Pheasant Hunting Tips?

[Mr. B]

Since I am pretty new to hunting wild pheasants (trained Maggie on a lot of game farm birds) I was hoping someone might have some tips I could try. Types of cover to look for (most productive parts of huge tracts), ways to work an area things like that? About the only thing that I am pretty sure about is working in to the wind when ever possible. Most of the hunting I do will be myself and Maggie.

Any help would be great.

[lawdog]

Hunting alone with my dog is my favorite way to pheasant hunt. If you have the spot to yourself, just follow that K-9 nose wherever it leads you. She'll know where the birds are.

As for general thoughts, the real heavy cattail sloughs and such are great when it gets cold and nasty, as are the shelter belts and groves. Right now they are spread throughout the grass as they don't need much cover. Hunt the farm field edges early and late otherwise its pretty hit and miss right now I think.

[Reef Runner]

I totally agree will Lawdog. All you have to do is follow your dog. For some reason this is a real hard one or me to remember in the field. I keep trying to guide my pup around. Every time he ends up behind me and i am yelling at him, he flushes a bird. So just have fun and let your pup do all the work.

[rundrave]

I think Lawdog pretty much covered everything, following the dog is key. Also dont rush, often its very easy to walk over or past birds. The birds know your coming, go slow take your time and make'em wait. They will flush.

The later in the season the better will probably yield better success as crops will be out, and hopefully snow on the ground to take away some cover, and make it easy to find birds.

Good luck to you and your dog.

[lawdog]

Great point on going slow and letting the dog work, I totally agree with that and should have included it.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Amen to what the others have said. Follow your dogs nose and SLOW DOWN!!!! Every now and then even stop and just stand there.

It amazes me how many people practically run through the field. And they pretty much run right by the birds.

[CodyDawg]

I will add "be quiet". Yelling at your dog or your buddy does not make for a good time and alerts all the birds that you are there. I love it when I am silently following my dog and after an hour or more of quiet, a bird erupts. That is the best type of rooster hunt IMO.

[catman71]

one thing not many people seem to talk about is the evening pheasant hunt. I have been in the CRP when dozens of birds come diving back to the grass, with me standing in it! 9 am can be good, but 4 pm and later is usually better for me.

[msm1018]

Quote:

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one thing not many people seem to talk about is the evening pheasant hunt. I have been in the CRP when dozens of birds come diving back to the grass, with me standing in it! 9 am can be good, but 4 pm and later is usually better for me.

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Ditto, go to a travel area where theres crp and a corn field on one side and a slough on the other. Or other thick brush types.

[brittman]

Just like grouse hunting. Edges. Cattail:grass edge, shelterbelt:crop edge, grass:crop edge and I guess if you are so inclined - road edge.

[BDR]

I agree that this time of year, with the crops still mostly standing, that alone and very quiet can be productive. I like to set my dog up with the wind coming across him and just let him go. I don't need a plan of direction to keep the group in line. I just let him go where he wants and he will find birds.

The sun exposed sides of hill can be good on these cool mornings right after shooting hours start. Shelter strips are also a good place to check. I like to look for the rows of brushy windbreak type cover. It gives the birds cover but yet it is usually a dry place to hang out for the midday sun.

Most of all is to just have fun. If I am just out with the dog getting some exercise it is a good day.

[jdbigeye]

Don't be afraid to hit the call hard... probably in full rut right now!

Seriously, the best tip would be to scout for an hour or so right at dawn and make a note of where the birds are in the fields, road ditches, etc. Go back at 9, and let 'em have it!

[gtofast1]

Another good thing is to try to walk or push birds to a point where they have to flush, plowed field,pasture, or a road. Birds will just keep running in front..all the way across a section if they have too... just a thought.

[Mr. B]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I was out last night after work, working the edges of various types of cover, while just following behind Maggie. I tried to think of all the tips while hunting but with all the birds flying I was to busy.

I think it was 10 birds in an hour and a half, what a blast. Missed one and hit one that I could not find. Spent 40 minutes looking for it and could not find it. I thought I had it marked well, right on the edge of a cat tail slough. But no luck very frustrating.

Thanks again guys and good luck this season.

[Eric Wettschreck]

more than likely the reason you couldn't find it is that it hit the ground and took off running. They'll do that.

[Mr. B]

Boilerguy,

You are probably right. It looked like I hit it hard but I guess you never really know.

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

They are tough. I hit one last night twice and it still ran. Luckily the dog caught it.

[Ole #1]

It's fun to see some birds

After you've shot, watch the bird go down. If the legs drop, it's dead and you should be able to find it ok. If the legs don't drop, then the bird is probably alive when it hits the ground and they will run.

[riverrat56]

I wouldn't say a dropped leg means a dead bird, it won't be a runner, but it very well may be alive still. I've gotten 3 birds this year so far, all have had a broken leg and wing, but all three have been alive when i got to them.

Another tip that I can think of is during the middle of the day on a sunny day the birds might come out of the crops to rest for a few hours in a CRP feild or some kind of shelterbed. Hunt the outside edges of the cover at this time. In the evening when the birds are coming back to roost, save the areas that are most likly to hold birds, thicker cover close to crops, or any kind of an area that would provide shelter from the wind or rain, for the walk back to the truck. Reason is that the birds will be coming to these areas to roost and the later you hunt them the better.

[poutpro]

When you're going to retreive birds, be careful to not get spurred. They can really rip your hand open. I like to look for small willow patches in CRP or next to a cattail slough and send the dog through while you wait on the outside. This weekend I did see a few birds perched up in trees also.

[BDR]

Yep I got spurred pretty good Saturday, Right in the meaty part of my thumb. Winged a bird that had lots of running left in it, dog kept re pointing, finally I was able to put a boot on it, and it got me pretty good.

Usually my GSP is a awesome retriever but everytime he reached in to grab it, it would run.