5 day trip for pheasant in December. Where would you go?
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Spedray
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Hunted Friod area on Saturday. There are quite a few people pheasant hunting still. it looks like there were a few camps set up in town. All the areas we went to already had boot tracks through them. Kicked up lots of hens but very few roosters. If you found the heavy cover they were holding tight thougb. I actually stepped on one and had to lift up my foot to let her fly. However the goose hunting on the Missouri has been amazing. Most farmers will let you field hunt if you ask. We limited out most days by 10.
We haven’t seen any other hunters in the area we are, but there are fresh tire tracks in front of some of the BMA sign in spots.
Yesterday we got 3 phez and 4 sharpies. Would have liked to have gotten more considering how much we walked but I can’t complain. Toughest thing going for us is my buddy brought his dads one year old dog along and to put it bluntly this dog is despicable. Been tough keeping classic Minnesota nice passive aggressive comments to myself.
Yesterday we got 3 phez and 4 sharpies. Would have liked to have gotten more considering how much we walked but I can’t complain. Toughest thing going for us is my buddy brought his dads one year old dog along and to put it bluntly this dog is despicable. Been tough keeping classic Minnesota nice passive aggressive comments to myself.
OntarioHunter
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Good to hear you are getting birds. Guess the spell of mild weather is still holding up? How about those sharpies. Have you ever seen anything like that? My brother and I watched a hoard of them fly over the highway that I thought at first was migrating blackbirds. Must have been over a hundred.
Sorry to hear about your dog woes. Been there. Ten years ago my cousin and his kid came up to hunt and they brought the lad's useless Lab along. Gawdam thing was running all over the place pushing up birds out of range, chasing deer, rabbits, etc. I finally talked him into leaving it in the vehicle so we could get something done with my two Labs. It chewed up a seat ... thankfully in his rig. There really is no excuse for taking a dog in the field when it's totally devoid of any obedience training. Leave it in the backyard all the time and what did he expect? Too bad you couldn't come up earlier. You could have watched a couple of outstanding dogs at work. Guess they should be outstanding considering how much time we spend in the field. Maybe next year?
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243varmint
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The UK for driven high bird pheasants.
Earlier today, we drove by a group of sharpies down a two track on a BMA we were hunting. The birds looked nervous but we kept driving and stopped a little ways ago and quick jumped out and got ready.
Now, in this situation, I figured it would be best to just walk up quietly ourselves, no dog, and try to get as close as possible before they flush. He said he wanted to let his dads dog out, I said “maybe we should just sneak up on our own?” And he said “but Max needs the experience”
In my head, I think how absurd it is to think walking up to some birds 100 yards away will result in any kind of dog work that would build needed experience.
I couldn’t hold the MN Nice back any further. I looked him dead in the eyes and said “we didn’t drive to Montana to do dog training”
He just scoffed and the let the dog out anyways. Not soon after the dog got way ahead of and the covey flushed. About 5 minutes the later the dog found a porcupine and even that didn’t get him put back in the truck.
Now, in this situation, I figured it would be best to just walk up quietly ourselves, no dog, and try to get as close as possible before they flush. He said he wanted to let his dads dog out, I said “maybe we should just sneak up on our own?” And he said “but Max needs the experience”
In my head, I think how absurd it is to think walking up to some birds 100 yards away will result in any kind of dog work that would build needed experience.
I couldn’t hold the MN Nice back any further. I looked him dead in the eyes and said “we didn’t drive to Montana to do dog training”
He just scoffed and the let the dog out anyways. Not soon after the dog got way ahead of and the covey flushed. About 5 minutes the later the dog found a porcupine and even that didn’t get him put back in the truck.
OntarioHunter
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Sounds like more than the dog needs obedience training!
Sorry I couldn't hang around a couple more days and give you some other options. But I was legally bound to fourteen day quarantine at home as soon as I crossed the border. As it is now I won't get out of lockdown until the 23rd. Only one day to do any Christmas shopping ... if there is any Christmas shopping. Thousand dollar fine and possible lockup for violating quarantine (lodging at my expense!). I can't even go out to walk the dogs. They are going through some serious bird hunting withdrawal symptoms now. Poor buggers pester me all day long.
Best conditions for hunting sharpies is a very windy day. Get downwind and work your way to them. Dog is definitely not needed. Cripples generally don't go anywhere. Hunt them down with the dog later. When they flush just wait for the wind to blow them to you. Sharpies are poor flyers ... flap, flap, coast, flap, flap, coast.
Is that a Gordon setter? I've heard it's hit or miss with that breed. Looks like you got stuck with a miss.
Edit: Just got an email from feds with quarantine details. Federal fine can be up to $1M and/or three years in the slammer if I break quarantine and make someone sick. They are serious about COVID prevention up here. And so am I.
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OntarioHunter
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I have a miniature Gerber multitool in my upland vest for these occasions. So far never had to use it, though dogs have encountered porkies frequently. Knock on wood!
Sounds like more than the dog needs obedience training!
Sorry I couldn't hang around a couple more days and give you some other options. But I was legally bound to fourteen day quarantine at home as soon as I crossed the border. As it is now I won't get out of lockdown until the 23rd. Only one day to do any Christmas shopping ... if there is any Christmas shopping. Thousand dollar fine and possible lockup for violating quarantine (lodging at my expense!). I can't even go out to walk the dogs. They are going through some serious bird hunting withdrawal symptoms now. Poor buggers pester me all day long.
Best conditions for hunting sharpies is a very windy day. Get downwind and work your way to them. Dog is definitely not needed. Cripples generally don't go anywhere. Hunt them down with the dog later. When they flush just wait for the wind to blow them to you. Sharpies are poor flyers ... flap, flap, coast, flap, flap, coast.
Is that a Gordon setter? I've heard it's hit or miss with that breed. Looks like you got stuck with a miss.
Yep. It’s a Gordon. I really don’t know a whole lot about them but my buddy and his dad get their dogs from a guy that is super into game trails, so I feel like these dogs are bred to run these long loops to find pen raised quail, but it doesn’t work so well on wild birds.
He’s a super sweet dog and might be better at some point, it’s just a tough pill to swallow hunting with a bad dog considering the money and PTO spent on a trip like this.
Learning a lot about a new area tho, so it’s still fun.
My buddy and the other guy I’m with are both combat medics in National Guard so they were both quick to spring into action.
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2rocky
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I recall a buddy of mine from Nevada on a guided elk hunt. They were riding back to camp and the guide starts working on leg cues on the green horse he was riding. My buddy said quite pointedly, "I came here to kill an elk, not watch you train an f'ing horse".
It is tough though when you got people on a bird hunt with different ideas of a "Good Hunt". My trip this last fall was similar in that my cousin wanted to "kill lots of birds" while my dad and uncle wanted to have their dogs work. We ended up leaving the pointers in the truck when we walked standing corn , and splitting up when the hunt was walking the creek sides. That way each dog had his own side of the creek without other dogs or people interfering. There was a few points we announced as "training birds" meaning the dog needed a good outcome regardless of what came up. I learned pretty fast that there were situations that were going to be guaranteed poor outcomes with the pointers. Heavy cover and limited visibility, combined with a bunch of birds flushing wild pretty much undid any training that might have happened. Singles in scattered cover and 2 or 3 shooters let the dog hone in on one bird and taught or reinforced training best.
huntin24/7
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This thread makes me appreciate the times I hunt solo and the fact that I’m very particular about who hunts with me. You’re a good patient friend.
OntarioHunter
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Yep, it's why I prefer hunting alone. No one's agenda but mine.
A couple of weeks ago about an hour before end of shooting the birds were everywhere all of a sudden. Hundreds of pheasants were in the air all around us. Been years since I'd seen anything like that. My Lab Ellie was having a ball. But she still stayed focused, pointing up bird after bird. It was a great learning opportunity for her.
Heavy cover is usually a bust for pointing dogs. I will let my Fr Britt work the Russian olive thickets till she doesn't check back in. Then quietly release Lab Ellie: "Puppy's got a bird." And hope it exits my direction when flushed. Cattails are best worked with Ellie alone. Too noisy in there and the birds always know where I am. Requires a very close working dog ... in good shape. That stuff is brutal going for both man and dog.
D
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So a prairie grouse that routinely flies between roosting cover and feeding areas is a poor flyer? Ooookay. That's like saying pintails are poor flyers.
BrentD
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I've flushed winter flocks in Nebraska that finally disappeared from view at about 4 miles.
I think they fly just fine. Better than fine actually.
OntarioHunter
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By poor flyer I meant they handle the wind poorly ... which was the context. They glide as much as they pump air. Consequently, when they stop flying and go to glide mode, the wind will often push them to you when flushed and you're approaching downwind. Yes, on a windless day I have watched them disappear out of sight ... but mostly gliding. If the wind is blowing hard they seldom fly very far. Also, I seldom observe sharpies feeding very far from their roost. If feeding on Russian olive, they only leave the spot for gravel.
Comparing a sharpie's flight to that of any waterfowl is apples and lunar cheese.
Well, today was another big kick in the nuts. Went to a super cool BMA we named “@#)(# draw” on account of all the @#)(# pheasants in there.
I shot one bird in there after a 7.4 mile jaunt up, down and around every cut there was. Saw many... many birds 200 yards away due to the dog.
I couldn’t help but wonder what I could have done out here with my old bird dog. No sense thinking too hard on it cause my old bird dog is dead and we ain’t ever gonna drift around the high plains together.
I will come back here either with a few doe tags in my pocket, or with my own bird dog. Gotta marry my girlfriend before we got a dog together tho, so I guess that means it’s time to go ring shopping.
I shot one bird in there after a 7.4 mile jaunt up, down and around every cut there was. Saw many... many birds 200 yards away due to the dog.
I couldn’t help but wonder what I could have done out here with my old bird dog. No sense thinking too hard on it cause my old bird dog is dead and we ain’t ever gonna drift around the high plains together.
I will come back here either with a few doe tags in my pocket, or with my own bird dog. Gotta marry my girlfriend before we got a dog together tho, so I guess that means it’s time to go ring shopping.
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BrentD
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Lol the only thing worse than a dog out of wedlock is a kid out of wedlock!Skip the ring, invest in the dog. She will understand.
Mine did.
