south western mn

[sean01]

How has the hunting been in the south western mn area.

has anybody had any luck and if they dont mind where?

[Bigfife]

I go to school in Marshall, MN. I spent all day today and yesterday out hunting. This was my first time out in a week. There are a lot of birds, but they are very educated. 3 guys/3 dogs and 4 roosters within range and in the bag. We hunted WMAs and ditches. In 6-8 miles of ditch, we only flushed 6 hens. All the roosters today were in the short grass and not the CRP. Yesterday we saw 60+ birds, but only 4 hens were within gun range. I will be out there again on Sunday.

[sean01]

Is there any state land down there that is worth trying.

I have not tryed that area before but i was planing on driving down and trying something different than around the cities. Try to get the dog some action before going to sd at the end of the month. Thanks for the info !!!!

[grab the net]

I hunted the Marshall area and west around the first deer hunting weekend. I also saw a lot of birds, but the area does get hit hard on the weekends. Educated birds. If you do go, I would try and hunt a wednesday/thursday trip if possible. Seems liek the birds settle down and get back to a more approachable state. Best advice I can give from now to the end of the season, sneak in, be very quiet, no yelling at the dog,not a lot of talking amonst the hunters, always walk in to the wind, even if it means a 1/4 mile hike through plowing and BE QUIET. That will give you the extra advantage you need to put a couple in the game pouch.

Hen to rooster ratio was very high from what I saw. Many more hens than roosters. Although some people thought the the slayton area was very good. Might be worth checking that out also.

[Bigfife]

There is tons of state land around here. If you head west into Lincoln County, there are even more. I am driving to Brookings, SD tomorrow so I might hit a few of these places on the way back. Next weekend through the rest of the season should be pretty quiet. Most of the locals throw in the towel after deer hunting or when the first white flakes fly. I can't wait for some snow because I have some real good cover picked out for winter weather. If you come to Marshall, go to Borch's Sporting Goods, where I work, and get a local map of all the WMAs.

Dan