kansasbrittany
Banned
Well, I finally did it. I waited until later in the season to take my vacation. I felt the need to return to the area I've hunted for so long b/c it's always been good to me. 5 days of fruitless hunting there have convinced me that I have to go elsewhere from time to time.
On the way out my first day, I stopped in Rush county. There were a lot of birds in the WIHA and there was a layer of ice on the grass to help hold them. I got several great points, just me and my 4 dogs. My 4 1/2 month old shorthair made 2 of those on hens. I saw roughly 45 birds in 4 hrs of hunting in Rush county. 10 of which were roosters. The family saw many of the points and most of the birds.
I spent 1/2 day quail hunting in Lyon county. Saw a couple of real nice coveys and some real nice dog work. The pup impressed me again w/ a nice point on a covey of birds. Not a flash point either, a solid point that I waited a full minute to break up.
I went to Rooks county for 1 day. I hunted some great private land. There were plenty of birds, but as you all know, they're tough to get close to in large numbers this time of year. Again, the hens far outnumbered the roosters. We came away with a couple birds and went home happy again.
I felt the need to make one more day trip. I had only 1/2 day Saturday, so I went SW of Concordia. We hunted 2 places. The first must have had 40 birds in it and the second had closer to 60. The main difference was that roughly 70 percent of the birds I saw up there were roosters. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like the opener, only all the birds were bunched up. They weren't too skiddish there either, but the most of the shot chances were high ones. The pheasants had moved to the tree lines w/ thickets, so the shooting didn't start until the birds topped the trees.
I've concluded that there are loads of birds in KS this season, just don't go directly S of Garfield. If all goes well, we could be looking at an extraordinary year next year!!
On the way out my first day, I stopped in Rush county. There were a lot of birds in the WIHA and there was a layer of ice on the grass to help hold them. I got several great points, just me and my 4 dogs. My 4 1/2 month old shorthair made 2 of those on hens. I saw roughly 45 birds in 4 hrs of hunting in Rush county. 10 of which were roosters. The family saw many of the points and most of the birds.
I spent 1/2 day quail hunting in Lyon county. Saw a couple of real nice coveys and some real nice dog work. The pup impressed me again w/ a nice point on a covey of birds. Not a flash point either, a solid point that I waited a full minute to break up.
I went to Rooks county for 1 day. I hunted some great private land. There were plenty of birds, but as you all know, they're tough to get close to in large numbers this time of year. Again, the hens far outnumbered the roosters. We came away with a couple birds and went home happy again.
I felt the need to make one more day trip. I had only 1/2 day Saturday, so I went SW of Concordia. We hunted 2 places. The first must have had 40 birds in it and the second had closer to 60. The main difference was that roughly 70 percent of the birds I saw up there were roosters. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like the opener, only all the birds were bunched up. They weren't too skiddish there either, but the most of the shot chances were high ones. The pheasants had moved to the tree lines w/ thickets, so the shooting didn't start until the birds topped the trees.
I've concluded that there are loads of birds in KS this season, just don't go directly S of Garfield. If all goes well, we could be looking at an extraordinary year next year!!
I did my first blocking last year in SD. Wow now that was fun. I was shooting a o/u and should have been shooting an auto.