Thing I learned 2025 -2026 season

W

wildcat

Member
this is a continuation of what I posted at end of last year
most of these came on the drive home from the field
feel free to add or disagree


-Plant some trees
-Predator control works in a concentrated area
-Hawks kill more pheasants than coyotes. (Not sure)
-Cheap shells maim more pheasants than poor shooters
-to mark a pheasant point at it like a rifle with your finger and then walk to it
-Make sure you hunt the last day of the season
-Better to kill the late hatch rooster because he probably won’t make it through the winter
-Don’t hunt the last hour before sunset with an incoming storm
-Put some gravel near your food plot
-I’ve got no problem with ditch walkers but I do with drive-by shooters
-Coyotes keep foxes out which are harder on pheasants
-A dry May is better than a very wet May
-Buy your new truck after the season not before
-The old dog gets to ride up front
-Heat will kill a dog --cold probably won’t
-The land changes every year, just like you
-Protect your dog because they can’t stop themselves
-A big billed cap makes you lift your head up off the gun to see the pheasant—missed
-Look up more than you look down when walking in the field
-mount your gun every so often if you are bored
-I often hear the pheasant before I see it
-I’ll hunt with a group occasionally, but I don’t want to be in charge
-the pheasant always gets the last move!!
-Be ready in the first minute and the last minute of the hunt
-The heat is hard on everybody especially the dogs
-I’ll tolerate ditch walkers, but not road hunters
-Don’t change guns until you have to
-The pheasants aren’t always where they were
-Hunt private land next to public if you can
-No amount of time can erase the memory of a good dog
-During hunting season, I have a lot of friends without land or a dog
-Experienced hunter are the most fun to hunt with
-"you that way and ill go this way'--separate direction
-You will have one good shot, and one retrieve each season that you will remember forever
-Change your shot size before you change your choke tube
-Keep your choke open because you’ll have more close shots than makable far shots
-A trip to Argentina dove hunting improves your pheasant shooting
-Thursdays are the best day to hunt-I always feel bad about a dropped leg
-A few pheasants in a field is maybe better than too many
-Loss of focus and distractions leads to many missed shots
-Don’t go to your best field first
-Don’t open your gun until the dog gives you the bird
-When you have multiple dogs, run the dog with a hot hand
-The third bird usually takes the longest and is the hardest to get
-100 pheasants equals 200 eyes and 200 ears. One pheasant equals two eyes and two ears
-Put your shells in a small Ziploc in your pocket so they don’t fall out
-A released pheasant that survives will become wild., But most don’t survive
-A white pheasant is the Holy Grail of pheasant hunting
-The problem with a big piece of property is that after the initial flush, they are on the far side of the big piece of property
-Post holing the snow will make you lose your concentration
-Once you start missing, it’s hard to stop
-Your son-in-law’s first pheasant means your daughter married well
-You can afford to make a mistake when there are a lot of birds., But you cannot afford to when there are just a few
-The wind is a pheasant’s turbo booster
-A long shot on a still day is questionable and on a windy day, it’s really really questionable.
-Bigger shot size is more important than more pellets on a windy day (physics)
-You will miss more close shots with a full choke than long shots (at least, early )you will make with a full choke
-Any day you can hunt is the perfect day
-I don’t return the phone calls of the guy who calls me once a year to hunt. You have to have a ongoing relationship first
-Don’t expect to be invited
-The person invited should not invite someone else
-A second invite comes if you can take care of yourself
-Sometimes I can’t go when you can go, but that doesn’t mean you get to go to my spot without me
-Some of my best hunts were when I shot no pheasants
-The old trick of stopping and sanding still for 30 seconds still works, even with a dog
-Drive slowly down the road on the property line then go back to your starting point. This will push the birds further into the field and more likely to hold.
-A vacant truck with the radio on can work as a blocker
-Don’t take a rookie hunting in January
-On a cold day and a nice day, the pheasants are where you would want to be also
All other days they are where they want to be
-I’m not cold after I shoot a pheasant
-The landowner gets to give permission to whom he chooses.
Don’t feel slighted if someone else has been or is there
-There’s a big difference between 10° and 0° when pheasant hunting
-When is very cold your gloves are your most important piece of equipment
-0° separates the crazies from the enthusiast
-Not all spots that look good are good spots!
-You take what you shoot

Happy new year to all my pheasant hunting peers!!
 
Yep even if you accidentally shoot a hen take it. I had a game warden tell me once said he never wrote a ticket to anybody for shooting a hen accidentally. Don't take people hunting that are cheap, or annoying, or illegal, or unethical, or don't have a driver's license if they are over 18. Use short guys to beat the brush. Don't don't mud behind the barn!!! Use improved cylinder in your shotgun, but you can learn how to use full choke and you will make some long shots. A Bird in hand is better than two in the bush. Don't wear any blaze orange at all, wear drab colors or camouflage. Don't put your dog in a cage or a crate or a kennel at home always allow your dog inside on the couch and the bed. Always allow your dog inside your pickup where it is warm, never put a dog in the back of a pickup, you will have something bad happen to you if you do. That's called karma. Don't hunt with people who are cheap, and miserly. People from back East have usually rarely if ever hunted pheasants, or even seen pheasants. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. An old Ford pickup from the '60s or '70s works really good for getting permission. Bring a kid with you works really good for getting permission. Don't underestimate the other guy's greed.
 
some more thought on the drive home tonight after hunting

-`An east wind makes everything act goofy
-All birds are spooky in January, even if they have not been hunted
-Private land birds next to a public area act like public land birds
-Take a experienced, safe, poor shooting friend with a good sense of humor with you when you hunt with a group
-Hunt today because you and your dog are not guaranteed tomorrow
-Flush the flock of pheasants from the food plot. Then wait a while and let them settle down.
-Once there’s deep full season snow cover, the game changes
-Pheasants will hang out next to undisked corn stubble., But not so much disked stubble
-After Thanksgiving or even later, it’s better to hunt in the morning. Birds will hold better on their morning roost.
-Twisting behind me to my left is my toughest shot
-if you see a hawk hovering, go there because the birds are there and holding
-I don’t like to hunt with “know-it-all”
Hopefully, I’m not one of them
-It’s OK to be a game hog on a group hunt, it’s not your fault where you are! But don’t be a hog when with just a couple other guys
-you won’t kill me at 50 yards, but you will at 5 ft
-prove to me your gun is safe by a open break action or open / side shell in the ejection port
-extending the SD season to Jan 31 was a great idea-- definitely shortens winter

once again -- some may be true
ok to disagree
 
I will add a couple things I have learned, maybe not this season, but things that ring true with me specifically. If you are with me, these might garnner points....

-watch the dog, follow the dog, pay your full attension to the dog
-if you have never stepped in a hole, you are watching the ground, not the dog
-hold the gun like you are ready, with your finger on the safety
-if you are in the cover, be ready
-take the sling off your shotgun
-use an IC choke, the closer birds are much easier to shoot
-If you take phone calls or checking your phone while we are hunting, that will likely not happen again.
-keep up, I am in my 60s, have a desk job, I am dragging an 8 pound plus shotgun and wearing boots that weigh similar.
-it is much more satisfying hunting knee or waist high cover to see the dog work, but the birds are in the biggest, heaviest cover usually.
-a few inches of snow, is normally good to make more birds hold, but add wind and a few more inches and much of the cover is rendered useless to the birds.
- pheasants are up and eating before the sunrise...but not all, kind of like people, they aren't all on the same program.
-in my experience, bells on dogs don't seem to scare or push birds any more than trying to be silent.
-You can't hunt silent in dry cover.
- pheasants are next to impossible get close to, without them knowing you are there
-most pheasants seemed to flush wild this year
-in heavy cover, don't shoot doubles, mark and get after the bird you have down
-If any doubt about your fingers getting cold, put a disposable chemical heater in your palm, against the skin inside your glove.
-people that hunt, enjoy shooting birds, I should have figured that out years ago when I was not aware Iowa doesn't allow party hunting.
-if you have permission, make sure the landowner knows how many people you will be hunting with, that almost cost me a good relationship. It seems many folks don't like an orange army slaying a pile of birds on their property.
-my reloaded shells kill as well as anything.
if I miss, I am behind
-one I am borrowing from someone here: 90% of the time I hunt alone and 50% the other 10% of the time, I wish I did. I added a twist, a few people do make it enjoyable for me.
-it is easier once you have the 1st bird in the basket.
 
remy3424 said:
I will add a couple things I have learned, maybe not this season, but things that ring true with me specifically. If you are with me, these might garnner points....

-watch the dog, follow the dog, pay your full attension to the dog
-if you have never stepped in a hole, you are watching the ground, not the dog
-hold the gun like you are ready, with your finger on the safety
-if you are in the cover, be ready
-take the sling off your shotgun
-use an IC choke, the closer birds are much easier to shoot
-If you take phone calls or checking your phone while we are hunting, that will likely not happen again.
-keep up, I am in my 60s, have a desk job, I am dragging an 8 pound plus shotgun and wearing boots that weigh similar.
-it is much more satisfying hunting knee or waist high cover to see the dog work, but the birds are in the biggest, heaviest cover usually.
-a few inches of snow, is normally good to make more birds hold, but add wind and a few more inches and much of the cover is rendered useless to the birds.
- pheasants are up and eating before the sunrise...but not all, kind of like people, they aren't all on the same program.
-in my experience, bells on dogs don't seem to scare or push birds any more than trying to be silent.
-You can't hunt silent in dry cover.
- pheasants are next to impossible get close to, without them knowing you are there
-most pheasants seemed to flush wild this year
-in heavy cover, don't shoot doubles, mark and get after the bird you have down
-If any doubt about your fingers getting cold, put a disposable chemical heater in your palm, against the skin inside your glove.
-people that hunt, enjoy shooting birds, I should have figured that out years ago when I was not aware Iowa doesn't allow party hunting.
-if you have permission, make sure the landowner knows how many people you will be hunting with, that almost cost me a good relationship. It seems many folks don't like an orange army slaying a pile of birds on their property.
-my reloaded shells kill as well as anything.
if I miss, I am behind
-one I am borrowing from someone here: 90% of the time I hunt alone and 50% the other 10% of the time, I wish I did. I added a twist, a few people do make it enjoyable for me.
-it is easier once you have the 1st bird in the basket.
Click to expand...
Anyone have any input on most birds flushing wild this year? I have noticed that since opening day. Young birds too…
 
I haven't experienced birds flushing wildly more this season than previous ones. Many factors to this including noise, pressure, etc.

I've been hunting in the snow virtually the entire season because winter showed up early. I hunted when it was soft and powdery, not frozen and crunchy, by design, to mask my approach.

Approach them from the opposite direction if you are able to. They often get used to being hunted from the same direction over and over and over. Throw em a curveball.

One thing I learned the hard way this season was that the only cover worth hunting in deep snow are areas with trees or standing corn (wind blocks). Everything else was completely snowed in. I hoofed through a couple spots to find this out. The habitat was buried.
 
if there are more pheasants, ( and there are this year) you see more flushes Many of those will be or appear wild.
configuration of the property also makes a difference--more or less pinch points
also determined by what gim said above
I also think a large group gets skittish easily and develop a "group think"
the runners /flushers survive longer and the others follow
 
I did also learn/realized, I can do a much better job of filleting the breasts from the birds. Up around the wish-bone, I was leaving a bunch of meat. I now am trimming around that bone and getting all of that. I might try removing that bone with the breast meat and trimming once off the bird.

***edit I cleaned the birds I shot this morning. I took a side cutter and cut the "arms" off each side where they meet on the wishbone, then I could get all the meat out. I pulled the "arms" of the wish bone out of the bird with the breast and then trim them out when cleaning-up the meat. Much better for getting more meat.

I also have finally decided, a shirt or maybe 2, with one of my hunting coats is all the warmth needed in almost any temp over 15°. Gloves continue to be the weak link in my hunting attire.
 
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a few more thoughts on the drive home today

-copper plating — washing (cosmetic )versus electrolysis (better)--check it out
-You better kill your first pheasant dead because if you have to look for a runner, you’ll stir them all up.
-When you get excited or startled, that’s when you miss
-Don’t have too much caffeine on board
-If somebody else is hunting the field next to you, the birds are on the farthest edge of the the field next to them and are already skittish
-Spooking a deer will not spook the pheasants
-Hunting pheasants will not usually spook the deer off your property
-The middle of the day is the worst time to hunt pheasants but also the best if that’s the only time you can go
-The deboned carcass makes the best soup broth
-Pheasants love wild hemp seed
-It’s always a short walk back to the truck with a limit
-You remember all your mistakes on the way home when you’re short of a limit
-I let my dog hunt all the way back to the truck, even after I have a limit. Her life is shorter than mine.
-Running a old retriever with a young pointer teaches the pointer to retrieve (competition)
-don’t tell your wife you will be home by noon
 
gim said:
I haven't experienced birds flushing wildly more this season than previous ones. Many factors to this including noise, pressure, etc.

I've been hunting in the snow virtually the entire season because winter showed up early. I hunted when it was soft and powdery, not frozen and crunchy, by design, to mask my approach.

Approach them from the opposite direction if you are able to. They often get used to being hunted from the same direction over and over and over. Throw em a curveball.

One thing I learned the hard way this season was that the only cover worth hunting in deep snow are areas with trees or standing corn (wind blocks). Everything else was completely snowed in. I hoofed through a couple spots to find this out. The habitat was buried.
Click to expand...
My South Dakota experience this year, was deep snow and snowed in cover, hard to walk in, and hard for my dog.wild flushing, experienced birds. Had fun but I was worked after 3 days and went home.
 
Bob Peters said:
You should have hunted by the corn 🌽 palace, no snow there.
Click to expand...
I actually thought about moving Southeast, but I'm getting to know that Northern area unfortunately a band of snow moved through there a couple weeks ago, and hit the area that I like to hunt unfortunately. I did see birds, but I had a lot of trouble walking in the cattails, and the roosters were very educated. I kn there are a lot of parts of South Dakota that have no snow at all, maybe I should have gone to a different area.
 
wildcat said:
-Hawks kill more pheasants than coyotes. (Not sure)

-I don’t return the phone calls of the guy who calls me once a year to hunt. You have to have a ongoing relationship first

-The person invited should not invite someone else
Click to expand...
A couple comments on these three. 100% agree about raptors. Much worse than coyotes!

If that once a year caller is a "friend" wanting to hunt with you, I agree. That's not a friend, that's a parasite. If the caller is a hunter asking permission to hunt your ground, I'm not sure. As a hunter asking for access, I make a lot of those once-a-year calls. Perfect is when the landowner remembers me, but doesn't have a "him again" reaction. So, once a year, followed by a handwritten thank you note. It seems to work.

Your last one is also spot on. The host/hunt planner decides who's invited. But it's also important the other way around. I was invited last weekend by a friend. I said yes, and then he followed up with "oh, so-and-so might be joining us." The host can invite who he wants, but I would have declined if I knew so-and-so was also invited.
 
matto said:
A couple comments on these three. 100% agree about raptors. Much worse than coyotes!

If that once a year caller is a "friend" wanting to hunt with you, I agree. That's not a friend, that's a parasite. If the caller is a hunter asking permission to hunt your ground, I'm not sure. As a hunter asking for access, I make a lot of those once-a-year calls. Perfect is when the landowner remembers me, but doesn't have a "him again" reaction. So, once a year, followed by a handwritten thank you note. It seems to work.

Your last one is also spot on. The host/hunt planner decides who's invited. But it's also important the other way around. I was invited last weekend by a friend. I said yes, and then he followed up with "oh, so-and-so might be joining us." The host can invite who he wants, but I would have declined if I knew so-and-so was also invited.
Click to expand...
Yeah I get that there are a lot of people who I have hundred with, who I would not want to hunt with again. If I get permission for me, I don't bring anybody else, unless I asked the landowner and then it's usually my cousin or my nephew.
 
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