Rate your past season

Any year i'm able to chase birds is a 10 in my book, birds in the vest are just the icing and cherry on top!
 
Hunting was good to excellent, spent about 42 days in the Dakota’s; didn’t do MT in early Sept due to heat, and didn’t get much hunting in Jan due to snow, so I lost 8 days or so. Half of my hunting was for Phez, half for prairie grouse and huns. In general, my hunting has evolved to solo or extremely small groups, and I prefer that. Hunting in wheat country is my favorite, especially with hills…regardless of the prey. Bird #’s were good to great, and I shot quite well….the vest was put to the test! Takeaway’s from the season: ear protection while hunting is no disadvantage; nothing hurts, need to take advantage of that even more, as something could change; relationships with hunting pals aren’t guaranteed, scratching my head over one that devolved this fall…ok with it, he’s even a cousin of mine…our 17th year hunting…had never been pals prior to starting our hunting together…when you live with a guy for 4-7 days, it needs to be easier than harder, ideally, so this is ok, but it is evident to me that dogs are preferable to people! 🤣🍺👍
 
I had a good season in terms dog work and the number of birds seen and harvested. I got out 24 times, mostly on the weekends, solo, and all on public ground. We averaged slightly over 1 bird per outing and cut our lost bird rate down quite a bit from last year. I attribute this mostly to my 2 year old Springer, she turned into a real solid dead bird finder. My 4 year old lab still continues to impress and has turned into a well rounded pheasant dog. I also decided last year I would try and hunt at least 1 new public area per season and this past season I tried 4 new areas.
 
Jawilor said:
I had a good season in terms dog work and the number of birds seen and harvested. I got out 24 times, mostly on the weekends, solo, and all on public ground. We averaged slightly over 1 bird per outing and cut our lost bird rate down quite a bit from last year. I attribute this mostly to my 2 year old Springer, she turned into a real solid dead bird finder. My 4 year old lab still continues to impress and has turned into a well rounded pheasant dog. I also decided last year I would try and hunt at least 1 new public area per season and this past season I tried 4 new areas.
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I found a great public area near Hilger Mt.
 
WI was inconsistent. We ended up killing 15 roosters in WI, most on public land with a couple private land birds sprinkled in. Seemed we flushed a a ton of hens in WI which is good. This is the worst winter in my lifetime however for the amount of snow and cold, I'm quite concerned about what the population will look like in the spring. Late season in particular was really really tough sledding, scratched out a couple but it was tough hunting without a ton of birds seen.

SD was great both trips. Only killed a couple on the late season trip but flushed a million hens. Early trip was fantastic, weather was tough with high 70s and high winds but early season dumb birds certainly help. We ended up with 29 on the year between SD and WI.
 
This was an average year , like all years I had many great days afield. I hunted every weekend from September till mid January. Mid October I put more effort into chasing ruffed grouse then I have for a long time. I connected with a high school friend I have not seen in 30 years. I did not hunt pheasants in North Dakota for a first time in 20 years.
My 8 year old Drahtharr torn her bicep in April and was on the mend she was unable to hunt. The good new is my 2 year old male DD got a lot of bird exposure.
The last couple weekend got tough due to snow I headed farther south than I ever had. I hunted hard on the last day only to miss the last and only rooster I saw in 12 miles of walking with 10 minutes to go.
Already in withdrawal
 
I would say this was one of the better years for me. Had some great years when the population was up and had lots of opportunities to go and shoot limits on private ground. This year numbers eemed up and so therefore chances to shoot birds was up as well. That also means I try hard to find the time to get out an hunt. Only things that stopped me from hunting more this year was my two dogs both had litters this fall which took out my months of Sept. and Oct. and one of my dogs tore an ACL and wasn't able to hunt at all this fall. Looking forward to next fall but these next 8-9 months are a killer.
 
Worst upland season I've had in decades. The only saving grace was that I didn't try very hard, didn't hunt very often, slept in alot, and shot lights out. I hunted southwestern Minnesota, central South Dakota, southwestern Iowa, and northwest, northcentral and northeast Kansas, and in every one of those places I flushed (and shot) the fewest number of pheasants, quail and chickens I ever have, by a huge margins. I knew during the South Dakota trip that I was snakebit this season, and it proved true and sustained. I cannot wait for this season to be over, the only thing keeping me going is meanness and spite.
 
Great season for me...for lots of reasons. Mainly, because I developed blood clots in my left leg early in 2022 (thanks covid shot). My leg blew up like a balloon and I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to hunt. But, some minor surgery and a compression sock was all it took.

Birds were plentiful where I hunt in SD. Excellent grouse around home in N.WI too. Lots of good times with my brother and nephews.

Enjoy it guys, because you never know when it'll be taken away.
 
Now the season is over. Some of my buddies are planning a clean up hunt at a lodge where1 of them guides but that is a couple months away and not for me.

The good part about my season was I had some great dog work. I got on plenty of birds.
I never had any real problems with anyone , or their dogs ,I hunted with . Bird numbers were fantastic at the beginning of the season and are still quite good. I hunt with only 1 guy my age and none of the younger guys outwalk me.

The bad part of my season was not getting to hunt with my son or friends from Texas. My 1 brother who is crazy about archery hunting hasn't pheasant hunted with me in years and almost went 1 day but something came up. He loves the dog work and doesn't mind hiking miles for deer,antelope ,or elk just has never been a real bird hunter. My buddy who is my age has a hard time walking rough ground and thick cover so we only made it out about a 1/4 of what we used to. A couple of nephews are too busy with their jobs and young families so they weren't around either.

Bad shooting on my part led to some poorly hit birds and dirty looks from the dogs. I had a season of inconsistencies, nail 2 , 3 , 4 in a row then miss 5 or 6 shots in a row. Guess that is due to age and shooting a couple new to me guns.

I am glad to see snow I just wish it had arrived a little gentler. Dry conditions left every thing thin so there is a shortage of good winter cover. Crusty drifted snow has made it hard for the birds to feed. I can only hope we have a good spring and timely rains this next year.

So in other words I was pheasant hunting and I had a fantastic time.
 
I would rate my hunting experience this year as very good. Chukar in Utah and eastern Nevada were more numerous than I have ever seen. Quail numbers in eastern Oregon were higher than I have ever seen. The pheasant numbers were lower this year than any year in the last 12 years. There were good numbers of hens though and enough older and wiser roosters that with a little luck and spring moisture can rebound quickly. I was blessed with good friends and family that like to spend time in the field with me, so all things considered.......pretty damn good. I also went through 18 boxes of shells pursuing the three species above. I guess lastly, I have a wife who either appreciates my absence when I go hunting or really understands and supports my desire to hunt and fish. She probably likes me gone!
 
Drew said:
I would rate my hunting experience this year as very good. Chukar in Utah and eastern Nevada were more numerous than I have ever seen. Quail numbers in eastern Oregon were higher than I have ever seen. The pheasant numbers were lower this year than any year in the last 12 years. There were good numbers of hens though and enough older and wiser roosters that with a little luck and spring moisture can rebound quickly. I was blessed with good friends and family that like to spend time in the field with me, so all things considered.......pretty damn good. I also went through 18 boxes of shells pursuing the three species above. I guess lastly, I have a wife who either appreciates my absence when I go hunting or really understands and supports my desire to hunt and fish. She probably likes me gone!
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18 boxes! I think we have a winner! You got some shooting in for sure! Those quail can't be easy to hit and chukar I have no idea on them.
 
I shoot well sporadically at quail for sure. Russian Olive thickets and cattails do not help my shooting at all. I shoot well in grass and brush. So all that combined I might shoot 30%. Saying it here is very embarrassing.
 
One additional admission, I suck, absolutely suck at a 40+ yard passing shot at quail. That said, even though I suck at it I can’t pass it up either. I just keep sending lead down range. I might knock 1 bird down in 20 tries. I shoot skeet and you would think that would help, but nope.
 
At 40 yards a quail could sneak through my pattern, I am guessing! My buddy and I were recapping the season recently and he said "I remember you telling me, If you don't shoot, you won't get any".
 
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