Matt D
Well-known member
Been debating writing this up but I enjoy reading others so here is a rambling recap. Left here October 31 and started hunting the afternoon of the 1st. Hunted 13 straight days. Drove a total of 4050 miles round trip. At arrival lots of corn still standing. At departure lots of corn still standing but they were making progress. As the corn came out more birds showed up. For us birds were harder to come by overall then the last two years but with the large increase of standing corn I have little doubt they are there. We walked and hunted longer but got our birds 11 of the days and the other two was one bad day of shooting where we should have had them 3 times and one day of bad decisions and just not seeing many. What makes hunting fun. When I talk about bird numbers harvested that is for 2 of us. A buddy joins us for 4 days of hunting but does his thing on his own with his pointer.
A couple of big take away from this years trip. Every year is different and sometimes our expectations are way off. After last year, the weather during the hatch and reports from locals all summer I expected there to be birds everywhere. That wasn’t the case for us(see above). Also this trip really proved to me that the 28 gauge when choked correctly is a very viable bird killer. I knew physics are physics and 1 oz of lead is 1 oz of lead.
Most of our hunting was on private ground. Killed a couple on a WPA and 1 on WIA. Think that was it for public. So my buddy and I split costs 50-50 so we keep a tab which is nice to know what we spent. Lodging is in a farm house and is $50 per person per night. For all other costs including dog food I had $800 total spent. That would include 2 nights in a hotel while traveling. That also includes huge breakfasts and dinners, packed lunches and deserts after dinner each night. The food bill would cover the 5 nights out buddy joins us also. Inflation has driven that number up about $150 or so the last few years and gas was higher in general so that plays a part.
Really hoping to slide out for a 5 day late season hunt since we already have the license. See if we can make that happen.
A couple random pics. View attachment IMG_3274.jpeg
A couple of big take away from this years trip. Every year is different and sometimes our expectations are way off. After last year, the weather during the hatch and reports from locals all summer I expected there to be birds everywhere. That wasn’t the case for us(see above). Also this trip really proved to me that the 28 gauge when choked correctly is a very viable bird killer. I knew physics are physics and 1 oz of lead is 1 oz of lead.
Most of our hunting was on private ground. Killed a couple on a WPA and 1 on WIA. Think that was it for public. So my buddy and I split costs 50-50 so we keep a tab which is nice to know what we spent. Lodging is in a farm house and is $50 per person per night. For all other costs including dog food I had $800 total spent. That would include 2 nights in a hotel while traveling. That also includes huge breakfasts and dinners, packed lunches and deserts after dinner each night. The food bill would cover the 5 nights out buddy joins us also. Inflation has driven that number up about $150 or so the last few years and gas was higher in general so that plays a part.
Really hoping to slide out for a 5 day late season hunt since we already have the license. See if we can make that happen.
A couple random pics. View attachment IMG_3274.jpeg
