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Rate your 08-09 upland season


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Ok crew, what were your highlights? Did you gain any good techniques? Did you have a new dog? Did you have a final season with an old friend/dog? Give us the good stuff! Let's stay with the good and forget about the bad! Tell us what has secured the year, or a favorite day this season to your memory!

Let me start. I got to spend quite a few hours in the field with some new hunting partners. Perchpounder and his brother. I also got to take some great FM staff members out a couple of times, these are guys who haven't or don't hunt pheasants. This was really fun. I again, am amazed by my canine buddies Rip and Chase my two labs. And we have made a date for the next year, to make my Black Rip become a daddy. He is undoubtedly the best dog I have ever owned and he was wonderfully trained and honestly performs as good as I could expect and I feel good in seeing the pure excitement and joy he shows every minute we are in the field together. I will admit I did not hunt as many days this year as I have in the past, but I am ok with that, I admit, I may have spent too much time in the field before (I used to hunt over 80% of the days in the season). I did not take my annual trip to SD, by choice, because I really appreciate the actual hunt here better. Don't get me wrong I love the numbers in SD, but love the time I spend doing it here in SW Mn more. I had a fun year, I learned some great lessons, like I do everytime I hit the field and can't wait to do it all over again next year. I can only hope your days spent in the field were as good as mine!

I would like to add, that I appreciate the good stuff I picked up in here. And would like to thank you all for being civil, well spoken and helpful in making this upland forum a fun place to learn, grow, and appreciate upland hunting. Thank You!

Lets hear you highlights!

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I don't have a lot to share muc33. Afterall, I did have to miss out on the man-barn gathering. blush

Anyhow, I did make it out a few times this year. Each time I was on public land and only once did I NOT come home with something.

This tells me one thing: Our groups in MN who do the leg work of obtaining land to open to the public and improving habitat i.e. Pheasants Forever, DU and the NWTF are efforts that are very much appreciated.

One area only 10 miles from home had birds everytime I went out. This area is only approx. 120 acres and gets hit hard every weekend.

Although I didn't spend the time in the field that I wanted, I enjoyed myself to the fullest. Especially this last weekend when we kicked up well over 100 birds out of one slough right here in MN.

I'll end my post by giving a HUGE THANKS to those who are involved in any of the wildlife organizations in MN. You've done an outstanding job in creating crucial habitat for our state's wildlife.

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i got out once and it was a bust...we had private land to hunt on but it was absolutly nothing...few strips of grass and a hill...thats it...

pretty crappy way to spend your last upland season before college...luckily for me im going to Iowa State so hopefully i will be able to do some hunting down there next fall

this seasons rating 0.5 out of ten

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One of my best ever, despite only average bird numbers. Here are the highlights.

1) New shorthair pup. She's dynamite...undoubtedly will be the best I've ever had.

2) Got another year out of the "old" shorthair. She's still pretty solid as well.

3) Hunted more than usual...gave up deer stands during the rut to do so. Thought it was the right thing to do when trying to give experience to a young pup.

4) Bagged a total of 32 birds...all within 10 miles of my home.

5) Never got skunked. Close a couple of times, but always scratched out at least 1.

Great 08 season...can't wait till 09.

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I also had a very good season. Maybe a few birds less than last year but still plenty to go around. One of the highlights was hunting with my brother who had moved back from Texas and Florida after 27 years. I was amazed how hard my 8.5 year old dog can still go. I think I'm just getting older and slower and she can still go like a two year old. Enjoyed hunting with my buddie's poinitng lab who is getting better every year. He's a hard charging duck dog who also is a solid pheasant dog. Pretty neat when you know there's a bird right under his nose when he's on point. Still enjoy hunting the big frozen over cattail sloughs late season. That's my favorite way to hunt and we had a couple of real good ones. Like everybody has said habitat is the key. My buddy bought 40 acres of land six years ago to build a house on in the near future and the rest of it is in CRP and cedars that he planted. The second to the last weekend of the season he had at least a 100 birds in his six year old cedars. He was pretty proud of that and it was one of the highlights of the season for me knowing how hard he has worked to develop that habitat. All in all a very good year.

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Quality was good, quantity (number of outings) was horrible. Had good quality birdwork and a lot of nice points, including some very memorable ones, when I was able to go. Just didn't get out there very much. frown

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Well the number of outings was down this year due to the 1 year old that attends daddy day care in the winter. I would sum up this year like every year for me.

Didn't get out enough.

Dogs are better than I deserve.

Shooting is worse than I remember.

Can't wait for next year.

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One of my best years. My best dog ever is in his prime at just under 5 years. It has been a pleasure working behind him this season. My shooting was actually good for a change as the only missed birds were early season in ND when you're seeing who knows how many birds each day and it really doesn't matter if you miss, except for the ribbing from my friends. (normally I miss 1 out of 3 or so) I would say the highlight was pheasant hunting out of state the first ever for ND opener. I still would have liked to have gotten out more but that seems to be a common theme here. It was a good season.

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A 2 with a sigh.... did not get out enough, old dog got injured. Had fun with new dog taining. Did not get her on enough birds though. Birds were not as abundant as last year. Crossing my fingers for this years herd it does not look like a good winter for them.

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Had an awesome season. Let me reiterate. My "real" season doesn't begin until typically Thanksgiving which was the case this year. For me, real pheasant hunting is the late season where we are pounding (or getting pounded may be a better statement) in the cattails.

Seems sooo long ago, but things started out with the annual tournament that the father in-law puts on (game farm). Took 1st in the 1 man/1 dog and 2nd in the 2man/2dog. Then to SD for the opener out there. It's more like shooting out there then hunting for me as it doesn't seem fair to only hunt for a couple/three hours and have your limit of 18-24birds depending on who was with.

Then some bow hunting, farming, deer hunting took over. Now fast forward to Thanksgiving for the REAL start of hunting...

From this point to the end of the season my focus was getting out with dad. He is the one solely respospnsible for my addiction to chasing these critters. I can remember the days when I was out there at 5 yrs old, lagging way behind, digging holes in snow banks to hunker into to stay out of the wind while he went and walked a piece of cover. Well it's still the most rewarding to go out and shoot some birds with dad and we did just that.

We were eating pheasants left and right this fall. Ended with many game filled bags off of our farm and I had probably my second best number of birds year ever. Many moments of exictement coupled by moment of shooting frustration. All of which turn into great laughs and conversation over a couple of drinks after a days hunt.

Guns are dirty, clothes are worn and have barbed wire tears in them, dogs bodies are skinny with noses and eyes having hair worn off. Time to clean replenish and reminisce on a great year with the best hunting partner I'll ever have!

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It was a nice season for me, numbers were down because of family health issues - my Dad died - I couldn't get out as much early on and it also caused me to miss my second trip to SoDak, learned the hard lesson about keeping the auto clean, should have taken it in before the season, but the same health issues also made me appreciate every time out, I did have some memorable hunts. Hi-light of the season was my 12 year old lab still keeping up the pace with my 5 year old lab, shes still one heck of a dog. Looking forward to next season!

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My 08-09 was season was great. Just went by way too fast!

Summer Training consisted of preparation and running in AKC hunt tests for both my dogs and a NAVHDA Natural Ability Test for my youngest dog.

Pheasant season was fantastic and I had a blast working 2 dogs for the first time. I really limited myself from hunting with larger parties this year so that my dogs would be able to focus better with less distractions.

I really focused hunting by myself so alot of our hunting was done on Public land vs Private. It was a great challenge and a fun learning experience compared to how I have hunted in past years.

Birds were never hard to find except early season when alot of the corn was in. I just waited until dusk to hunt most days instead of walking all day with limited success.

My oldest dog just gets better and better with each hunt. Hes not %100 percent finished but is a great hunter has a great nose, with solid points and backing.

Youngest dog really surprised me for his age. He has lots of intensity and prey drive. Pointing and backing was great but where he really shined was on tracking and retreiving of down birds. He was always the first to find a downed bird that we couldnt find, and retreived to hand with no issues.

All in all I dont regret having 2 dogs instead of one. Its little bit more work but it also yields that much more rewards.

There are several days this year where I probably wouldnt have even needed to carry a gun and would have called a day in the field a success.

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This was probably my best year so far. Limited out on Pheasants quite a few days. My dog Champ, is 3 now and was doing better than ever, with major improvements through out the season. Hunted with some buddies that have not hunted many pheasants before. I thought the numbers were pretty good, despite all the bad reports. I shot my first grouse this year also. And the Ultimate highlight of my year was the day that I shot a Pi-bald Pheasant (that will be mounted), and a few minutes later shot another cock for my limit all in about 20 minutes.

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Had a great and memorable season. In December of 08, my wife finally broke and let me get my first dog, a Vizsla. I was able to do quite a bit of yard and field work with my trainer in the spring and got him out to a few game farms before the season opened. Even before he was one he was working nicely and getting me some great points. We had a few successful wild hunts in MN, and a really nice hunt in SD. All in all I was impressed with his first season, really all I wanted to do was build his drive, and he sure did that. It was great to get back to upland hunting as I had taken quite a few years off without a dog.

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By far the most birds I've seen on public land due to the late harvest. Hope it happens again next year.

Highlights: Took my 7 year old son out for the first time just walking along and had a great time. Got out about 10 times with my dad which is the main reason for hunting. Our griffon pup pointed better as the season progressed. Didn't have to drive far to get into birds.

Lowlights: My golden injured himself 2 days before the season started so we took out the griffon pup most of the time. My shooting was terrible, will have to join a trap league or at least go and practice. Steel #4 doesn't do much if you shoot a bird going away. Those roosters must have armor on the backside.

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This was my first season and I had a blast! I only made it out for five days, but I enjoyed every day I was out. I thought the numbers were pretty good, although a higher rooster to hen ration would ahve been good (especially on the last outing, saw 50+ hens and only 3 roosters, only one rooster close enough to take shots at!). Unfortunately I was skunked this season, I attribute that to me being unable to hit a flying barn! My dog was wonderful this year and is really getting the hang of it. My father in law hunts him nearly every weekend (my father in law has the luxury of lots of vacation time and the funds to afford to go every weekend, can't wait for that time). I have a chocolate lab and the last time we were out he pointed numerous birds and held up like a champ in the cold wind and snow! Can't wait for next year :-)

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It was the best year for me in many. Had family here from Minnesota and did very well. Had freinds here from Alabama and did very well. It is fun watching different breeds of dogs work. Some good, and some not so good. Some of the southern trained dogs seem to run to big from the hunters but that is the way they like it I guess. Most of there hunting is pen raised birds that don't run like our Phesants. They are learning to keep there dogs a little closer in this country.

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Mine was great!!! I made my first bird hunting trip to Montana with a few friends. Shot my first sharptail and hun out there along with some pheasants and a ruffed grouse. We all shot sharpies and huns, lots of sharptails. The conditions were tough but my pup did pretty well for his second season. I wish they had more jobs there, I'd move in a heartbeat. I suspect it won't be my last trip there, it better not be.

I also shot my first ruffed grouse over a point from my pup. It wasn't his first point, he's had many, I will only shoot a flushing bird so given my shooting ability it has taken a little longer than should have to get the first. Found some new places for grouse and woodcock, actually moved quite a few woodcock this year which is always fun. Overall the pup still needs a little work/expereince but he's starting to catch on to how too handle grouse. Overall I think he's doing very well.

I need to improve the shooting but all in all it was a great year.

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Using a scale of one to ten, ten being best

Number of times I got out - a 5

Seemed to only get about half as much as last year. Can't really explain why, not near as many after work hunts or taking off early.

Number of Birds shot - a 5, 20 birds

I shot just under half of what I did last year.

Dog work - Duey did his job for the most part. Some memorable retrieves, a half dozen or so great points on roosters. Tons more on hens.

Shooting - a 7.5

I shot fairly well this year, didn't really get into a slump at any time. Made some great shots and of course missed some really easy ones.

Biggest disappointment was I did not shoot one double this year. Last year I shot three. My late season hunting was not as good as last year. Again not sure why, My last hunt was in good country, but the birds were very spooky/jumpy. We blanked on the last trip. Saw well over two hundred birds with many roosters but no opportunities.

I also lost some private ground this year, it was sold and the new owners family hunts.

In my home area, early I doubted the bird numbers, thought they were low, we did have a poor nesting season. Now with them bunched up feeding in the snow covered fields I can see that there were still quite a few around. I wonder how far they will travel to flock up like this and feed together.

One highlight was my first MN three bird limit. I like it and don't think it will have any negative consequence on the resource.

Overall, I give the season a 6.5 out of 10.

And just like the rest off you, I am already counting down to the next opener.

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Just a quick thought from me;

Hunting was awesome except for one day!!

Got out about 1/2 the amount I have in years past?

Dog had an awsome 2nd year!!!

Shooting was bad.....again!!

Got the about 10 birds and the one I really wanted for years, the one for the wall!!!

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The season was great because the light can on for my dog. This is her second year hunting and she did great. I couldnt have asked for more out of my dog then what i got this year. This was the best late season hunting i have ever had. On the last day of the season i hunted with 7 other people and we limited out in 1.5 hours out by Chamberlin SD. The first thick food plot we stepped into i bet there had to be 150 birds in there. It was the largest flush i have ever seen. I can wait to do it again next year.

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Didn't get out as much this year as i would have liked, but at an rate the times i did it was great. Shot well, and found birds about everywhere, even with all the corn. Just moved up to fargo last april and hoping to jump some North Dakota roosters next year!

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This year...... hmmmmmm......

Well hunting mostly by myself with the 2 year old "Gus the Dog" was, well... memorable. I hunted darn near every weekend, mostly for grouse. Watching the young setter start to mature and trust his instincts and gain confidence was absolutely awesome. By the seasons he had the hunting thing down, it was beautiful. Unfortunatley, the dogs master had his worst shooting slump of my life. Skip one season of trap shooting and everything goes to [PoorWordUsage]. The big O-fer! Utterly unbeleivable. Easily 80+ flushes, maybe a hundred. A good, 30+ solid points and and I couldn't hit squat (in my rationalizing defense I will say I was paying too much attention to the dogs detail then to the actual birds). Well, I can only say its the stuff of legends are made of hahahaha!!!! Anyway, its not the quantity, its the quality. And the hunts I had certainly had that. Can't wait for next year.

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It was a decent year. Not the best, but far from the worst. 2nd year Lab finally figured it out, and the middle aged wonderLab, did outstanding as always.

Didn't get to some areas that I usually hunt, due to money and weather, but hunted some others, that will be revisited wink Probably didn't see quite as many birds as the last couple of years, but certainly enough to keep going.

I was fortunate enough to have my normal after Thanksgiving streak, where I swear there was no pellets in the shells, to being able to "use the force"....LOL, and smack everything within reason towards the end.

All in all, can't complain.

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I haven't hung up the spurs yet. I still have a few out of state trips planned to chase grouse before the season is over.

My older dog still has a superior nose and bird sense, but at 9 years old he is finally starting to lose some stamina. It hurts me physically to watch him grow old. A dogs life is too short, it's especially true when they are one of the great ones.

My younger dog (5 years old now) has been fair to middling. He has a good cold nose and tracks pheasants like a champ, but he's never had any more sense than a tree stump and has only ever pointed a few handful of grouse in hundreds of contacts.

This was my first season after becoming a new dad. I still got to do a fair amount of hunting (My wife is a saint), but not as much as I normally do. I also went from shooting several thousand clay targets a year to only a handful. I could see the affect on my hunting success.

Bird numbers have been great. I hunted three states for pheasants this year and if it got any easier it would hardly be hunting. Grouse hunting wasn't quite as good, but there are more than enough birds to hold my attention. I really enjoy watching my old dog bingo grouse. He scarecely bumped a bird all season, that's saying something for the speed he works at.

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