Strib article - opening day results

J

jonnyB

Well-known member
Sunday's paper revealed a very poor opener for MN hunters in the Granite Falls area. Wind and then rain hampered efforts in the afternoon; hunters didn't have one bird in the bag for their efforts. How sad...
 
jonnyB said:
Sunday's paper revealed a very poor opener for MN hunters in the Granite Falls area. Wind and then rain hampered efforts in the afternoon; hunters didn't have one bird in the bag for their efforts. How sad...
Click to expand...

Do you consider the Strib a reliable source for hunting info?
 
I do like Dennis Anderson the columnist, he is pretty knowledgeable. Pheasant hunting is a crap shoot every day everywhere. There are birds in Minnesota..my group shot 7 of them and saw many more. I don't like the doom and gloom stuff, it does nothing for the sport.. If you are going to write doom and gloom articles you should be telling about ways we can improve the situation..not just a story about your crappy hunt.
 
I agree regards D. Anderson,however, the Strib reports very few articles on hunting et al.

Very little information about the "residents only" hunt in SD...
 
There was a lot of crops still up in MN. That being said there are guys that consistently shoot birds and guys that go out for just opener. 2 of us shot 5 birds in 2 days and should have been 8. We flushed 40 birds off 1 pc and I missed every rooster I shot at:mad:. Saturday was 20+mph winds gusting to 30+ I don't know how many people I watched pushing big grass chunks with no winter cover and no wind breaks. Most of the people I talked to that hunt quite a bit saw birds shot birds and had a pretty good opener. I'm not saying im great at pheasant hunting but if you interview the guy that goes out just opening weekend its not really a good example.
 
The only MN opening weekend that I can recall (hunting) was back in the 50's, near Ortonville. WCCO broadcast their radio show from downtown and we managed to get our names in the paper. We had our limit by 12 - nine birds.

I prefer November and December hunting - cool, no crops and birds a bit bunched...
 
we pushed wind breaks we pushed cattails we even found cut corn crops & we were 1 of the partys that only had 1 bird at the end of day 1... we did miss 2 others but no 40 bird flushes we didnt see 40 birds on the entire trip!!!

we only had 1 new hunter out of 9 guys all the people there were experienced hunters we had 5-6 dogs we should of moved a few more birds then we did... its not how great of a hunters you are if your area took a nose dive in numbers??? we talked to 6+ local farmers 98% said man we dont hear many birds & or see them wear we used to see them every year??? for you boys that found ample numbers of birds im happy to hear it becouse my area didnt fair to well this season??? i will head back once the crops are out to see if that makes a difference???

but the hunt all day saturday for 1-3 birds out of 6-9 guys hunting was about the norm in in our area of western MN 1 group of 8 guys said they shot 5 birds on saterday they did the best by far... talked to them sunday & they got 1 bird they were going to stay till monday but canceled there room on saturday so they didnt think 5 birds was all that hot either???

its not all doom & gloom there is still birds out there if your in the write spots i will be looking for them spots soon i think...

good luck to all u guys we may need it???
 
I hunted public near Ortonville Saturday and thought it sucked. Walked for 5 hours saw 4 birds. Hunter numbers were down from years past, wish I would have been one of the ones that stayed home and went duck hunting. Hopefully Sodak is better this weekend.
 
Maybe im just crazy but Id take 5 hours in the field for one crack and seeing my dog go crazy and flushing one rooster over just about anything else in the world. THe lack of birds will never stop me..its the chance to put one up and see my dog do what she was born to do that gets me out in the field any chance I get.

I guess I don't need to have the sun blocked out by 100 pheasant wings. In my rationalization I consider it like deer or turkey hunting but better. I get to actively pursue them instead of sitting and waiting for them to come to me and I think the chances of bagging a pheasant are higher than the chances of bagging a buck or tom on public land any day of the week.

Now I love duck hunting..but thats the pre-game before I hit the field.
 
I can go to my barn and shoot pigeons for my dog if I want to see what she can do. When I pheasant hunt, I want to see pheasants and shoot them.
 
I hunted with friends near Clinton and are group bagged 3 roosters on Saturday.Sunday our group hunted for 4 hours and bagged 1 rooster.
A WPA close to the land we were hunting was like a ghost town.
 
lone rooster i need new pheasant hunting grounds but i think you need better turkey hunting land??? i may be tooting my own horn but i would much rather take my chances 1 on 1 with a mature tom turkey then a rooster pheasant that just runs & runs & or is not around to start with... i do not just sit & wait for turkey like many do for turkey & deer you get out slowly walk the terrain & glass wear you can for birds if you hear 1 get close & start to call if that dose not work repeat the process... patience & sit n & waiting in 1 spot or blind all day are not the same thing i will hang in the same general area for long periods of time if i feel it hold turkeys but i dont just sit in 1 place & call all day thats not realistic in the turkey woods turkeys are always moving around do the same... in turkey hunting you make things happen more then damn near any other sport if your doing it write ive had to hang with & re set up on tom turkeys 6-8 times & did it over the course of 2-4 hours just hang with them keep calling & make something happen if they wont come in they are not gone just because they didnt come into ur calls they just didnt like the set up stick with em till they do like ur set up??? cant stand the sit in a blind all day turkey hunt thats sit & wait not turkey hunting many times if your in the write set up u dont even need a call... calling turkeys is the best part of turkey hunting your part of the hunt at that point not just wait n to shoot something thats kinda lame in my book...

i dont care how hardcore you are 4-5 hours for 1-2 roosters put up is just bad bad bad & i need my dog to get on as many birds as possible to teach her to hunt this 4-5 hours for 1-3 birds in a huge area is just not doing the job the more contacts your dog has on wild pheasants the better & i live for my dog learning & working birds not just 1 here & 1 there sorry if thats game hoggish? but i dont feel that way i also love to walk the prairies for hours birds flushed or not but i am out there to get my dog on birds so we need that to at least happen every once in awhile...

its sad when you see & flush & track & point & harvest more MN prairie chickens then MN pheasants this wk-end i tickled 1 roosters foot & bagged another i also had 1 55+ yard chance at another rooster flushed wild but missed that would of been 3 birds total i bagged 2 chickens & hit another & could not track it down that would of been 3 chickens & 3 pheasants not great at all...

hunter numbers were down some at least the local numbers all said they were going to wait for crops to come out due to low bird numbers they said its not worth wondering around till the corns out that few birds around??? the local resident numbers were 75%-80% down from last yr not 26% or what ever the MNDNR said i was shocked 1 farmer said the number by his place down like 90% damn near shed a tear... also the local pheasant dinner was canceled as was the pheasant breakfast it was a bummer we had to drive a ways south to get into a pheasant hunting crowd for dinner??? the local bank brewery didnt even have rooster beer to sell??? only a mixed pack i just brought it support them & wildlife but u think he could of had a rooster ale or what ever brewed for pheasant opener???

will be heading north i think soon then south later to see how the birds are around the state but out west wear i hunt yearly was a real let down for more then just our group we had a blast any way but pheasant wise a real downer... even if we seen more & didnt harvest any more we would of been happy just not seeing many birds & when u did they were chukar size was crazy... duck hunting would of been much more productive seen loads & loads of ducks & geese still some teal around but not for long...
 
Last edited:
david0311

small munsterlander owner said:
lone rooster i need new pheasant hunting grounds but i think you need better turkey hunting land??? i may be tooting my own horn but i would much rather take my chances 1 on 1 with a mature tom turkey then a rooster pheasant that just runs & runs & or is not around to start with... i do not just sit & wait for turkey like many do for turkey & deer you get out slowly walk the terrain & glass wear you can for birds if you hear 1 get close & start to call if that dose not work repeat the process... patience & sit n & waiting in 1 spot or blind all day are not the same thing i will hang in the same general area for long periods of time if i feel it hold turkeys but i dont just sit in 1 place & call all day thats not realistic in the turkey woods turkeys are always moving around do the same... in turkey hunting you make things happen more then damn near any other sport if your doing it write ive had to hang with & re set up on tom turkeys 6-8 times & did it over the course of 2-4 hours just hang with them keep calling & make something happen if they wont come in they are not gone just because they didnt come into ur calls they just didnt like the set up stick with em till they do like ur set up??? cant stand the sit in a blind all day turkey hunt thats sit & wait not turkey hunting many times if your in the write set up u dont even need a call... calling turkeys is the best part of turkey hunting your part of the hunt at that point not just wait n to shoot something thats kinda lame in my book...

i dont care how hardcore you are 4-5 hours for 1-2 roosters put up is just bad bad bad & i need my dog to get on as many birds as possible to teach her to hunt this 4-5 hours for 1-3 birds in a huge area is just not doing the job the more contacts your dog has on wild pheasants the better & i live for my dog learning & working birds not just 1 here & 1 there sorry if thats game hoggish? but i dont feel that way i also love to walk the prairies for hours birds flushed or not but i am out there to get my dog on birds so we need that to at least happen every once in awhile...

its sad when you see & flush & track & point & harvest more MN prairie chickens then MN pheasants this wk-end i tickled 1 roosters foot & bagged another i also had 1 55+ yard chance at another rooster flushed wild but missed that would of been 3 birds total i bagged 2 chickens & hit another & could not track it down that would of been 3 chickens & 3 pheasants not great at all...

hunter numbers were down some at least the local numbers all said they were going to wait for crops to come out due to low bird numbers they said its not worth wondering around till the corns out that few birds around??? the local resident numbers were 75%-80% down from last yr not 26% or what ever the MNDNR said i was shocked 1 farmer said the number by his place down like 90% damn near shed a tear... also the local pheasant dinner was canceled as was the pheasant breakfast it was a bummer we had to drive a ways south to get into a pheasant hunting crowd for dinner??? the local bank brewery didnt even have rooster beer to sell??? only a mixed pack i just brought it support them & wildlife but u think he could of had a rooster ale or what ever brewed for pheasant opener???

will be heading north i think soon then south later to see how the birds are http://www.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gifaround the state but out west wear i hunt yearly was a real let down for more then just our group we had a blast any way but pheasant wise a real downer... even if we seen more & didnt harvest any more we would of been happy just not seeing many birds & when u did they were chukar size was crazy... duck hunting would of been much more productive seen loads & loads of ducks & geese still some teal around but not for long...
Click to expand...

:eek: What kind of a rifle do you recommend for those 55 yd. plus shots???

:rolleyes:Three in the bag and two cripples???
 
dont know what david0311 is talking about 3 in the bag & 2 cripples??? i only bagged 1 rooster all wk-end i dropped 1s foot missed the other clean... our party only bagged 4 roosters total no lost birds 1 rooster had a foot drop when i shot so we were not leaving wounded pheasants all over the prairie & then say we had a bad hunt or no birds were in the fields like david0311 is trying to insinuate i did... maybe he got the chickens & pheasant hunt mixed up??? i dropped 3 chickens only found 2 at least be correct if you try & make fun of somebodys shooting or dog work david0311 its the least you could do if your going to post smart ass comments be correct on ur info sorry if i confused you...

the 50 yard + rooster got up in between my brother & i barely out of gun range of both of us we were like 50-55 yards apart thats wear the 55 yard shot came from ive shot ducks farther then that dead 50+ yard shot i dont normaly take but with the amount of birds we were seeing not many at all that bird got shot at cry me a river if you dont shoot at a bird after all day walking & that happens 2 u...

well my dog pointed & held at least 7-9 solid points & people our party were able to walk up to flush & clearly see the bird was a hen or chukar sized pheasant so my dog did her job she was not running wild scaring the birds oldandnew... the birds scent she did get on we tracked down held & pointed its not her fault that all the birds pointed were hens & the 1 rooster i dropped the foot on she did point i was mad i didnt drop it on the spot 4 her... it was not bad dog work just lack of birds that was a bummer im way proud of my dog she was no prob in the fields again was not the dogs fault there was not many birds to be had for her...

i have to get her on a preserve hunt her if the wild bird hunts dont start to get her the contacts she needs to learn to hunt... walking 3-4 hours for 2 bird contacts in a area that once was prime pheasant country is not doing the job i fear she thinks we are just out on long walks with a little excitement or hunting thrown in here & there...??? i need her to hunt all the time lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top