Where to go in December?

C

CGD

Active member
If you had one state to hunt in the month of December where would it be? I used to go to Kansas but haven't been in a few years and with droughts and struggling bird numbers I'm not sure I'm ready to go back. I've got a young pup that needs some bird exposure and I'm hoping to get a 4 day weekend hunt in before Christmas and am looking for ideas.
 
Seriously? If you want to shoot pen reared pseudo roosters, any state will do. If you want wild birds & don't have a bunch of lightly pressured (at most) private land at your disposal, then there's only one possible answer. SD is heads & tails above any other state.
 
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A5 Sweet 16 said:
Seriously? If you want to shoot pen reared pseudo roosters, any state will do. If you want wild birds & don't have a bunch of lightly pressured (at most) private land at your disposal, then there's only one possible answer. SD is heads & tales above any other state.
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I would agree, in fact I'm planning a south Dakota trip for December. Eastern South Dakota.
 
I personally do not hunt released birds but for those that do more power to ya.
Now having said that, I frankly am tired of hearing A-5 and JCW denigrate those that hunt pen raised birds by calling them pseudo-roosters, and referring to your's as 'Close Nosed as if you're the superior hunters. Grow up!!
 
LCR10A said:
In my opinion, pen raised birds do have a place depending on a person’s age and experience, a dogs age and experience, one’s health, available time, where you live, resources and so on.
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They're really good for training a young dog because they're like hunting chickens. They're dumb, slow, and have no wild instinct to escape. It guarantees exposure to a lot of birds.

Beyond that, its not remotely close to "hunting." And anyone claiming that its similar to hunting wild birds is not living in reality.
 
mlmich@pldi.net said:
I personally do not hunt released birds but for those that do more power to ya.
Now having said that, I frankly am tired of hearing A-5 and JCW denigrate those that hunt pen raised birds by calling them pseudo-roosters, and referring to your's as 'Close Nosed as if you're the superior hunters. Grow up!!
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To be fair, I've never said a word against anyone that hunts pen raised pheasants. My issue is when folks compare a pen raised pheasant to a wild, hatched on the prairie pheasant. I know perfectly well that I've got it pretty darn good to have been born to a dad that had a passion for pheasant hunting and I don't have to drive more than 30 miles to have all the fantastic pheasant hunting I can handle. I also know that the vast majority of Americans don't have my lifestyle. I'm blessed and don't take it for granted.

But no, I don't think I'm superior for having access to wild pheasant hunting, but I do believe that a wild pheasant is inherently stronger and faster and smarter than one raised in a barn with it's survival needs provided by humans.
 
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Golden Hour said:
To be fair, I've never said a word against anyone that hunts pen raised pheasants. My issue is when folks compare a pen raised pheasant to a wild, hatched on the prairie pheasant. I know perfectly well that I've got it pretty darn good to have been born to a dad that had a passion for pheasant hunting and I don't have to drive more than 30 miles to have all the fantastic pheasant hunting I can handle. I also know that the vast majority of Americans don't have my lifestyle.

So no, I don't think I'm superior for having access to wild pheasant hunting, but I do believe that a wild pheasant is inherently stronger and faster and smarter than one raised in a barn with it's survival needs provided by humans.
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Ditto. Well put. I've never indicated a problem with the people. Some want to shoot flare nares. That's fine. Some have no other choice. That's fine too. But those birds aren't the real deal. They're pseudo roosters. If somebody senses (or manufactures in their mind) that I think I'm a better person because I hunt wild ones, that's their problem, because I don't feel that way & have never said anything of the sort. I hear lots of people talk about how many pheasants the State of SD releases, even on public land. I do nare inspections to point out that those folks are incorrect; that the vast, VAST majority of birds I shoot are wild, because the State releases ZERO pheasants. I've hunted public land in SD a lot of years & shot my share of pheasants. My tally on flare nares (FNs) is.....4. 3 were leftovers from a youth hunt put on by a ProPheasants group, & 1 was an escapee from a nearby private operation. Yet I continue to hear how many pheasants the State releases. Aslong as I hear it, I'll continue to do nare inspections.
 
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Sure, the birds shaken, planted, and hunted soon after are not going to present much of a WILD challenge. I train dogs on preserves at times and use them when I have someone along who cannot trounce through cover all day long. Most of my bird dog training though is on chuckers because they do not usually fly as far and you can pursue a few times ...

That said, anyone who has chased released birds a few days after they were released knows that most of the comments on pen-raised birds simply are false.

Pre-PLOTS, ND had a pheasant hatchery and released birds on public land ... they were often banded - thus you know they were released. I have chased banded roosters across entire public hunting areas ... I shot quite a few released birds (they released them weeks before the season) and not sure that I ever thought wow that was a released bird ...

Ultimately every pheasant in this country came from a pen or cage somewhere along the way.

To me the difference between "wild" and "preserve" birds is the amount of land one must often cover to put birds in the vest.

By the way I grew up in ND and was killing birds before CRP in both Dakotas... wild and well, hatchery birds. I have killed pheasants now in about 15 (probably more) counties in ND and close to 20 counties in MN.
 
December hunting ... is great for day trips, but anything longer than a few days ... well ... that is the advantage of living in pheasant country.

If you can be flexible on area and dates... go when the weather is expected to be somewhat mild (seasonal) but understand the Dakotas can get hit rather quickly with a blizzard. Pick an area with some snow, but not drifts so large they are difficult to traverse. Severe cold is miserable and if you couple in prairie winds - the sub-zero wind chills can be dangerous.

Dakotas have a lot of public land that is on minimum maintenance roads ... these roads can fill up and shut down with snow in a hurry. If they do - they likely are not going to be plowed ... Be ready to spend a night in the truck if you push it.

Western ND is really good in December, but if the snow gets a bit high ... the pheasants "migrate" in large droves to ranch yards. You will see hundreds living near ranch homes and outbuildings on your way to traditional cover.

I hunted Iowa in December (had a license from Spring Turkey) ... we saw birds on every walk ... took some home ... we did a couple of day hunts ... to NC and NW IA.

MN is decent in December. Again I just do day trips or hunt and the afternoon ... stay near our hunting area and hunt the following day.
 
If pheasants are your target then SD, if looking for mixed bag i would suggest sc to sw Nebraska for quail and pheasants, wont see the numbers of pheasants but will have good opportunities. Weather can play a major factor, flexibilty is a key for late season hunting, in my opinion.
 
LCR10A said:
In my opinion, pen raised birds do have a place depending on a person’s age and experience, a dogs age and experience, one’s health, available time, where you live, resources and so on.
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Finally someone with some common sense. I’ve lived in Montana and had great hunting for wild pheasants. I’ve lived in New Jersey that I’m not sure has any wild pheasants but but could still pheasant hunt because of pen raised birds.
I enjoyed hunting both states with my Shorthairs.
If you have the blessing of hunting wild pheasants where you live be thankful for that. Not everyone is as lucky as you are.
 
Golden Hour said:
To be fair, I've never said a word against anyone that hunts pen raised pheasants. My issue is when folks compare a pen raised pheasant to a wild, hatched on the prairie pheasant. I know perfectly well that I've got it pretty darn good to have been born to a dad that had a passion for pheasant hunting and I don't have to drive more than 30 miles to have all the fantastic pheasant hunting I can handle. I also know that the vast majority of Americans don't have my lifestyle. I'm blessed and don't take it for granted.

But no, I don't think I'm superior for having access to wild pheasant hunting, but I do believe that a wild pheasant is inherently stronger and faster and smarter than one raised in a barn with it's survival needs provided by humans.
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Today,I released a sharptail grouse that was caught in a net.Im so glad I was able to do it for him.He would have d I ed.
 
Here ya go. Show up and pay money and shoot a trophy. No different than they guy that spends all fall chasin a big one with his bow and arrow right.

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Game farms (deer and elk) have ruined hunting ... they sell high-priced hunts for wall trophies and despite their efforts (at least they say they do) they ARE the reason CWD is spreading !
 
BRITTMAN said:
Game farms (deer and elk) have ruined hunting ... they sell high-priced hunts for wall trophies and despite their efforts (at least they say they do) they ARE the reason CWD is spreading !
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Exactly. I have heard people say the same thing about pin birds and disease like avean flu. And them deer will never be like a wild one even if it spent a hunderd days away from the barn
 
Smasher said:
And them deer will never be like a wild one even if it spent a hunderd days away from the barn
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Might as well just go shoot a cow and eat that instead. A lot more meat and a lot better tasting. Challenge and skill level being equal here.
 
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