Tired of paying $100 each time I want to hunt...HELP

nope- just a king sized waterbed= haven't found anything quite as exciting as the waves- the motion you know
 
Shadow said:
what- you never spent a few nights in a king sized water bed- ahh you children
Click to expand...

Lol.....can't say I have Shadow but I can say a water bed sounds better than the rock hard mattress I'm sleeping on now:cheers:
 
I had my Minnesota hunting freind come down to hunt with me- we charcoaled venison backstrap- as we were- he brought out a bottle of Southern Comfort- so I slapped un some special type bell peppers we ate off the grill-
we finished that bottle- said you can sleep in the water bed
4:30 the next mornng- time to load up and head out to the quail area-

he couldn't get out of that bed- said the waves all night made him seasick-

ahhhh- you came to hunt- dragged him off that bed- he wouldn't eat- something about his stomach and waves- 2 hours later- I'm never laying in another water bed-
 
I would do two things if I were this person looking for places to hunt in NE IL.

(I grew up outside Milw and now live in Indianapolis area.)

First is get an out of state WI license and look into the many good public lands they have. Within 2 hrs I can think of some really good spots to go like Vernon, Horicon, either Kettle Morain (the north section has some grouse) and then get in his car next summer and go knock doors in the pheasant counties in IL.

I drive through some of those counties and do some work that puts me in front of some farmers on occassion and I'm not shy! I always ask if they have a place I could hunt. Mostly I get shot down and I have no prolem with that and let the owner know I respect that. But I always keep checking back and sometimes they soften.

I got permission on a new farmers place this year. He owns over 2000 acres in prime IL/IN pheasant territory and added another guy who has 600 acres last year. I gve them a little gift as well to show my appreciatin and I always let them know how I did, what I saw and what a great time my dogs and I had. Usually I give a $25 restaurant gift card or sometimes a six pack of beer or something little, depends on the owner.

I also never leave trash and that includes shells and always ask where to they would like me to park.

BTW, I too have a Vizsla. He's 9 this year and has been the best hunting dog I have ever had but they are alot of activity for indoor pets! Got a Braque Francais (French Pointer) last fall and he has a much better attitude indoors. Funny little dog but has lots of hunt in him when he steps out the door.
 
Sure, IL mostly sucks. My famiily owns about 1100 acres in Eastern IL but, like most of the state, everything outside of CRP was farmed ditch to ditch in order to make a living. There are some wooded spots that are outstanding for deer- but no real pheasant to speak of. HOWEVER, if you can get access to land or work with a group to manage land, there is no reason they can't flourish. They need the habitat, though. I have a friend that owns a hardware store and hunts nearly every other day throughout the whole season. He is a real conservationist and manages the land (which he doesn't own) at his personal expense. He always makes it a mission to take others with him, though he's been so bombarded I don't think he can take anyone new. Last year he and his groups killed over 120 wild IL pheasants- taking roosters only. The birds are there, but the land has to be managed. He doesn't charge anything, though I always slip a 20 in his bag or truck or anywhere else I can find. I'm sure he appreciates it.
 
I had to take a detour yesterday afternoon due to some road work being done near a pheasant area I hunt. As I was driving I passed by a good # of homes in the middle of the county with 10, 20, 30 acres of mowed green lawns.

I'm going to start nudging some of these home owners with massive lawns to replace their mowed lawns with prime pheasant habitat. In some cases their yards would serve as a midway "safety" point for birds leaving one area and heading to the next.

On top of that 20 to 30 acres is great for nesting birds. If we could get more folks to jump on this one I really think this could help bump our bird #'s.

What do you some of you think of this?
 
Somebody posted pictures of pheasants scurrying around abandon lots in downtown Detroit, so I think any habitat, anywhere, will allow pheasants the opportunity to utilize and prosper. The local Mo. Dept. of Conservation agent for Bobwhite Conservation points out that small properties are easier to manage and you get more bang for the buck from those efforts than bigger more complicated ventures. One man or a family can make a big difference and provide a covey headuarters, ( 1500 sq. ft. of brushy habitat), a little food patch, and some nesting cover. same can be done, maybe easier for pheasants. If you get a bunch of participants with 1-20 acres each. You have a tremendous habitat bank, and a pretty effective wildlife refuge, since it would be a little dicey to hunt backyards, and some of your prospective partners may be anti hunting, but a growth of the pheasant population anywhere, will raise the ancillary population in the surrounding areas you can hunt. So a win win!!! Develop a template so we can use the program nationwide.
 
My Pheasants Forever chapter has a few of these areas done within our county (10, 20, 50 acres with a house on the property). I know they're producing birds.

I'm getting some heat from pheasant hunters because these habitat projects are on properties we can't hunt simply because there's a house within the middle of the habitat area.

It's about the habitat here. I've made the point in the past that you may not be able to hunt a PF project but possibly the properties surrounding it or even a 1/2 mile or 1 mile away. Pheasants don't sit still for long. They are roamers. Typically an area of 1 sq. mile or more.

I'm going to keep hitting home with this. There are so many properties out there as I've described.
 
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