Today's report

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
Managed to sneak across the border yesterday. Driving by lake Kampeska I was tempted to try a public spot, but those birds are sly as a fox so I kept driving, didn't want my ego bruised. I threw a dart on the map close to the geographical center of the state. Wanted to hunt places I'd never been. Off the bat tried a grassy spot I didn't like, homogeneous with no water, sloughs, trees. Three roosters flushed I shot at 2 and Skye found both. Next to try a school spot. It didn't look good, but I only needed one bird. A few chunks of cover and corn not too far. The lessee had the 5-wire and gate batoned down like fort Knox, I took a pass. Ate up a huge chunk of the day looking for another spot to hunt. Drove to a few walk ins that were grazed to the ground, grass lower than a crickets knee. Finally found a spot that had tall grass, lots of birds, and had been pounded by all signs. Man people are slobs. There were empty shells everywhere. After flushing a multitude of birds wild, I finally managed to bag one a couple minutes, literally, before sunset.
 

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Bob Peters said:
Man people are slobs. There were empty shells everywhere. After flushing a multitude of birds wild, I finally managed to bag one a couple minutes, literally, before sunset.
Click to expand...
Nice pic, and good story. For years I've always picked up empty hulls and whatever packable trash I happen to find while hunting. I throw the hulls in a bag throughout the year and see what the count is at the end of the season. Last year I collected 103 hulls, and four wads. I have no idea why the count interests me.
 
Bob Peters said:
Managed to sneak across the border yesterday. Driving by lake Kampeska I was tempted to try a public spot, but those birds are sly as a fox
Click to expand...

On your way back, stop and hunt a couple of those spots in Codington County. Roosters there are many & relatively unpressured. Every day is practically like opening day on CC public land. Limits almost guaranteed. 😆
 
Thanks for the report and congratulations on a full, productive day.

Love the hanging support for the birds.

How long are you out there for?

I've never hunted the trust lands. Anything in particular to be aware of?
 
I'll hunt another day and a half. School land is generally terrible pheasant ground. Leased to cattlemen it's grazed short. I've always wanted to get a rooster on one just to say I did.

Today threw a monkey wrench at me. Or the roosters did. Or maybe I threw one at myself. Regardless the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Tried a WIA down a muddy road I was nervous about getting out of, saw 1 bird, he flushed "too far." Made it out ok, always careful to try and not rut up the road.

Multi-day trips hunting public with zero history, dogs are a premium. This is to explain I will walk ditches and rest the dogs, or pop one road hunting where legal. Saw a rooster run into ditch, marked by a bale. Jumped out, walked up, flushed him, dropped him, off he ran down the ditch😟. A low point. How can I love hunting so and suffer my inability to point a shotgun? Back to truck, Skye on the ground, directed into said ditch, off she went. Not seeing the action, not speaking English, I hoped she would get the jist of the situation. 50 yards later I saw her get a little giddyup at the field drive in a clump of cover. Out popped the rooster and a rodeo ensued in that cut corn field. Skye is getting older, I'm so happy every time she gets a wild bird retrieve.

Then the rain started. We toughed it out. Wet WPAs, Game unproduction areas. Roosters on the road ahead, half dozen! Get ready. Wait, look at the cows, or houses, or safe zones. Alas no attempt made. Saw so many birds, most unhuntable. Golden hour, new wpa, loaded with pheasants and grouse. Firstly how to cross that wire. These fences are serious as a heart attack in SD. Birds flushing everywhere. Roxy running with a snootfull of scent. The hen would flush close and the rooster far, or more often the whole flock busted loose 80 yards away. Oh well, I'm not an expert at this. Bamboozled by the birds would sum up many of my days afield.

Spending time with the dogs is one thing I am an expert at. I don't think there's ever a moment I don't cherish. It's enough to keep me coming back time and again no matter how bad the birds beat me.
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Sounds like a rough time, but at least you did find some birds, and that ditch parrot hog tying expedition is a fun memory.

I hear you about birds by cows and farms. Almost seems like they know how to count to 660.

Good luck today. Hope it is drier. Feel free to push the excess birds further north. We'll be out there week after this one, hunting areas we've never stepped foot on before too.

We are heading down to south central MN to keep the birds in check. Rain at the start of our 3 hour drive. Will allegedly stop before we get to our destination. We'll see if the birds are willing to go back to regular, wet cover in the morning hours. Weather algorithms lied about how long the rain was going to last overnight. A couple wet days for deer hunters.
 
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Bob Peters said:
Managed to sneak across the border yesterday. Driving by lake Kampeska I was tempted to try a public spot, but those birds are sly as a fox so I kept driving, didn't want my ego bruised. I threw a dart on the map close to the geographical center of the state. Wanted to hunt places I'd never been. Off the bat tried a grassy spot I didn't like, homogeneous with no water, sloughs, trees. Three roosters flushed I shot at 2 and Skye found both. Next to try a school spot. It didn't look good, but I only needed one bird. A few chunks of cover and corn not too far. The lessee had the 5-wire and gate batoned down like fort Knox, I took a pass. Ate up a huge chunk of the day looking for another spot to hunt. Drove to a few walk ins that were grazed to the ground, grass lower than a crickets knee. Finally found a spot that had tall grass, lots of birds, and had been pounded by all signs. Man people are slobs. There were empty shells everywhere. After flushing a multitude of birds wild, I finally managed to bag one a couple minutes, literally, before sunset.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a great time.. where did you stay at? I had a foot surgery and hope to make it after Thanksgiving
 
Bob Peters said:
Managed to sneak across the border yesterday. Driving by lake Kampeska I was tempted to try a public spot, but those birds are sly as a fox so I kept driving, didn't want my ego bruised. I threw a dart on the map close to the geographical center of the state. Wanted to hunt places I'd never been. Off the bat tried a grassy spot I didn't like, homogeneous with no water, sloughs, trees. Three roosters flushed I shot at 2 and Skye found both. Next to try a school spot. It didn't look good, but I only needed one bird. A few chunks of cover and corn not too far. The lessee had the 5-wire and gate batoned down like fort Knox, I took a pass. Ate up a huge chunk of the day looking for another spot to hunt. Drove to a few walk ins that were grazed to the ground, grass lower than a crickets knee. Finally found a spot that had tall grass, lots of birds, and had been pounded by all signs. Man people are slobs. There were empty shells everywhere. After flushing a multitude of birds wild, I finally managed to bag one a couple minutes, literally, before sunset.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a great time.. where did you stay at? I had a foot surgery and hope to make it after Thanksgiving
 
I love those types of hunts where there’s tons of wild birds around flushing and ya most of them are way out of range but it’s the thrill trying to chase em down and hope a few are within range. Labs are usually going berserk at that point too. So am I.
I’ve had so many of these pushes where it’s just my dad and I, so no blockers.
Great times. And really encouraging when that happens on public land. Honestly for me that’s been so many years ago since I’ve done most my hunting in Kansas.
I remember around Redfield we had this experience many years back on public land. Probably saw around 100 in a field.
 
MTbirddogs said:
Nice pic, and good story. For years I've always picked up empty hulls and whatever packable trash I happen to find while hunting. I throw the hulls in a bag throughout the year and see what the count is at the end of the season. Last year I collected 103 hulls, and four wads. I have no idea why the count interests me.
Click to expand...
I also pick up empty hulls when I see them. I shoot a double, so no spent hulls litter from my hunts.

I hike a refuge during the off-season and always carry a litter bag and keep that refuge clean.
For some reason, about 90 percent of the litter last year was Twisted Tea cans.
 
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