Woodcock

I've only ever seen a couple, and not while hunting. Honestly, I don't think I would have the presence of mind to shoot it if I flushed one while hunting. I think it would fly away and then I would say, "hey wait, that was a woodcock, not a songbird..." Kind of like I did the first few prairie chickens I flushed and didn't shoot at, thinking they were hen pheasants. When I'm expecting one thing and flush something different, it takes a second to process. By then, it is usually too late.

I'm sure if I was in woodcock country and was expecting them it might be a different story.

So no, never hunted them. I did get a season survey from KDWP some years ago that asked me to keep track of my weekly woodcock harvest and turn it in at the end of the season. It was really easy to fill out. Haha...
 
I do between early prairie chicken and pheasant/quail opener. Probably going out today, since there’s some cool weather finally. Hunt wooded creek beds and draws with wet soil. They migrate, so it’s a question of timing/luck. A good rule of thumb is that they move when robins move. Mark your birds well, my dog will not pick them up.
 
I've only seen one in Kansas, ever. It was on a muddy road in Greenwood county. It must have been lost--I was surprised to see it that far west.
 
s.davis said:
I do between early prairie chicken and pheasant/quail opener. Probably going out today, since there’s some cool weather finally. Hunt wooded creek beds and draws with wet soil. They migrate, so it’s a question of timing/luck. A good rule of thumb is that they move when robins move. Mark your birds well, my dog will not pick them up.
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Are you eastern part of of the state?
 
Yes. I live in KC. I don’t think woodcock are common anywhere in the state, even during peak migration, but it seems like what opportunities there are would be better the further east you hunt.

Caveat emptor: I am no kind of expert on woodcock hunting. I’ve only been chasing them the last couple seasons.
 
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I've heard the same thing. Western Missouri is there far west range.
I wonder if my dog would even point one!
 
My seasoned dog gets birdy around them and flushes them, but doesn’t like to fetch them.
 
Ya my dog has pointed few while in early quail season, but ya he doesn't like to retrieve them at all. Fun bird to hunt if you can get into some. Always find them in same area every year.
 
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