ROW tips

beach004

beach004

Member
I'm coming to South Dakota Dec. 1, Charles Mix County, with my son-in-law and daughter. Three days to hunt. None of us has a lot of experience with pheasants; we came last year to the same area, and because some plans on private land went awry, wound up trying to hunt ROWs. It didn't go very well--the birds usually jumped way ahead of us, only a few long shots.

Can someone or ones give me some tips on how to succeed at this unique (it's illegal in North Carolina) approach to pheasant hunting? It sounds like from the Forum this is one of the most widely used techniques, and though again this year I hope to have better prospects, I want to have this available as a backup. I should add we have no dog. :-(
Thanks,
Beach004
 
One tip that you probably already know!
Block everything!!
Even if there are only two of you hunt from the opposite ends of the area you are hunting and walk toward each other.
Late season roosters will often not even be seen!
 
Row Tips

I can appreciate the blocking concept; we'll do it. From another thread, it sounds like, look for cut corn on at least one side, and a ditch that hasn't been mowed, to provide cover for birds. Last year we were also uneasy as to what was a legal-to-hunt ROW and what was part of the farmer's land and off-limits. I hate confrontations with angry farmers, and the more so if I have messed up! So we will err on the side of "drive on," I expect. I'm hoping that by waiting later in the season--last year we went before Thanksgiving--we will find fewer birds but also fewer hunters. Snow fascinates us--North Carolina doesn't get that much!
Thanks,
Beach004
 
I would concentrate on finding some public ground to hunt. That time of year I would think the pressure would not be that much. The idea of driving from NC to road hunt does not seem like fun to me.
 
Roosters will try to use terrain to give you the slip, running to the edge of cover or the highest ground before flushing. If you have cover in a low lying area, put one person in on the edge of the cover on the near-side and the other at the highest point, have the first guy work the cover and the guy on the high ground sit still.The rooster will usually run right to him. And BE QUIET! Your best bet is to not give away your position by shouting "Get up bird" or any such foolishness. Remember you are hunting wild animals and its best to not let them know your exact position. I would drive from NC to SD to hunt ROW's,but I would not drive across the street to hunt without a dog!! Gitcha some!
 
I agree with the post above, you should be able to find some decent public spots late season. We do mix both public and some ROW on most trips but once things freeze up and hunting pressure drops, you can find good spots. But since the birds are well educated, the best advice I can give (public or ROWs) is to hunt slow and be quiet. I prefer to hunt by myself or with a partner who does the same. No talking to partner or dogs. Cover the ground slow, walk quietly, find heavy cover, and let the dogs work.
 
Here's my take on hunting large fields with few hunters:

Walk the edges. Hunting in the middle will drive you nuts and the dogs, if you have one.

Posting with a truck/car works, but be careful and obviously don't shoot the car.

Find the smallest field available.
 
I hunt alone most of the time. So I have adapted my hunting tactics to the wise old running birds. I normally have 4-6 dogs with me and have no issues with controlling them, BUT with running birds it can be challenging to keep birds from flushing out the end on a large tract, before I get there.

Sometimes I place a few small transistor radios on the side I plan on pushing the birds to before I hunt. Place a cheap 9volt transistor radio next to a few telephone poles or fence posts, set your favorite music channel, then drive around to the other side and hunt back to the radios.

The music will normally keep some of the birds from running out the end just like a Blocker.
 
Another thing to consider is when the birds are actually using the ditches. You'll find them in there for the first couple hours of shooting (10-noonish) and then many of them move out to feed. They'll be back to loaf in the cover by mid-afternoon, but by about an hour before sunset it isn't as productive to actually walk every good looking ditch as it is to drive until you see birds and then hunt that ditch.
 
Some great tips here--we greatly appreciate it; I had no idea timing in the ROW was that important to finding birds there; may explain part of our failure last year. That said, we'll likely turn to them again this year; not a lot of public land shown in the Platte area, our base of operations.

Hey, in our defense: We have six dogs back here in NC, including one pretty decent English setter and a Golden! But though I didn't say it clearly, we are not driving out; we are flying to Sioux Falls and renting a truck; we all have very full-time jobs, and can't get away long enough to drive out. That is the only reason we aren't bringing a dog, and believe me, we thought about driving and doing so.

I like the radio idea. I favor Bluegrass, which might mean the birds would run the other way on their own with their wings over their ears--easy shooting!
Thanks, again,
Beach004
 
This radio idea could take off. We could ask some of our members to experiment with different kinds of music used to block. I think Wagner's ``Ride of the Valkyries'' ala Apocalypse Now would be just the ticket... :D
 
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