What should I do ... (Newbie)

J

Jhart

New member
Hey everyone,

Let me start by saying that I am new here and new (brand new) to pheasant hunting. I have been doing research for a while now and know that there are not a ton of birds where I am at (Fort Collins). There is not very much information at all for starting out and I do not have a family that hunts. I was going to head out last year but decided I did not know what to do, and was discouraged by the lack of area around me. I did go one a couple of dove hunts but it did not produce much.

With all that being said, I know that hunting is one of those very secretive hobbies, which I can respect. I am just looking for any way that I can get into it. I have looked up many of the walk in areas and swa's around the eastern part of the state. A few SWA list pheasant but when I look at the map I am not sure they would even hold birds, not to mention I am sure they are very crowded. Anyways, again I just don't know. Any help on how I can get started in a hobby I am really excited about would be great! Feel free to send a PM if you do not want what you said to be visible to everyone on the internet these days haha.

Thanks for everyones time and attention and Happy Pheasant season.
 
Welcome!

I am not that knowledge about pheasants but my advice is to get out and drive. If you have a dog bring him and a gun during season and just walk around till you find some. This is a good place to start looking http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/WalkInAccessProgram.aspx


There are also quail in some of those areas. I'd be willing to go check stuff out with you sometime but I am south of Denver. Good luck! Hunting can be really frustrating (especially if you don't have success for a while), but it is always good to get out. PM me if you have questions about specific questions about how to's.

- HuntMac
 
Trial and error

Thanks for the info guys. I have the walk in atlas so I'll print out a more detailed map of those areas and see what I find and learn along the way. Trial and error, like you said I know even if I come back empty I will enjoy learning and just being out.

I did want to do the novice hunter program but when I found it, it was already done with for the year. I'm hoping next year now that I know about it I'll stay on top of it. I just hope I still qualify, my hunter ed was back in 2014.

My girlfriends parents live down in fountain so if I am ever headed that way I will for sure get in touch to see if we could plan something out. Thanks again.
 
What you could do

Hard to believe but back in '93 I was in your shoes jhart. I was new to Colorado and wanted to get into this fine sport of bird hunting, or as I used to call it: Taking my gun for a walk. Here's some things that helped me. Mingle. Yes mingle, get out there and meet people ( this forum is a great place to start ). I met a lot of people that were avid bird hunters just by playing fantasy football, this gave me a chance to develop friendships and hunting partners. I used some of their knowledge to better myself.
Go to your nearest CPW office and talk to the Wildlife officers there. They have a ton of knowledge to share and quite often they can point you in the best direction to find birds.
Utilize the WIA program. Grab a map, take a drive and go hunt. A lot of this will be trial and error until you get to know what to look for, remember birds need food, cover and a place to roost. If the cover looks good but there is no food around there may not be any birds in that field.
If you have a dog, take it along. If you don't have a dog, learn how to work the corners. When I first started out there were 4 of us and no dog but we learned how to hunt the fields and we usually came home with birds.
Be quiet! Pheasants are sneaky and would rather run than fly. If you pull up to a field and start slamming truck doors and yelling about how to hunt the field, you just put yourself at a big disadvantage. Pheasants hear well and will move to cover and safety when they get spooked.
Don't be afraid to stop and talk. If you are lucky enough to see a farmer out in the field stop and talk to him. Be respectful and strike up a conversation. Let him/her know what you are all about and don't be afraid to offer any assistance. You may need to come back during the year to help with planting, round ups and branding or any number of other chores but it will be well worth it in the end. As an electrician I have helped many farmers and ranchers with their equipment and it has paid off handsomely.
It you are lucky enough to score some primo land maintain the relationship with the owner. At the very least I bring a spiral cut ham to my farmer friends. Beer is ok for the husband but when you bring the wife one of those big beautiful hams, well, let's put it this way, if momma is happy then papa is happy too. If papa runs the farm then you'll be happy as well.
This will take a lot of boot leather, gas, time and traveling but you have to go where the birds are.
Happy hunting!
 
Thanks everyone ...

Sorry for the late response, busy week at work and the holiday coming up. That was all very helpful and very much appreciated! Sounds like I have a good enough base knowledge to just head out and start learning by fire so to speak. I will have to "take my gun for a walk" (I like that) and see what I can do. Thanks again for the info to everyone, if there is any thing else I am always willing to hear, I will probably be back with updates and more questions as things progress.
 
Not sure where you are located but there is a PF chapter in Denver and Northern Colorado. Im sure if you google it you can find out when they have a general membership meeting. Lots of like minded individuals at those that might be willing to help you out.

If you are ever down in the Springs the Pikes Peak chapter holds its meets the first Wednesday of the month at 630pm at Bass Pro shop. There is a meeting room behind the bar in the bowling alley area of the store.
 
Sig_Mech Sound advice your giving. When I was stationed in up state New York with the 10th Mountain Division, we went to a local breakfast caf? and bought a couple of farmers their breakfast to break the ice. by the end of the first summer we had more private land to hunt on than a couple of Infantry soldiers could walk in a day. We offered free help in hay bailing and cattle feeding. We made great friends up their. Grouse and deer were heavy in the area, not to mention the hundreds of groundhogs we shot every summer that the farmer was more than glad to get rid of. One neighboring farmer had great property to hunt on, he had just dumped a load of hay when his wagon wheel went into a groundhog hole as he was making a sharp turn, as I crossed the fence to help him restack his hay it was a prime time to ask if I could hunt his groundhogs. He was willing to pay me, but it was my pleasure. Point being just ask, all they can say is no and your not any worse off.
 
odenney said:
Sig_Mech Sound advice your giving...Point being just ask, all they can say is no and your not any worse off.
Click to expand...

Great advice from both of you.

My Brother In Law got permission yesterday from a guy in Sedgwick cty. He ran into him on the road waiting for us to catch up and was just chatting, relating some experiences, etc. The farmer happens to mention he has 300 acres of grass next to the 2 walkin corners and we are welcome to hunt it if we're safe. No one has hunted it since the opener.

We go hunt it (lots of birds), when we go back to the house to thank him there's a huge 4x8 plywood sign on the entrance to his driveway (we hadn't been to the house yet) - "NO Hunting, Don't Even Ask"...

Just pulling over to chat on the backroads can be a great time!
 
Pheasants forever

I am up in Northern Colorado, Fort Collins. I will for sure look into it , I actually went out for a walk at a local SWA and got lucky to flush one bird from the cattails. I could not repeat and get any more in the two days I just wanted to get out of the house, but the area had signs from pheasants forever that they were doing work on the habitat, so im sure there is a chapter near by!
 
Great advice!

Did not see the second page of responses, Thanks for all the advice everyone. Sorry for the delayed response, work is killing me the front half of the week. It sounds like networking and just getting to know people for a possible pay off later is the way to go. I now a few people with ranches out that way from work, I will have to ask them if they ever need help, or have friends that need a hand that I am more than willing, which I am. See what comes from that. Until then I will just keep getting out as much as I can at as many places as I can and keep learning by trial.

I will be heading to Nebraska tomorrow for some private land hunting. My mom has a good friend out near Imperial she is going to visit, she heard I was looking for pheasant and invited me to come along and hunt her land. My uncle will be up there a day later so I might get some experience with him for a day or two. Should be a great time no matter what, glad to just have the opportunity!
 
Odenney - first off, THANK YOU for your service brother. As a fellow veteran I have nothing but the highest respect for those who served. Funny you mentioned NY, I was born and raised on LI and did bunch of whitetail hunting around the Binghampton area. I don't miss the NY hustle and bustle but I do miss the sights and fall colors of upstate NY in the fall.
True story here - in the late summer of 2015 I was out around the Yuma Colorado area driving around looking for property to pheasant hunt. I was driving down a dirt road and came upon a couple of farmers on 4 wheelers pushing cattle to a harvested corn circle. The farmer at the back of the herd waved me through but I would just wave back and pull over to the side of the road. As the herd moved I would follow but I never pressured the cows or the farmer. Eventually we came to the corn circle and the cows were herded into the field. I drove passed the farmers and waved to them all. Two hours later I pull into someones driveway to ask about hunting an adjacent field and who steps out of the house? The farmer that was at the back of the herd. He recognizes my truck and asks me why I didn't go through when he waved me on. I explained to in that I was in no rush and that i respected the job he was doing and the effort required to do it. Needless to say he now gets a ham every year and I have some primo private land to hunt.
Again, it just goes to show you that when you do the right thing you never know how you will be rewarded.
 
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