Were to Hunt?

K

KJD_0214

New member
I am new to Pheasant hunting in Illinois. I am in Will County. Were can I go and what do I need to know about going?
 
Do I have to do anything special to get out at Kankakee or Des Plaines. I bird hunted when I was a child. So about 20 years ago. I have been shooting trap for a while now and want to get back into bird hunting. I have 2 labs which neither are trained for hunting.
 
If you poke around the website it provides instructions (I'm going to start hunting there too this year). You dogs might have an aptitude for bird hunting so give them a chance. Look around the internet for "deutsche drahthaar drag training". If your dogs are perceptive enough to figure out how to follow birds and keep their nose down they might do ok once they figure out they need to move to maximize the chance of intercepting foot scent or air scent - if they can't figure this out don't bother and get another dog. Try and do the "force fetch" training too (look up on google). They'll need to sit, heel, fetch, etc. before even thinking about training for bird hunting though.

You should be able to figure out in a week or two if either of your dogs are worth further training effort. Hunting those public areas without a dog would require several people that have a good idea how to hunt that way (if you simply walk the cover the pheasants will walk out of the area before you see them). I know people that hunt without dogs there but they don't do that well.

I have several bags of frozen pheasant wings for you and can maybe spend a little time with your dogs to see if they have any aptitude for it. If your dogs are really well behaved I could maybe take you with at Erriena (a Morris club). If they're not well behaved, my dog won't interact with them well at all (she's a really old alpha chessie and lacks patience).
 
I looked into des plaines but didn't understand the lottery process. I am new to this sport but am very excited about learning. I live near midway airport n it is difficult to spend a lot of time in the field so I would like to make the most of it. If there other guys in my situation or would b willing to share their experience it would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
I used to live in IN and would drive over to North Central IL and hunt about 8yrs ago. We found birds in pockets where there was good cover and we hunted private land by knocking on doors. I know that sounds crazy but it is true and my friends in IN still do this. We hunted in the Champaign/Rantoul area. Mostly ditches and shelter belt hunting. Good luck and support PF as a lot of the area we hunted had cover because of local PF chapters.:cheers:
 
Head down to Iroquois Co or the southern part of your county. Knock a few doors or stop and talk to some farmers out in the fields.

There is the Iroq. Co wildlife area that will have birds but not sure if that is open or reserved only hunting, but that area has pheasants and lots of them if you find the right spots at the right time.
 
AtTheMurph said:
Head down to Iroquois Co or the southern part of your county. Knock a few doors or stop and talk to some farmers out in the fields.

There is the Iroq. Co wildlife area that will have birds but not sure if that is open or reserved only hunting, but that area has pheasants and lots of them if you find the right spots at the right time.
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Some of those wildlife/PHA areas are open to lottery type hunting.:) There's some nice stuff out there.

Gaining access to private land has been an issue for some time now.:(
 
Private access is hard. I've been turned down many times but I am persistent. Whenever I am told no I ask if it's alright if I check back with them next year because you never know if something changes.

The people who simply shut me down I don't usually bother (but I might try in 2-3 yrs) the ones who say it's OK to stop again, I always do and usually late summer.

Those are the people who tend to let you hunt IMO and that is the land you WANT to hunt because they are selective with their permission. If the owners says go ahead right away that usually means they let everybody hunt.

If I get one of those shy owners who want to see me a few times that then lets me hunt I always show up later and bring them a little gift, such as a gift card to a restaurant, shopping or if I've learned a little about them a more personal type gift such as a bottle of booze, wine shirt etc.

They've given me a gift and I should return the favor and gladly do. I also pick up empty shells and any garbage I find that I can easily carry out. Leave it better than you found it.
 
If I were you I would go to Erienna Hunt Club and hire a guide with a dog. Your dogs need training before just turning them loose in the field. It could take forever to correct bad habits. Just my two cents

Now that I think more about it - if youre at Midway you have a lot of other options by crossing into NW Indiana. Search around..
 
I hit up Erieena this weekend n it was a lot of fun. I took 2 other guys with me n the club provided a dog n guide ( I don't have a dog the price was $30 for dog n $10 per gun. We scheduled a time in the Afternoon. We were out for 3 hrs. It was well worth the money! Thanks for the recommendation
 
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