Southwest Nebraska pheasant 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 hunted SW NE for the first time last year, the public areas are hunted fairly hard, and by December you're going to be chasing some wiley birds, and the roosters will be few and far between. There is quite a bit of public land, so you can do a lot of hunting, just set your expectations low on the numbers of birds you'll see.
 
gsphunter23 said:
Ill be hunting that same area in Nebraska. First year doing it..lets hope it works out.
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I hope so. After reading some of the replies to my post I'm starting to think its going to not be worth the drive but its impossible to really know if you don't go.

When are you go to be out there?
 
It has been a good area to me, thats why I love bird hunters, because youll never see duck hunters helping either other with hunting spots.
 
im a turkey hunter at heart & we are the most secretive of all game hunters next is fisherman lol never tell your good spots if somebody is willing to give you info on a area there must be a better area then that to hunt is my way of thinking every hunter sends the new guy to the heavy hunted public lands lol

thats what happens in that part of the state they send everybody to mccook
area PF & even the NWTF has done good work in the central part of the state & pheasants are benifiting from the habitat improvements so???
 
small munsterlander owner said:
im a turkey hunter at heart & we are the most secretive of all game hunters next is fisherman lol never tell your good spots if somebody is willing to give you info on a area there must be a better area then that to hunt is my way of thinking every hunter sends the new guy to the heavy hunted public lands lol

thats what happens in that part of the state they send everybody to mccook
area PF & even the NWTF has done good work in the central part of the state & pheasants are benifiting from the habitat improvements so???
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Yeah but there doesn't seem to be much public land in central NE, but maybe I haven't looked close enough.
 
AR-phez said:
Yeah but there doesn't seem to be much public land in central NE, but maybe I haven't looked close enough.
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Not very much public land at all in the central part of the state, at least, according to my Nebraska public hunting booklet I received from the fish and game dept.

Is there another type of public hunting land that I'm overlooking?
 
I'm heading to SW NE for the opener, hunting on all public land. Went up there last year and saw fair bird numbers.
 
FYI

From the NEFGA.ORG News Release Forum:

LINCOLN, Neb. – While Nebraska upland bird hunters can find excellent habitat across the state, some may find Open Fields and Waters program public access sites lacking suitable habitat. The emergency haying and grazing authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was due to the extreme drought conditions.

Open Fields and Waters provides public walk-in hunting and fishing access to more than 275,000 acres of private land.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission recommends hunters scout sites as the Oct. 27 opener of the statewide pheasant, quail and partridge season approaches.

Of the hayed or grazed Open Fields and Waters sites, most will have 50 percent habitat and few may have no habitat remaining. Because of the production schedule, the 2012 Public Access Atlas does not reflect hayed or grazed lands. Payment will be adjusted or withheld if landowner haying or grazing results in significant loss of wildlife cover.

Most of the haying or grazing occurred following the nesting season, which is typically early May through mid-July. Nest success should not have been affected, but the lack of habitat could have had a negative effect on chick survival. In addition, upland game birds only need a small percentage of the total habitat in the form of winter cover for survival.

The reduction of habitat can be detrimental, but haying and grazing also have positive effects, such as removal of unwanted trees and disturbance of thick grass stands, which promotes plant diversity for better nesting and brood rearing habitat. Haying and grazing also can be a great pre-treatment for habitat upgrades such as disking or interseeding.
 
JPH said:
FYI

From the NEFGA.ORG News Release Forum:

LINCOLN, Neb. – While Nebraska upland bird hunters can find excellent habitat across the state, some may find Open Fields and Waters program public access sites lacking suitable habitat. The emergency haying and grazing authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was due to the extreme drought conditions.

Open Fields and Waters provides public walk-in hunting and fishing access to more than 275,000 acres of private land.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission recommends hunters scout sites as the Oct. 27 opener of the statewide pheasant, quail and partridge season approaches.

Of the hayed or grazed Open Fields and Waters sites, most will have 50 percent habitat and few may have no habitat remaining. Because of the production schedule, the 2012 Public Access Atlas does not reflect hayed or grazed lands. Payment will be adjusted or withheld if landowner haying or grazing results in significant loss of wildlife cover.

Most of the haying or grazing occurred following the nesting season, which is typically early May through mid-July. Nest success should not have been affected, but the lack of habitat could have had a negative effect on chick survival. In addition, upland game birds only need a small percentage of the total habitat in the form of winter cover for survival.

The reduction of habitat can be detrimental, but haying and grazing also have positive effects, such as removal of unwanted trees and disturbance of thick grass stands, which promotes plant diversity for better nesting and brood rearing habitat. Haying and grazing also can be a great pre-treatment for habitat upgrades such as disking or interseeding.
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I have been chatting with landowners down there and this is exactly what is happening. My best 2 fields are gone, cut and baled in the last few weeks. This could be the worst season ever if others are doing the same thing. Might be heading to another state further North after learning this awful news...
 
don't give up

i wouldn't throw in the towel on pheasants just yet. i think we had a very good hatch, with warm temps and good habitat at least until late june when the drought hit. i have seen more pheasants than in years past. i have also lost some spots to haying(and cropping)and it is a huge bummer, but pheasants and quail need only a small fraction of summer habitat for winter survival, so we may be finding them in the more marginal, idle parts of fields. fencerows, creek borders, woodlots, etc. they gotta be somewhere, right? i love putting birds in the bag just as much as the next guy, but there are no guarantees in hunting and I relish just the time being in the field even if I do not get a shot. but, if you aren't going out this year, you can tell me where you WOULD have gone and I would be more than willing to check it out for you................
 
I wish I was as optimistic as Dave. I have a cabin close to Lake Mac by Ogallala and almost all of the CRP ground has been either hayed or grazed. I haven't seen a single field where they have left much of anything other than where they couldn't mow because of a ditch or ravine. Finding private ground is tough early in the year, a lot of the farmers/ranchers have family come and they don't want anyone on their ground until after deer season. ALL of my favorite spots have been either hayed or grazed including a couple in my hunt club. I'm still going out but mainly just to get the dogs out.
Good luck if you come up!!
 
airmedic1 said:
I wish I was as optimistic as Dave. I have a cabin close to Lake Mac by Ogallala and almost all of the CRP ground has been either hayed or grazed. I haven't seen a single field where they have left much of anything other than where they couldn't mow because of a ditch or ravine. Finding private ground is tough early in the year, a lot of the farmers/ranchers have family come and they don't want anyone on their ground until after deer season. ALL of my favorite spots have been either hayed or grazed including a couple in my hunt club. I'm still going out but mainly just to get the dogs out.
Good luck if you come up!!
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I asked about this in the SD forum. I just got back from there and when they get more then 2' of snow I dont see anywhere for birds to go but shelter belts. :(

Good luck BritChaser you seem to know the area as well as a few of us. I bet he limits happily by 10am or sooner. :cheers:
 
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