So who is hunting this weekend?

[UplandLevi]

I went out yesterday. We got a couple of shots at pheasants, but didn't kill any. We did, however, get lucky enough to stumble upon a couple coveys of quail and i did kill a couple of them (i'll post the picture below and we'll see if it actually works). My brother found a dead hen, and i'm no expert but i think she died due to the cold weather. Her nostrils looked kind of cracked and her toes were totally raw on the bottom. I forgot to take a picture of her though, so i can't post that.

 

[Ain't Whistlin' Dixie]

I went out yesterday. We got a couple of shots at pheasants, but didn't kill any. We did, however, get lucky enough to stumble upon a couple coveys of quail and i did kill a couple of them (i'll post the picture below and we'll see if it actually works). My brother found a dead hen, and i'm no expert but i think she died due to the cold weather. Her nostrils looked kind of cracked and her toes were totally raw on the bottom. I forgot to take a picture of her though, so i can't post that.

That's great. I'm glad to hear someone having a little success. I will be planning a weekend trip out to Holyoke or some far eastern area. For now, I'm still stuck with areas closer to Denver. It's tough to drive all the way to the eastern border and back in a day alone.

Regardless, I will still hunt the seemingly pheasantless areas close to home. Maybe I'll get lucky and bump a couple. The only problem is that the dog is fantastic at finding them if they are there, I just don't shoot as well as she hunts!!

 

[Bigj]

My Dad and I went out last Sunday and hit 2 WIA in Morgan and Washington counties. The cover wasn't very good but the dogs managed to kick up three roosters for us. My dad and I both missed the first one twice. We blamed it on the snow blowing in our eyes. It was cold the thermometer in the car said 12 degrees. The second bird was flushed out of range by my dads beagle. And the third bird sat tight and my dad made a nice 20 yard crossing shot to drop the bird. We are planning to head further east this weekend and see if we can find a few more birds.

 

[Curious]

Buddy and I went out on Tues. Saw 6 birds. 3 Hens and 3 Roosters. Missed the first one. Dropped the second one and the last one wouldn't stay still for the dog. Bird finally decided it had enough of being pointed and jumped up about 80 yrds in front of us. Not a bad day for Eastern Colorado.

 

[cokid]

First day out this season yesterday. Just myself - the dog had to stay home due to this being a mixed business/pleasure trip. Saw 14 birds, shot the two I had a chance at. Overall better than expected!

 

[UplandLevi]

First day out this season yesterday. Just myself - the dog had to stay home due to this being a mixed business/pleasure trip. Saw 14 birds, shot the two I had a chance at. Overall better than expected!

Sounds like you did great, especially for being without a dog. I've gone out three times with at least one dog and only killed two pheasants.

 

[Ain't Whistlin' Dixie]

Well if anyone feels like going out this weekend, does not mind hunting with someone they have never actually met (but has a good dog ), and wont shoot my pup, let me know. I always have an extra seat in the truck.

 

[cokid]

Followed up with a couple hours this morning before heading out. Kicked up a rooster just at sunrise, perfect flush, shouldered the gun just right, "tail, head" and "click"...forgot to chamber a shell! Haven't pulled that one in a year or five. Saw one additional hen before packing it in, plus lots of fresh sign - think they were mostly giving me the slip. Oh well - good trip overall.

 

[Coboi27]

From my experience, the colder and windier, the better the hunting is. My best days of hunting were on cold, windy, snowy days. That is if you go to the right spots; tailwater pits, thick ditches and corrals, abandoned homesteads, heavy tree rows, you know, little thick spots like that. Just make sure you dress warm, of course.

Could not agree more. I pray for snow when there are pheasant to be had. They hold tight until you jump them. Almost better than a dog!.... Almost...

 

[Coboi27]

I went out yesterday. We got a couple of shots at pheasants, but didn't kill any. We did, however, get lucky enough to stumble upon a couple coveys of quail and i did kill a couple of them (i'll post the picture below and we'll see if it actually works). My brother found a dead hen, and i'm no expert but i think she died due to the cold weather. Her nostrils looked kind of cracked and her toes were totally raw on the bottom. I forgot to take a picture of her though, so i can't post that.

Good job man! Always good to see the pictures of success. Do you usually hunt with just your dog? New to the forum and just trying to make new friends. :coolpics:

 

[HeavyC]

I am going to be going nuts this weekend!!! First weekend I haven't hunted birds or deer in almost two months!

Guess I'll throw the frisbee for my pups!!...but next weekend it is on like donkey kong again!!!

Good luck and be safe anyone going out!!

 

[UplandLevi]

Good job man! Always good to see the pictures of success. Do you usually hunt with just your dog? New to the forum and just trying to make new friends. :coolpics:

Yeah, usually. But it's okay because she's amazing. I swear, she's best hunting dog i've ever seen real life (i've only hunted with 6 dogs including her though). She was better in her second year than all the other dogs i've seen. I also hunt with my uncle sometimes, and he has two dogs.

 

[Shorthair Hunters]

Headed out Saturday with my cousin and our dogs above Burlington and hit both WIA and private. Nothing on the WIA but flushed some on the private property showing me that I still s*#k at shooting this year, frustrating when the opportunities aren't there that often. I should have had 3 but ended up with just seeing them and throwing lead, my cousin hit one that I missed. Talked with several of the farmers and all say the same about seeing birds and you all have heard it before their not there. We will continue to hit it this year because it is hunting and you can't shoot them sitting on the couch or in my count you can't miss them sitting on the couch.

 

[Ain't Whistlin' Dixie]

@shorthair
Ditto to still going out cuz you cant take'em without being out there. We went out yesterday and flushed two hens on WIA. Will be going out to Holyoke or somewhere far east next.

I have been out a few times and have only seen one other group of hunters.

Did a lot of folks give up already? that's okay with me if they did. Just means birds can work their way back onto WIA.

 

[double trigger]

I went out last Friday after filling my plains deer tag the day before (had planned 2 days to fill the tag but fortunate enough to fill it the first day).

I hunted eastern Weld, Morgan and western Logan - both private and WIA. This area has not been that productive the past 3 years but I generally see a few birds and in the past there have been some good spots. I bagged one rooster last Friday, and one on a previous trip 2 weeks ago. I agreed with myself on both trips to only take one rooster based on the low number of birds I am seeing. On the trip 2 weeks ago I could have shot a couple more roosters but chose not to; just let them the dog work them (and he wondered why the hell I didn't shoot ).

In one particularly good private field in western Logan County in the past I would see 12-15 birds in it, this year only 3-4 per trip. At least there are a few out there and with favorable weather they can come back - have seen it before.

So far I have not ventured out further east to (usually) more productive spots in Yuma, Sedgewick, and Phillips counties. I figure I can drive 1.5 hours and see a few birds or drive 2.5 hours and see a few birds, I'll just save the gas money for hopefully better conditions next year

I'll say one thing - it is still good to get out and have a chance to see a few birds. Years like this one and last year make you appreciate even more the better years when they come along.

Happy holidays and good huntin' to you all

 

[fshbyfly]

I hunted Phillips & Sedgwick counties on Saturday - all WIA properties. Started the morning off right, putting up a dozen or so birds at the first location I hunted (CRP corners adjacent to irrigated corn). Good to know there are birds out there.

The first rooster held tight fairly close to the truck, and took off towards some private CRP across the road as I approached. I probably could have dropped him, but I'm not yet desparate enough to take a shot towards a road

My lab and I hunted a nice weedy fence row on the way to the CRP "triangle" between the two corn fields. As we picked up the CRP edge, two hens flushed and headed across the fence to some more private CRP. Further on we flushed several more roosters out of range - some in the CRP edge, and some in the corn. All headed towards the private CRP.

As we reached the point of the triange and made the turn, two more roosters and a hen got up in the corn and headed the same way the others had gone. I took a couple of hail-Mary shots, but didn't connect. We finished out the triangle and headed back along the fence line towards the truck. A couple more hens were hiding in a tailwater pond.

Hunted the rest of the day without seeing a bird. Hunted lot's of good cover though, mostly crop circle corners as it was just me and the dog. A few of these WIA's had thick chest high CRP grass. Haven't seen that in a while. Hoping to revisit some of these sites with some snow on the ground.

Pretty sure we walked by a few birds throughout the day. My lab is only 7 months old, and is still learning the game. Hell, I'm 42 and still learning...

Nothing in the game bag today, but a good hunt nonetheless. The dog actually got to see some birds, and some sad long range shooting. Both of us arrived home all tuckered out

 

[Coboi27]

Yeah, usually. But it's okay because she's amazing. I swear, she's best hunting dog i've ever seen real life (i've only hunted with 6 dogs including her though). She was better in her second year than all the other dogs i've seen. I also hunt with my uncle sometimes, and he has two dogs.

Heck yeah! Sounds like you've got a good one. I've always been a GSP guy. I have a 2 year old that I'm training right now since it's a slow year. Most of my friends are not into hunting. I Elk & deer hunt in colorado as well and filled my cow tag this year and getting into archery. I'm 27 and realizing not a lot of people want to put the work into a hunt or don't know safety or being cordial to others. Hints my friends that dont hunt haha. I live up north in Thornton but drive all over the state to hunt. I would definitly be up for trying to go after some more birds this season though. If you have room for one more I would love to go! I have a pickup truck that the transmission just went out on but I have a car I can always drive too! I'm still going to leave my pup at home until he's polished off. Was going to include his picture but can't figure it out.

 

[CO_Weimar]

We went out to Blue Cliff Pheasants on Sunday. Karval is a bit of a haul, but wanted to go someplace that we hadn't visited before. The puppy (7 months) needed to get on some birds. He did great - we have done some work with him, but not too much. He had only been out on birds that we planted for him and this was the first time that he had been on loose birds. He was steady and retrieved them to me ... I can't ask for more than that at his age. My wife had wanted to run him with the check cord. After about 2 min of him dragging the check cord through the dry, uncut milo ... I couldn't take it anymore, and cut him loose. No problem whatsoever. He still needs to figure out how his nose works and how to work back into the scent cone, but that will come with more time in the field.

I will put up a few pictures once I get home.

Can't say enough nice things about Tom and Brenda who run Blue Cliff. Brenda fixed us some lunch and Tom helped me clean the birds. They are very nice folks.

***
It is still really dry down that way. The area is still suffering from the effects of the drought. When I turned off of the highway, I thought that I had made a mistake because there wasn't much cover anywhere. BC had a good sized milo field that we hunted, and that provided good cover for the birds. In the late afternoon we had some birds put out in the area south east of the house and had a good time there. There were some fair to good areas there for cover, but hopefully they will get some more moisture to have some excellent cover next year.

:cheers:

 

[Curious]

I?m a little jealous of you guys seeing more than 1 bird at a time. I have seen two birds (both hens) get up at the same time only one time this year. Would be great to see multiple roosters within a couple of hours of each other let alone multiple roosters get up at the same time.

 

[CO_Weimar]

Blue Cliff pictures

Back / honor

Back / honor - good boys!

Retrieve

The veteran, put off by having to share a photo op with the rookie.

V's on point (Dad and son)