Recent Rooster Reports

[CommonSense Guy]

Or driving?

[grab the net]

I have been seeing lots of hens and even they are jumpy on the public stuff I hunt. My most recent sucess has been after about an hour and fifteen minute drive. Seems like more birds and not as many hunters in the area. Public stuff around my neck of the woods look like a herd of cattle have gone through the cattails. Easy walking, but not so many roosters anymore. Hard to believe, only a few days left. Going SW for Christmas, hope to sneak away for a couple of short hunts while there.

[Duncan7709]

I went today on to some public land and we didn't put any birds in the bag but we shot at four roosters and saw a bunch of hens. There was only one group of three hens the rest were just singles. I thought we did pretty good for late season public land.

[123fish]

Got one out of a road ditch yesterday. He got up a bit behind me and was quickly disappearing with the 30 mph northwest wind and I just whirled around and shot. Rolled him right down the gravel road. My best shot of the year hands down.

[fivebucks]

Hunted Sat. on public cattails and for the first time this year did not bring home a bird. I only got up 1 skittish hen 100 yards in front of me. I wasn't able to find the pocket of birds this time. The snow is crusty now and the dogs feet got a little cut up. One or two more times left this season. One a side note I have a pheasant stroganoff cooking in the crock pot for tonights meal. Yum Yum

[123fish]

Hunted a giant of a public cattail slough for three hours yesterday. Had one sort of chance that probably should have made. Saw lots of hens with the dog catching one (I hate that). Did see a few roosters but they were very skittish and flushed well out of range. fivebucks was right on about the snow being crusty and I think the birds were keeping track of where I was at all times. I do believe that was the longest I have ever hunted this place with out actually getting a bird. Oh well part of the plan was to burn some calories that have been packed on over the last few days and that goal was definitely accomplished. Will give it another try in a little bit.

[123fish]

More birds and less exercise this morning. Saw five roosters and a hen feeding in some chisel plowed corn at 8:55 a.m. Came at them in a direction that would push them into some nearby weeds which worked. Dog pushed one up and I dropped a leg on him and missed the second shot and he flew across the highway and landed in a harvested corn field just short of a half mile away. Couldn't see exactly where he landed but had a pretty good mark on the general area. Continued on and missed one that I probably should have had with a decent shot and had another one get up out of range and land about two hundred yards away along a creek in the type of grass that we call thigh master grass. The yellow thigh high stuff. Had a good mark on him and went straight for him. Got over to where he was and the dog immeditaley was looking right in front of her for him. She made her move and up he came and I dusted him. Headed across the highway to look for the first one that I dropped the leg on figuring he might have holed up with the broken leg. Took a little bit to get my exact mark back being that far away but got in the general area of where I thought he was and looked around a bit and there he layed dead in a snowy corn row. A big old bruiser of a longspur. When I cleaned him he had the broken leg and one pellet in the lung which must have been what killed him. Glad I made the effort to take a look. It would have been a shame to waste a bird like that. That's late season rooster hunting. One day three hours of nothing and the next day two in twenty minutes. Gotta love it.

[grab the net]

Hunted about 4 hours yesterday,with my brother-in-law, 2 birds bagged, one each. We each missed an opportunity with no excuses but poor shooting. Saw tons of birds which is always fun. Made it out this morning for a short hunt, B-inlaw dropped one without the dog nearby, must have been a runner with alot of other scent on the ground, we did not recover the bird, another of those vanished into thin air. I did not get a chance at a bird. It was fun to watch Duey follow scent belonging to a set of tracks in the fresh snow and have the bird bust out of the cats. With only a week left, from what I saw there will apparently be a lot of 2nd year birds for the 08 season. Lots of birds feeding in the fields this morning. Many times you could see 40-50 birds in plowing and identify 12-15 roosters.

[CodyDawg]

Got out a little over the weekend and got 6 birds for 3 guys in about an hour and a half. Saw a lot. Thank goodness for the family get togethers, we are using them up as fast as we can get them.

[PikeBayCommanche]

Went out here in central Iowa today. A lot of birds out feeding. Got 2 big birds and saw many ahead of us. Not me but others in our group missed a few easy shots. Oh well.

Could be a good last few weeks if you get to the field at the right time.

Dog had fun and made a few retrieves. Good to work off some of the christmas calories..... man i am beat now.

Good Luck all you late season rooster chasers.

[2 DA GILLS]

I have a vacation day to burn, so I am headed out tomorrow in the early AM. Figure I will head west until 9 am. I guess I will have to stop if I hit SD. Hoping for 2 more days in the field before the season ends, if I am lucky maybe even 3 more days.

[2 DA GILLS]

It was great day to be out, but maybe too nice. I got one and missed one (real easy shot too). I did not find near the amount of birds in the cover that I was anticipating, but they were out in the fields feeding for a good portion of the day. The one bird that I got the dog made an excellent retrieve which was nice to see.

[fishlakeman]

I was able to get out with the family yesterday from 9am to 1pm. We hunted our family's land in Appleton and ended up with 8 roosters. We definately were in late-season shooting form, going 8 for 8 on birds the dogs put up, with some being pretty tough shots.

We don't have much for cattails, but did find the birds hanging around the thick cover around the creeks. Did have one rooster holding in a blown-over CRP field nestled in a piece of cover no larger than himself. It was a very mature bird and the dog had to jump on the cover about 5 times before he finally busted. We found no birds in the very thick willow groves suprisingly.

Also, we saw at least 200 birds feeding in fields off of HWY 12. Still a lot of roosters around.

Here's a couple pics from the hunt.

[2 DA GILLS]

Hunted my last day of the season yesterday. I had 3 opportunities with roosters close enough for good shots. Missed the first one, connected on the second and I was falling through the ice on the third bird (so I did not get off a shot). Overall, it was a very good season by my standards. Strong bird numbers, dog work that continues to get better, but inconsistent shooting on my part.

I do have one question. When we get the snow cover that covers the tops of the cattails. You know where there is a canopy of snow on top and very little snow on the ground below. Do the birds just run on you? I know the dog was on birds the last two times out, but we could not get that many birds to fly.

[BLACKJACK]

Was out on Sat around my place with another guy, two hours and four birds, we found most of the birds in the cattails. Four birds in four shots, no misses - I hate walking for hours and then missing! Hoping to sneak out of work a little early today and take one last hike after them.

[123fish]

Was out Saturday also. After three hours of nothing but hens and not even seeing a rooster I was heading into the ninth and last spot of the day when I noticed the dog all cocked up and looking under a head high cedar tree. Figured it was a cottontail for sure and just like that out popped a rooster. Got him and while she was retrieving him saw another one running down the row between the cedars and eventually made down to the area and got him. Tough hunting but you can go from a zero to a hero in a hurry. Maybe try once more today.

[Northland Sportsman]

I was out on my property on Sat afternoon, got one rooster out of the swamp with good dog work and a nice shot. Also got one grouse, flushed tree others but no shots. It is thick in the woods with all the snow on the trees, those birds disappear fast. Got out yesterday afternoon with a friend on his property. We ended up with only one in the bag buy should have had 3. Flushed 9 hens in the first 10 min. We must have had about 30 birds flushing wild in front of us and the dogs out in cattails. We should have worked the wind better. I missed a fairly easy shot on another one. It was great to see the number of birds even though we didn't get a lot of shooting on them. I still have another trip planned and think that there is still some great hunting to be had!

The wife said she seen about a dozen fly into our unpicked corn field late morning, but I was busy with the honey-do list so she didn't tell me until later. It is great to see the bird numbers.

[Shoot2Kill]

Got one on Saturday - left the house at 4:00 on the wheeler and rode back to a strip of cat tails 1/2 mile behind my house...parked and walked 100 yards to the cat tails and up jumped a big ol bird in the first 10 steps of the slough...drilled him on my second shot. 24 inch tail feathers...nearly 1/2 inch spurs...love those big ones. Pushd the next 50 yards of cat tails with nothing more....back to the wheeler and home by 4:25. Love those short hunts.

Sunday hunted the same place in late afternoon...I usually walk and stop about ever 10 feet in the cat tails this late in the season - seems to work well....I was doing my usual, no birds yet....half way through I was changing gloves - in mid change a rooster jumps up 5 feet behind me and catches me completely off guard with my gloves all jacked up and I couldn't get the bead on him quick enough....that lucky bastard. Hit another chunk of cat tails and jumped another lone rooster and got him. I absolutely love late season hunting in the thick stuff. Watching them jump out of the snowy cat tails is awesome.

Heading to ND for the rest of the week to hunt some birds on a buddies 160 acres that haven't been shot at all year! Can't wait.

[BLACKJACK]

Made it out one last time on Monday, skipped out of work early, hit some cattail sloughs. At first the birds were giving me the slip, getting up at 50-60 yards, but I ran about 20 out the end of a slough, then when I followed up in the direction that that they flew, a smaller ring of cattails, I ended up getting one rooster, and then another 200 yards later, the second rooster. A nice way to end the season with my 11 year old dog, she rousted both of them out of the cattails. Love the sound of those pheasants beating their way out of the cattails and the rush when you realize its a rooster!

I must be getting old, yesterday afternoon I watched 8 pheasants run into my food plot, five of them were roosters, and I didn't even consider going after them.... Too darn cold and windy out!!!

[fivebucks]

Went out with 2 others for the season's last hurrah on Jan 1. It was ccccoold. Actually it wasn't that bad once you got moving but walking into the wind was a bit brisk. We ended the season on a great note, filling out by 12:30. All 3 of us had a bad miss and got ribbed from the others. The 3 dogs, all from the same litter, worked great and we were able to talk about past hunts over the past 20 years while driving to different spots. It was a very fun day and the first time I pheasant hunted in January. Now it's time to fire up the ice auger.

[Northland Sportsman]

I got out again on Mon & Tue afternoon. Mon I was alone, w/ the dog. I went to check my mail after skipping out of work early and about 15 birds flush right acroos from my mailbox, all came out of the pine tree in groups of 2-3. I went & got the gun and dog. We tried to chase the ones that flew on my property and flushed a couple of hens right away. Pushed thru the swamp and got 2 pairs of rossters to flush about 5 minutes apart. Due to house in background and narrow shot opportnuity I missed on the 2 I shot at .

Also flushed 3 grouse but no shots.

On tues afternoon went w/ 2 others. There were not a lot of birds around and the ones that were there were flushing wild. We had a poster get a few shots off w/out connecting. I had a nice rooster get up out of cattails in front of me and hit him w/a good second shot to drop him. He burried himself in some cattails but was dead when the dogs dug him out. Next we hit another swamp after a long hard walk thru the field. My buddy says he isn't even seeing any tracks and I just crossed some. I stop for a minute to respond to him and another nice rooster bust out ten yards behind me. A good shot drops him dead. We walked more swamp and flushed a few more hens, but no other roosters. We had a great year with meat in the freezer and lots of birds still flying. The dogs feet also got beat up in the snow but she can rest now. I can't wait 'til next season!

[CodyDawg]

Finished with a flurry. Got out twice over the long weekend and it was awesome. 4 of us had all kinds of fun on Friday. I passed on 10, yes 10 roosters after I had shot my 2 and we were trying to get the last guy to get his birds. Monday it was a little tougher, but still managed to get our birds. Unbelievable year.