA, and I've seen trucks there before. We didn't see the hunter(s) and there weren't dog boxes in the back of the truck, but there are enough other choices around for us to drive on. Plan B was less than a mile away.
Our spot yesterday was even bigger and could support multiple hunting parties, but we didn't see anyone where we were.
Our spot yesterday was even bigger and could support multiple hunting parties, but we didn't see anyone where we were.
It is definitely good to have a back up! I have a minimum 2 hour drive, so my heart rate picks up a bit when there is a vehicle in my first or second choice.
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
There are three that I hit pretty regularly. The best out the three was pulled out of walk-in this year. There’s another one that Matto actually started me on when I started. I hadn’t hunted it in a few years but I’ve hunted it twice this year.
My favorite one is really hit and miss and kind of off by itself. I don’t think it gets hunted very often. You get up on top of it and boy you can see forever. I told the guys who hunted with me the first weekend that I bet we could see forty miles. I wouldn’t doubt it.
I need to take a day and find another one. I drove over and looked at one Saturday before I started hunting. I wasn’t up to it then. 1000 acre ranch. I bet it was really something in its day. Huge pond, pastures high up in the hills. Beautiful place.
My favorite one is really hit and miss and kind of off by itself. I don’t think it gets hunted very often. You get up on top of it and boy you can see forever. I told the guys who hunted with me the first weekend that I bet we could see forty miles. I wouldn’t doubt it.
I need to take a day and find another one. I drove over and looked at one Saturday before I started hunting. I wasn’t up to it then. 1000 acre ranch. I bet it was really something in its day. Huge pond, pastures high up in the hills. Beautiful place.
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I am slowly checking off the ones not to return to so I can get my regulars established! Right now I am going with the blind squirrel method, eventually I am going to find a nut.
I really do enjoy the views in the prairie, your high point place sounds nice. When I lived in Utah and hunted chukars, there were places where I could get on top of the cliffs and see forever. The sad thing about the 1,000 acre ranch you looked over is the owner probably worked too hard to get to sit back and take it all in.
That one I put you on is the one that was being hunted two weeks ago. It wasn't your truck that day (different county). Did you see any on it this year? I've seen chickens every time I've been there, although I don't always get a shot. Plan B was the one nearby that you told me about.
My spot from yesterday might have been the other one you mentioned. It too has a very high spot where you can see forever and is not very close to any other places. Maybe not though, because turning it into a two day camping thing would allow someone to venture a little farther from home. The one I hunted yesterday was quite a bit closer. That's the coolest part of chicken hunting--the incredible views from the high spots.
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
We shot two out of it that Saturday of the first weekend. They held really tight that weekend in the wet grass. That’s the field the dogs ran the birds out wild the second time I went out and the field the guys were in Sunday local guys red Chevy and diamond deluxe dog box.
The field with the view is farther north .
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