Southwest Nebraska Hunt

quanah labs

quanah labs

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Hey guys, for the last two years I've been hunting pheasants in Kansas around the Hays area. I didn't have any luck , but it was because I didn't have a dog and that has been take care of. The bird numbers seemed to be amazing because we would see them running across the road and flying in and out of the fields, especially in 2010. The problem is, as all of you know, is the drought of the century has all but dried out Kansas like a burnt match, and from what I have read and been told by a wildlife biologist it's probably not worth driving to NW Kansas from Texas this year so I'm trying to make out a new game plan, because I sure as hell am not canceling my one pheasant hunting trip of the year.

What I have heard is that SW Nebraska would be a good alternative to Kansas and not much farther of a drive for me. Apparently the numbers are up despite the drought so hunting while not easy should be good. I'm thinking about staying in McCook because its in the middle of decent bird numbers ( I think) and there is a decent amount of public land close by. I plan on going in early December.

So, without giving up your honey holes, what do you guys think of my plan?

Thanks in advance!
 
i thought about doing the same thing my self especially after the PH magazines upland forecast but i assume many many other hunters from KS & other states across the country are planing on doing the same thing this season so it will be beat n down??? ive herd good things about the central part of NE maybe if you do a little phone scouting with the nebraska game & fish & its friendly biologist you may be able to uncover a honey hole??? plus you could stumble onto some prairie grouse as BONUS birds???

drive about 4-6 hours more & your in pheasant heaven SD??? ever thought about eastern CO they have a golden triangle for pheasant same as SD
 
With NW KS and NE CO claiming bird numbers are way down due to drought, I don't know how the NE Game and Parks can say bird numbers are only slightly down in SW NE? If you look at the drought watch maps, NE looks to be in worse condition than KS or CO, with Western NE being in the poorest condition. NE also has the emergency grazing/haying in effect on CRP ground and walk in hunting areas, so the cover must be minimal.
Makes you wonder what really drives these state forecasts?

Here is the link to the drought watch maps:

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_highplains.htm
 
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money drives the reports and the stupid college kids they have doing the crow counts . i don't understand how they get an accurate crow count from the vehicle things would look alot better everywhere if they would get out and walk a patch
 
its mostly mail men that do the surveys in NE,SD,ND,MN,KS so they have other things on there minds id assume??? in MN & id have to guess most states with as good or better pheasants populations & habitats the nice folks involved in conducting the surveys STOP THERE VEHICLE TURN IT OFF & GET OUT & LISTEN FOR 2-3 MIN then drive so far & repeat that same process i think for 1 WEEK? they then give the data to the game & fish departments & they do the calculation for the birds per square mile ETC.

just like in many bird surveys they will say something like there could be pockets of good habitat in poor hunting areas & vice versa so???

i know from my turkey hunts in nebraska this spring that is true i seen & herd way more pheasants out in western NE then i did on the SD border around yankton SD it was crazy i never seen or herd a pheasant near the SD border? seen & herd plenty out west in what i thought was prairie grouse country??? they were in heavy irragated areas on NE i think NE will be a decent pheasant state this season??? i at least herd pheasants in some areas well outside there traditional range in NE??? in what should of been good pheasant country i seen plenty of prairie grouse sharpies mostly... so??? & some bob white
 
JPH said:
With NW KS and NE CO claiming bird numbers are way down due to drought, I don't know how the NE Game and Parks can say bird numbers are only slightly down in SW NE? If you look at the drought watch maps, NE looks to be in worse condition than KS or CO, with Western NE being in the poorest condition. NE also has the emergency grazing/haying in effect on CRP ground and walk in hunting areas, so the cover must be minimal.
Makes you wonder what really drives these state forecasts?

Here is the link to the drought watch maps:

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_highplains.htm
Click to expand...

Also think it is a revenue issue. If they said bird counts were way down due to drought they would sell a whole lot less licenses. Back in 2001 when the last bad drought conditions hit there hunting was simply awful to put it mildly. People heading there thinking it will be their answer this fall may be in for a big wake up call from my sources in SW NE near the CO border.
 
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