Season Reports

Tbear

Tbear

UPH Master
Now that opener is gone figured we should have a thread for the rest of the season. I have not had a chance to make it out again. Stupid job is getting in the way. Im headed out again Saturday. I try and take some pics and let you know how it went:cheers:
 
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Went out today on public land and got my first Minnesota Rooster and my first Minnesota limit! I moved here from SD a year ago and didn't make it out much last season. I tell you what, a 2 bird MN limit is a lot more satisfying than a 3 bird SD limit. The pheasant God's were nice today because my shooting was not nice! Dog flushed a rooster, I missed an easy shot, really made me mad! Don't get too many good looks in MN from what I can tell. Second rooster I hit and dog retrieved it about 150 yards away from where it went down. Third flushed rooster I missed another easy shot! Awhile later the dog is working cattails down below to the left of me and I'm up on the higher ground about 15 yards from him. 5 feet to my right I see the grass moving a bit, take 2 steps and up fly's a Rooster that I connect on and retrieved myself since the dog just got a hen up in the cattails and never saw the Rooster. Since I got my 2 birds I'm walking back to the pickup and the dog flushes the 5th rooster of the day!

So far this year we've flushed 8 hens, 7 roosters, and lots of bad shooting. All birds have been within 200 yards of corn, gravel, good grass cover, water, and tree shelter, most but not all have also had thick cattails nearby.
 
Good to hear some of you guys are having some luck with all of the Corn still in the field. :thumbsup:

Hopefully these next two weeks the corn will start coming out quickly.

I was listening to KFAN outdoors this morning and the host was talking about his hunt on the opener. They shot 8 birds and most had very little if any color on them, likely late hatch. Most were young birds all harvested in grass near corn. When they cleaned the birds only 1 had corn in it's crop (a mature bird) all the rest were full of grasshoppers. These young birds most likely were still in the brood cover where they were born and since there hadn't been a frost yet or at least one that would put an end to the bugs, these birds had all the food and protein they needed and had not had to adapt and use the corn. Just something to think about.

Keep the reports coming, and by all means include some pics if you have them. :cheers:
 
Got out today. 4 of us finished with 6 birds. Man did I screw up bad. I missed 4 today that were 20yrd shots. I would guess we moved 40+ birds today. They are starting to combine corn. Still a lot up but next weekend might be really good. It was a great day to get out. I would like a cool down this weather is just to hot!
 
gunflint charlie said:
jackrabbit, how far outstate were you? West or SW?
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I was somewhere between 0-100 miles South or West of the Metro. :D

Went to same spot yesterday, plus a few other fields and never saw a single bird all day. Except for a rooster that flew from one corn field to another in front of me while drive down a gravel road. I think it was too hot, sunny, dry, lack of wind, and a decent amount of other hunter's out. Only heard 2 shots go off all day.
 
I got out Monday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. Hunting was really good in the light rain on Monday. Found some birds in a WPA surrounded by soybeans. Got up 6 birds, but only one looked like a rooster and decided not to shoot. Nice points on the birds, so the pup is figuring things out.

Friday in the last field, the pup pointed 3 hens and one rooster. The rooster was pointed on the edge of a little watering hole and I got a good shot. Pup retrieved a wet rooster to hand. Saturday the birds were 10 rows deep in the corn. I started hunting a little too early. Two nice points on the edge of the corn. The birds try and flush, but they get a little stuck. Couldn't identify the roosters fast enough since they don't have much color yet. Two of the hens I saw last week were really young.

Corn harvest was getting started, but I would only guess 10 percent was gone.
 
Made it out for the first time this year yesterday for a few hours south of the cities. Walked a WPA got a solid point... of course it was a Hen two more Hen's flushed wild. Moved onto a different piece of land private around 10:30 walked the edge of grass by partially cut corn field 500 yards from truck Hawk locked up quivering I knew he was more intense than the earlier point on the Hen walked in on the point and out busted a cackling Rooster straight away got on him and down went my first bird of the year! :D
 
GustavDaGSP said:
Made it out for the first time this year yesterday for a few hours south of the cities. Walked a WPA got a solid point... of course it was a Hen two more Hen's flushed wild. Moved onto a different piece of land private around 10:30 walked the edge of grass by partially cut corn field 500 yards from truck Hawk locked up quivering I knew he was more intense than the earlier point on the Hen walked in on the point and out busted a cackling Rooster straight away got on him and down went my first bird of the year! :D
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I thought you disappeared. Good to hear from you and glad Hawk keeps getting better.
 
Have had some ok success west of the cities. I will second the reports of the birds being young. Been hunting some big grassy areas and seen more birds in grass then in previous years. Have had my GSP point some real young birds on the grassy edge of some unpicked bean fields and near cattails. Snuck out of work early last Wed with a friend and we both bagged roosters. Plan on doing the same this week and will be putting some miles on the Jeep in SW MN this weekend.

The final weekend of Oct. I will be making a trip to SD near the Kimball area.
 
It has slowed down for me after a decent opening week. I have not seen a single bird, hen or rooster, the last 10 days (3x in the field). I have seen a lot of hunters and it looks like the ground is getting trampled pretty good. Most public spots I've seen as soon as 1 vehicle pulls out of the parking lot another pulls in 10 minutes later. I think I need to start going further west.
 
jackrabbit said:
It has slowed down for me after a decent opening week. I have not seen a single bird, hen or rooster, the last 10 days (3x in the field). I have seen a lot of hunters and it looks like the ground is getting trampled pretty good. Most public spots I've seen as soon as 1 vehicle pulls out of the parking lot another pulls in 10 minutes later. I think I need to start going further west.
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Welcome to hunting early season public land in Minnesota. ;)
 
jackrabbit said:
It has slowed down for me after a decent opening week. I have not seen a single bird, hen or rooster, the last 10 days (3x in the field). I have seen a lot of hunters and it looks like the ground is getting trampled pretty good. Most public spots I've seen as soon as 1 vehicle pulls out of the parking lot another pulls in 10 minutes later. I think I need to start going further west.
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How far west are you going right now?
 
There is certainly birds out there. You just have to look elsewhere away from beat down public land. :thumbsup: I have seen birds in many different places every day going to or from work. Cant wait to get back out in two weeks.
 
Tbear said:
How far west are you going right now?
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Not far enough. 30-60 miles outside the metro. Most of mine lately have been short 2-3 hr hunts before sunset. I'll have to find time to one of these days to allow for a few more hours of travel time.
 
jackrabbit said:
Not far enough. 30-60 miles outside the metro. Most of mine lately have been short 2-3 hr hunts before sunset. I'll have to find time to one of these days to allow for a few more hours of travel time.
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Ya your not really in the good pheasant area if you are still that close to the city. There is a few places that you can still find birds but I drive 2hrs west before I start hunting.
 
Tbear said:
Ya your not really in the good pheasant area if you are still that close to the city. There is a few places that you can still find birds but I drive 2hrs west before I start hunting.
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I was very surprised at how many birds I saw the first week of the season, it got my hopes up! There's just not enough sunlight or time in the day to spend 4 hrs round trip in the car in the foreseeable future. Hopefully that changes though. Until then I'll have to stick to the close hunts and set my goal that the dog flushes a hen, bagging a rooster is an added bonus.
 
jackrabbit said:
Not far enough. 30-60 miles outside the metro. Most of mine lately have been short 2-3 hr hunts before sunset. I'll have to find time to one of these days to allow for a few more hours of travel time.
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Agreed, 60 miles is just getting started, although l know some spots that produce in that range. Most of my spots are at least 100 miles west or SW of the metro.
 
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