Try hunting Indiana
Last edited:
Where To Find The Birds This Year . . . .
- Thread starter FredMcIntire
- Start date
Try hunting Indiana
Where to find the Birds
That is the 1 million dollar question and i'm sure it irks the living crap out of the in-state locals etc. who watch us traveling wilbury's vacate their hometown every year in pursuit of the dream to hunt wild birds, especially when there is a wealth of knowledge on the internet to guide you and electronics or maps to navigate to your destination and an unwritten law for them to be protective of the local bird population. living on the east coast I've made the trip to S.D. and Kansas a few times it was well worth the trips but there was a lot of preparation & planning that worked out well and sometimes failed miserably. I had the priveledge to hunt private and public ground and felt a gratitude within for the hard work and hours on the computer figuring things out to minimize driving time and maximize hunting time. when I made it to the honey holes the second phase of planning ,cussing and prep. work began.. I quickly realized that a solo hunter and his dog were no match for multiple eyes watching your every move,so after the first day and close to a box of shells spent and cackles that were (pun intended) on my expertise stragedy and marksmenship, I came back to to hotel mentally exhausted and nothing in the bag. I stayed up late that evenining broke out a map and came up with a plan to enter a piece of property and as soon as my dog became birdy pull him off circle wide enter from an opposite direction and do this several times before entering and rush walking in stop for a few and then move again and then to my surprise the birds held tighter and closer and finally I began to harvest a few birds. The bottom line in my experience was by doing the research/ hands -on I got a better idea of what worked and what didn't and you get a great sense of satisfaction and gratitude for your efforts especially when you put yourself in a position of opportunity solely by yourself and information you research.
just my 2 cent input and wish everyone a great hunting season:thumbsup:
That is the 1 million dollar question and i'm sure it irks the living crap out of the in-state locals etc. who watch us traveling wilbury's vacate their hometown every year in pursuit of the dream to hunt wild birds, especially when there is a wealth of knowledge on the internet to guide you and electronics or maps to navigate to your destination and an unwritten law for them to be protective of the local bird population. living on the east coast I've made the trip to S.D. and Kansas a few times it was well worth the trips but there was a lot of preparation & planning that worked out well and sometimes failed miserably. I had the priveledge to hunt private and public ground and felt a gratitude within for the hard work and hours on the computer figuring things out to minimize driving time and maximize hunting time. when I made it to the honey holes the second phase of planning ,cussing and prep. work began.. I quickly realized that a solo hunter and his dog were no match for multiple eyes watching your every move,so after the first day and close to a box of shells spent and cackles that were (pun intended) on my expertise stragedy and marksmenship, I came back to to hotel mentally exhausted and nothing in the bag. I stayed up late that evenining broke out a map and came up with a plan to enter a piece of property and as soon as my dog became birdy pull him off circle wide enter from an opposite direction and do this several times before entering and rush walking in stop for a few and then move again and then to my surprise the birds held tighter and closer and finally I began to harvest a few birds. The bottom line in my experience was by doing the research/ hands -on I got a better idea of what worked and what didn't and you get a great sense of satisfaction and gratitude for your efforts especially when you put yourself in a position of opportunity solely by yourself and information you research.
just my 2 cent input and wish everyone a great hunting season:thumbsup:FredMcIntire
New member
That is the 1 million dollar question and i'm sure it irks the living crap out of the in-state locals etc. who watch us traveling wilbury's vacate their hometown every year in pursuit of the dream to hunt wild birds, especially when there is a wealth of knowledge on the internet to guide you and electronics or maps to navigate to your destination and an unwritten law for them to be protective of the local bird population. living on the east coast I've made the trip to S.D. and Kansas a few times it was well worth the trips but there was a lot of preparation & planning that worked out well and sometimes failed miserably. I had the priveledge to hunt private and public ground and felt a gratitude within for the hard work and hours on the computer figuring things out to minimize driving time and maximize hunting time. when I made it to the honey holes the second phase of planning ,cussing and prep. work began.. I quickly realized that a solo hunter and his dog were no match for multiple eyes watching your every move,so after the first day and close to a box of shells spent and cackles that were (pun intended) on my expertise stragedy and marksmenship, I came back to to hotel mentally exhausted and nothing in the bag. I stayed up late that evenining broke out a map and came up with a plan to enter a piece of property and as soon as my dog became birdy pull him off circle wide enter from an opposite direction and do this several times before entering and rush walking in stop for a few and then move again and then to my surprise the birds held tighter and closer and finally I began to harvest a few birds. The bottom line in my experience was by doing the research/ hands -on I got a better idea of what worked and what didn't and you get a great sense of satisfaction and gratitude for your efforts especially when you put yourself in a position of opportunity solely by yourself and information you research.
So very true, Don !
The trips I made to Iowa were similar. I made my first trip cold turkey with only a place to stay, and the promise of 1,500 acres to hunt. It was a blast and I learned a lot. I eeven killed a few pheasants. Each subsequent trip got better and I came home with a limit of birds each trip. As a matter of fact, I was doing better than my buddies that were paying for a guide !
SD and Kansas will be no different for me.
Thanks for your response !
Have a great hunting season !
Fred
Last edited:
mustistuff
Banned
hunting
get over it, you're not the only poor slob in the world that has had to make do or the only one that spends time doing their homework. i live in the fringe of the area and i work at it and i work at it all the time and for the most part i get to see very little of kansas for example, if you go someplace plan of having fun out of the trip, seeing new places, finding a few birds and maybe even harvest a few. you might be better off picking an area and learning it rather than seeing how much rubber you can burn, don't be that cow with it's neck over the fence.
cheers
get over it, you're not the only poor slob in the world that has had to make do or the only one that spends time doing their homework. i live in the fringe of the area and i work at it and i work at it all the time and for the most part i get to see very little of kansas for example, if you go someplace plan of having fun out of the trip, seeing new places, finding a few birds and maybe even harvest a few. you might be better off picking an area and learning it rather than seeing how much rubber you can burn, don't be that cow with it's neck over the fence.
cheers
Your welcome Fred! and I hope you have fun a lotta' fun checking out the new places sights, sounds and critters that cross your path. i'm looking forward to the 20plus hour trip this nov. I've been good for about 17-18 hrs. straight driving before I take a nap so we'll see if I can do it again fingers crossed.kansas was a cool state I hunted in Norton,phillips, gray, and rush county. definetly an experience and memory I will never forget and so grateful I never broke down in the middle of no where. cheers lots of luck to you and have a safe trip.
AtTheMurph
Well-known member
Illinois would be better. The good pheasant areas in IN are limited even in good years to about 2.5 counties. IL has a far wider range but I would suggest East Central - Iroquois, Ford, Livingston, Kankakee Counties.
I see what I think are a lot of birds when I hunt those areas. Don't think I have seen fewer than 20 birds in a day and more likely 50-80 and as many as 300. In past couple of years around 60 average but this past Winter/Spring have been mild and I have gotten good reports so maybe more this year.
I do hunt IN too. Mostly Benton and southern Newton and northern Warren and western White.
If you can find cover in any of these areas to hunt you will almost certainly find birds but it's tough to get on and there is little cover.
I've heard NE Indiana has pretty good bird numbers but never hunted it. E Central WI is supposed to be pretty good. I own land there and had a flush of 17 birds last year but wasn't hunting them.
SW WI used to be really good but almost no birds today. Weather just decimated them over the past 5 yrs or so. I have some great places to hunt there and farmers that keep great cover for them but they're almost gone. I used to see 50-80 a day in that area.
:10sign:
Too funny. Thanks, I needed that. Hope OP wasn't upset by your smart ass reply. But unfortunately, probably closer to the truth than we all would like.
Okay, after I read through the thread I guess OP was a little miffed. Oh, well. Sh!t happens. It is going to be a tough year.
Here's my serious two cents.
You can go to the usual areas in NW KS and SW NE. But, don't expect much. A lot of CRP is gone. Farmers are planting right to the roadside like they do in Colorado. And bird numbers are bleak.
If you want to make sure you see birds, you may have to spend some do-re-mi and head to the rich man's playground.
I am thinking about it. There are some self-guided spots in all 4 western bird states that offer the opportunity to hunt wild birds in great cover. Five days at one of those spots may cost a thousand bucks, but you can get your dog on more birds in those five days than you will in five weekends anywhere else. And by the time you figure in all the costs, not too much difference.
I hate to pay as much as the next guy, but....we'll see.
Here's my serious two cents.
You can go to the usual areas in NW KS and SW NE. But, don't expect much. A lot of CRP is gone. Farmers are planting right to the roadside like they do in Colorado. And bird numbers are bleak.
If you want to make sure you see birds, you may have to spend some do-re-mi and head to the rich man's playground.
I am thinking about it. There are some self-guided spots in all 4 western bird states that offer the opportunity to hunt wild birds in great cover. Five days at one of those spots may cost a thousand bucks, but you can get your dog on more birds in those five days than you will in five weekends anywhere else. And by the time you figure in all the costs, not too much difference.
I hate to pay as much as the next guy, but....we'll see.
Uncle Buck
New member
Central Indianna is my first choice.
Fred, I am from Indiana also, having never been blessed with a SD hunt yet, I can only speak from limited experience. I have hunted Indiana, Iowa and Kansas, and I will tell you that if you have connections in the Indiana northwest pheasant belt you will do good if you hunt hard, I think when given the chance we do not hunt local like we do if we drive 16 hours!
