Excitement

[PRFISHER]

How many are excited about the possibility of the upcoming pheasant season being a good one. I can't wait to get the dog out and do some walking.

Going to Little Falls this weekend for shoot at the preserve there. The company that I work for in the summer is supplying the hunt. Anyone ever been there?

[CodyDawg]

Never been there, but with a new puppy this year I am pretty pumped. Not too mention that my habitat work is looking good and I know there are birds there. My old dog (a 14.5 yr old brittany) is even excited. The 4 mo old brittany gets excited over a leaf blowing across the yard, wait until she figures out the rooster game. I have to set my personal goal for the year soon...that is always fun. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I dont, but it makes me keep track of them which I feel is important. Too many people just toss them in their game bag, never to think about them again.

Now that the weather is cooling down and the snow word is being spoken, I really have the fever. I mean I REALLY have the fever.

[riverrat56]

Can't wait, geese locked on to decoys gets me pumped, but a rooster busting from the cattails at my feet after a perfect point, my heart skips a beat, CANNOT WAIT.

[HawgMan]

Looking forward to a good opener.This will be my 1 year old Britt's first hunt'n season,hope she remembers all the training !!

[OUTDOORNUT]

Pheasant season is going to be very poor this year! The weather is going to be nasty and people are going to be everywhere. You all better stay home and watch the Gophers and Vikings every weekend instead!!!

[fishrog12]

Have been to rice creek several times. Nice set up. Good time. Remember the game farm birds make for good targets, there not like the wild ones.

[LuciandTim]

Quote:

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I have to set my personal goal for the year soon...that is always fun. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I dont, but it makes me keep track of them which I feel is important. Too many people just toss them in their game bag, never to think about them again.

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CodyDawg: Will you elaborate on this please.....sounds interesting.

[metrojoe]

Hey Tim,

Were you covered from head to toe in mud yesterday? Are you still going on Sunday? I talked to Rick last night and it didn't sound good.

I was thinking about calling Gold Meadows for Sunday.

[LuciandTim]

Actually were I hunted was nice. The rest of the farm is pretty much under water. It should be better this weekend. Yeah Sunday is still a go. Need to get Luci one more workout before the season opener!

The only thing that was huntable was the pond and SW field.

[metrojoe]

Boy lucy should be top dog by now. Good to hear your getting her out on birds. I've got a field reserved for Monday but I was hoping to get out to Gold Meadows on Sunday.

Birds...Birds...Birds and more Birds!!!

I was out in the baseball fields near my house working on obedience with the pup and she kept stopping and eating the (Contact US Regarding This Word) goose [PoorWordUsage] all over the field. Needless to say I had a little clean up to do when I got home today. Puppies...gotta love'em

Can't wait to get out again.

Good luck on opener. Hope to see you guys soon.

[CodyDawg]

I set a personal goal each year on how many wild birds I am going to shoot. the fun part is then keeping track on paper of each bird I shoot, the place, conditions, who was with me and a comment or two. I then can look back over the years and relive each and every bird. If you dont do that you forget about many of them. Sometimes I dont record them right away and even after a few weeks or so and a few birds, it gets hard to remember them. What I see many do is grab the bird from the dogs mouth, throw it in the gamebag and never think about it again. Many people are so concerned with numbers these days...I got 3, we got 8, we got our limit, blah, blah, blah. I dont think this paints us in a good light with the nonhunting public. I feel it is better to say something like "I had a fantastic hunt where I shot a bird out of a small patch of weeds and another out of a grove of trees, yada yada.

You may have heard about how the DNR considers this when setting limits....hunters feel better about themselves when they "limit out". How sad is that. So if the limit on something is 6 and you get 4, you had an ok day. But if the limit is 4 and you get 4, you "limited out" and feel ... proud I guess. I am trying to get the word "limit" out of my vocabulary.

the other thing I do is stop and look at each bird. You would be amazed at the variation in a species. Young, old, dark, light, big, little, if you really look you will be amazed.

[LuciandTim]

So what is this years goal CodyDawg?

[CodyDawg]

pheasants are up, the habitat work is paying off....but i have a new puppy to break in. I will be going at least once out west....I am gonna lower the goal from last year because of the puppy. 25 roosters, 1 buck (8 pts and wider than the ears or bigger), 5 huns, 5 sharpies and a duck ( I am not much of a duck hunter). Plus, and this is new this year, 20 birds off of our 2 pieces of hunting land (shot by me and whoever is with me). Last year we shot about 12, but greatly improved habitat on the one.

Now one thing I will not do is proclaim the year a failure if I do not reach these goals. The pure numbers dont mean that much. However, it is fun to look back and see how you did compared to what you thought before the season. One year, I had a goal of 20 and shot 48. The next year I had a goal of 50 and shot 28...although there were some memorable birds in that 28 and it was one of my best ever overall seasons. The goal isnt that big of deal, it is the keeping track that is.

Oh, two more goals I always have: zero misses and no lost birds. I have achieved the no lost birds quite a few times (birds shot by me only), but I havent gotten the no misses one yet. Twice I have had only 1 miss (both on EASY shots late in the season when I should have been on top of my game). That is why they call it hunting and not shooting I guess.

How about you? Are you gonna keep track this year?

[LuciandTim]

Ok here is it goes. I am going to set my goal at 20 roosters. These are wild birds and the birds I shoot at a preserve while training do not count.

On your mark, get set, go...........

[Snag]

Good luck to everyone this weekend. I plan on hunting public land on Saturday and either Monday or Tuesday. Waited until the second week of the season last year and all I could find were hens. Do you have to get to the WMA parking areas early on opener, or can you roll in around 8:30?

[metrojoe]

If you've got a spot in mind I'd get there plenty early. I went SW of the twin Cities a couple years ago on opener and I think I had to opt for my 4th or 5th stop because there were vehicles parked and waiting at most of the locations.

Good Luck to you also.

[Tripleplay]

I used to hunt only public lands and we always arrived at daybreak and than sat around and talk'd until closer to 9PM. Unfortunately, the last time we tried that and had staked our claim to the prime spot---we discovered that a big group came in from the back side off of private land. You just never know but I'd get there early.

I've got one very simple goal for this weekend! I've got my 12 year old son along for the first time and he is going to be hunting unloaded until he gets a feel for what happens when a rooster jumps. (plus he isn't sure that he can tell the roosters from the hens so a little experience might take away some of his concerns on that one) When he is ready, I'd love to see him get his first pheasant over my shorthair! Heck, I don't care if he gets his first rooster over my brother-in-laws labs as long as he gets one or at least warms the barrel up.

[CodyDawg]

Tripleplay,

My condolensces to your son. He doesnt have any good options (shorthair, lab). Maybe he can go without a dog for his first bird? Just kidding of course, have a good one and be safe. remember, your son will always remember his first time, so dedicate the trip to him!