The Big Day!

FLDBRED

FLDBRED

Well-known member
There are few things I look forward to as much as the opening day of pheasant season. Maybe first day of buck season but that is an entirely different type of feeling. I am lucky enough to remember the days when Pa. hunters were taking over one million birds a year. It seemed like every pick-up truck on RT287 and RT22 heading from NJ to Pa had a dog crate in the back.The hunting is a lot different now but I still get excited!

What are your plans for the opener? How about the season? Going for the released birds or have you scouted out any hold over or wild birds?
 
I was going to post about getting ready for the pheasant season but you beat me to it. On Saturday morning I'll be going out with the dogs to some club land that gets stocked during the season. It doesn't get to many hunters so I get most of the area to myself. It has a mix of switchgrass, woody cover and some food plots. I'll hit the gamelands a few times on weekdays throughout the season. I do stay away from the gamelands on the first couple of Saturdays. Been looking forward to this day for a while and the weather should be good. Good luck.
 
That sounds like a pretty good hunt,anytime you can go opening day and not be crowded is great! We are going to start off Saturday on some Co-OP/Gamelands property,closer to home,it's more of a tradition.Then it's off across the state to some areas that look real promising. We took the first week off, so we should have plenty of time. Good luck to all!
 
Toby,s ready!
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You really know how to get the blood going John! LOL:thumbsup:
 
Tomorrow morning can't get here soon enough! Good luck everyone and be safe!
 
The dogs and I are ready to go. I don't know if it's the cooler temps or what but they seem to know something is going on. Good luck and enjoy the day!
 
Good luck everyone. I haven't been on the site for a while. Unfortunately, I blew out a knee, and exacerated a pre existing back problem sooo, my plans are to go out and last as long as I can. I am still hoping to arrange some sort of get together hunt, if everybody is still interested. Steve
 
I wasn't able to hunt today, my wife needed our car to pick up furniture for our new house. I'm curious as to the bird numbers between the opener and the next stocking date? How many of these areas receive so much pressure that the birds are killed off and the hunting suffers until the area is stocked again? I'm really bummed, it's the only day that worked for picking up the furniture, but man....the pheasant opener?

-John
 
It was a perfect morning, the weather was beautiful and the conditions were perfect! Dugan did an outstanding job and put up 5 cock birds! We limited out and had the area we were hunting pretty much to ourselves!

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Like Danny said; it was one of those perfect mornings,perfect weather,great dog work,very limited hunting pressure and of course the birds!

mcclinj,

It all depends on the area and the cover,if there is good cover and the birds can escape to it when the shooting starts your chances are good! We always find birds between stocking days.

Steve,

We have been wondering where you were. That stinks about your back and knee,it figures right around hunting season. Good luck and be safe!

Dan


Now it's off to Pheasant Camp, for some wild birds!
 
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Glad you guys had some luck. I only saw two other hunters when I was out today.
Hunted for about 3 hours today. The dogs worked well and found some birds. They seemed to be hanging out in woody cover where it was very wet and slopy. The dogs had several points on the day and produced 4 roosters. One was in a safety zone and two others got away by flying behind trees. Both dogs had a nice point on another and I was able to hit him good. But not as good as I thought and he go up and ran into the woods. The dogs looked for him for about 25 minutes. They ran through the creek, jumped over the creek and covered the ground where I last saw the bird. Then I notice that Blitz is not around. A little later I hear him running through the sloppy mud and I hear a short cackle. I can hear Blitz running and he's about 100 yards away from me. Then I see him come out of the woods with a very wet rooster. I shot him in the left wing but he could still run. That was the only bird in the bag but it was very enjoyable.
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The dogs didn't want to stop for a picture and this is the best I could do.
Hope others had some luck out there.
 
Looks like you had a good hunt! Now if Penn St. can beat NorthWestern it will have been a great Oct. Saturday!
 
You are right FLDBRED, it was a good day. I wasn't concerned with getting two birds but I wanted the dogs to do well. I was satisfied with getting a bird off a good point and making a harder than it had to be retrieve. We also ended up finding 3 hens for a total of 7 birds. I'll be back out sometime next week.

Good luck on your wild birds. How long did it take you to find them? If I remember correctly these birds are somewhere in Pa. Do you hunt them often or is it a one time a year thing? Just wondering.

Let's go PSU and get another win. If they can do that it will be a great way to end a fall day.
 
Brian,
As you might have guessed,we are pheasant fanatics and have been at this a long long time.There are actually a few spots that still hold wild birds,but it takes a herculean effort to find them,that being said some of the tools we have used are available to everyone! The locals are very guarded about these locations and would be very upset if I stated there location on the internet. They are not part of any WPRA nor anywhere near one.There are also some wild birds in NY that we are planning on hunting!It's very hard hunting and if at the end of a few days hunt, we harvest a rooster or two we consider it a success.A lot of people wouldn't think the effort and expense were worth it,we feel different!

Dan
 
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OK, I'm jealous. The pictures are terrific! Congratulation on your success. I did venture out. It was absolutely packed in our area. My buddy and I went to a Pheasants forever property. We were the only one there, but no birds were seen, with the exception of 3 deer. Later we went to one of the areas around the state park. We had one bird up (70 yds away). Nevertheless it was great to be out. Keep the pictures coming. Steve
 
Steve
Glad to hear that you were able to get out. Keep your eye on that PF property and others like it,you never know when they will turn into a honey hole!

Dan
 
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