Pheasant tips

[OntarioHunter]

I started a series of tips on pheasant hunting last year for another forum that's now been obliterated by spammers and abusive Trumplodite propagandists (be thankful there is a moderator over here!). Anyway, I finished up #3 the other day during the blizzard here. It's a rather timely topic since it discusses clothing issues (and I had some issue to deal with hunting yesterday). These tips are long and illustrated so I have prepared them in PDF. Some fun involved to keep them from being terribly boring. Let's see if I can make a PDF attach. Looks like maybe it did. Any thoughts or suggestions will be welcome. Decided to finish the series for my daughter and grandson. Enjoy.

 

[MNElkNut]

Nice writeup. I agree with most of your comments, but the one about not wearing a stocking hat is downright laughable! I hunt MN, ND, MT, and SD and believe me, I am warm and toasty with a beanie. Should I get hot, it is easy to put in my pocket. Pulled over my ballcap on sunny days keeps the sun out of my eyes and my ears toasty.

You failed to mention chaps and gaiters. I am guessing you have yet to actually harvest a rooster with this most grave of transgressions, but keep trying, it will come! . Hunt many wet grasses or in snow and you will love gaiters. More snow and while walking through plants that want to spear you and you will love chaps. It doesn't get any better for late season hunting that a thin layer of long underwear (again, late season MN roosters at subzero weather require additional warmth!) under Sitka Timberline pants and a pair of chaps.

So although you play your part good enough for TV, with the oversights of hats, chaps and gaiters I think you need to study your script a bit more to pass the sniff test!

All in fun. All in fun. The pheasants are now in the cattails and willow swamps in MN. I love late season pheasant hunting!

Oh, one more thing, consider ditching the whistle and get a collar with a tone or vibrate feature. Nothing worse than tooting on your whistle and having birds blow up at 100 yards. With the vibrate feature, I never make an audible noise from when I leave the truck until I get back. Well, unless the gun barks, but that is by design!

Happy hunting and please post up some pictures of success! This was my last rooster of 2019 at -16F actual air temp.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Nice writeup. I agree with most of your comments, but the one about not wearing a stocking hat is downright laughable! I hunt MN, ND, MT, and SD and believe me, I am warm and toasty with a beanie. Should I get hot, it is easy to put in my pocket. Pulled over my ballcap on sunny days keeps the sun out of my eyes and my ears toasty.

You failed to mention chaps and gaiters. I am guessing you have yet to actually harvest a rooster with this most grave of transgressions, but keep trying, it will come! . Hunt many wet grasses or in snow and you will love gaiters. More snow and while walking through plants that want to spear you and you will love chaps. It doesn't get any better for late season hunting that a thin layer of long underwear (again, late season MN roosters at subzero weather require additional warmth!) under Sitka Timberline pants and a pair of chaps.

So although you play your part good enough for TV, with the oversights of hats, chaps and gaiters I think you need to study your script a bit more to pass the sniff test!

All in fun. All in fun. The pheasants are now in the cattails and willow swamps in MN. I love late season pheasant hunting!

Oh, one more thing, consider ditching the whistle and get a collar with a tone or vibrate feature. Nothing worse than tooting on your whistle and having birds blow up at 100 yards. With the vibrate feature, I never make an audible noise from when I leave the truck until I get back. Well, unless the gun barks, but that is by design!

Happy hunting and please post up some pictures of success! This was my last rooster of 2019 at -16F actual air temp.View attachment 161680

Muck Boots trump gaiters every time. Much warmer and same amount of protection. I don't find them terribly heavy either. Once upon a time I had batwing chaps for trail riding my pack string. Loved them for that. Not for walking! Too bulky. I am definitely not interested in an extra layer in warm weather. I can put up with the thistles.

Boy, it was miserable out there again today. Blowing and drifting. Snow was knee deep to waist deep and hard on top and more of it falling all day. Our tracks drifted shut in less than two hours. My Jimmy had to swim through several drifts to get back to town. A real whopper was piled up on the main drag next to the airport. Saw more pheasants today than any other day since I've been here. And that place gets hit hard being so close to town. First time I've been there this year. Almost all hens and never got a shot. But the Lab sure had fun.

I must wear glasses and for them a ball cap is essential. Otherwise I'm dealing with glare or rain on the lenses. Yes, I can pull a tuque over the ball cap for ear warmth (and I have one in my pack) but I'll go with a hood and ball cap if it gets that cold. Hood keeps my neck warm too. My waterfowl wading jacket's hood has been a life saver the last two days. In that wind a stocking cap wouldn't cut it. No way. I can zip up the collar and close up the hood around my face. For horrific conditions I have a polarfleece red "parrot hood" that's similar to a balaclava. It has a drawcord that will close the opening up to eyes only. Rarely use it. I find that when the tuque is pulled over a ball cap they both seem to wander on my head. That's also a problem with some hoods.

 

[MNElkNut]

I have Muck boots and they certainly have their place, but on a dew-filled morning when I am walking grass or a light snowfall, I would much rather go with gaiters. Much lighter and I would rather wear my hunting boots than Mucks for doing a lot of walking. To each his own.

Stocking hats have come a long way and wind is no longer an issue with them. Look at some of the Sitka or KUIU products and I think you will be impressed. I don't personally like a hood as it inhibits your hearing so much. I go with a neck gaiter if it is cold out. Very versatile in that you can pull it up over your nose or leave it down. Get hot? stuff it in your pocket.

I also carry a small first aid kit and a couple of magnum zip ties in case a dog encounters a conibear. The last thing I can think of is a small leg holder that I can use for some good in the field pictures of roosters draped over an old building, fence, log, etc.

 

[OntarioHunter]

No stocking cap will shield my glasses or shade my beaming face while waterfowl hunting. The parrot hood acts as a neck gator and it is preferred over hood in timber while stalking big game. Hearing is more critical there. Not so much out here where the wind is blowing hard most of the time. When the dog is birdy I pull back the hood even in a hurricane. Usually plenty of time for that. Both jacket hood or parrot hood can be removed and stashed in game bag or day pack. I would NOT buy any hooded outer wear that doesn't have a removable hood. Period.

I burn the tread off hiking boots in two or at most two and a half seasons. The straps on gators wouldn't last half a season on my feet. I know that because the nylon hiking boot lace loops of similar material won't last through one season even. Wild roses are tough customers!

Gators with hiking boots might be a good combination for the weekend hunter. But in fair weather the roosters will hide in wetlands. Sure, they make "waterproof" hiking boots (can you buy anything else these days?) but I have yet to own a pair of any make that retained its waterproofness more than one season. Goretex jackets the same. A semi-joke. Better than nothing but only barely. Of course I hunt a lot harder than the average guy. Muck Boots retain their waterproofness a lot longer than waterproof hiking boots. No question. There is a similar Mudd Boot with a much better sole and also half sizes (something Muck does not appear to offer). My brother bought a pair last year and I would have liked to give them a try but none in stock in my size. Waiting to see how they work for him. I certainly appreciate the added warmth of neoprene top Mucks up to my knees when wading through waist high drifts the last couple of days. Probably should don the wool pants over my jeans but they use up a lot of energy with limited motion. I need the increased flexibility in these unusual conditions. If I wasn't fighting drifted snow I would be wearing them for sure. It's a balancing act. God help me if I can't keep moving. Fortunately there's pretty good cell coverage out here now and I'm usually not too far from a ranch house.

My brother is headed over from the West Side in the next couple of days with two pairs of snow shoes. We will need them for deer hunting. Never thought I'd see that day come. Will be tough work with this hernia.

 

[rustneversleeps]

Im with MNElkNut - no way in hell im hiking miles in pheasant country with muck boots

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Like others have already comment in this thread
for late season wild roosters, I think one important tip is be as quiet as possible.
There is great satisfaction in getting a really close shot because of silence and a clueless rooster.

Typically truck is parked, doors are slammed and roosters are headed into the next county.
Hunter yells at his dog to try to "hunt close" and roosters are running into the next county.

 

[Guy]

Like others have already comment in this thread
for late season wild roosters, I think one important tip is be as quiet as possible.
There is great satisfaction in getting a really close shot because of silence and a clueless rooster.

Typically truck is parked, doors are slammed and roosters are headed into the next county.
Hunter yells at his dog to try to "hunt close" and roosters are running into the next county.

Yup. My dog and I try not to hunt that way, but it happens time to time...

Guy

 

[OntarioHunter]

By the end of season my dogs are now in the groove and need little direction. I hardly need to use the whistle now. I need to keep them working VERY close because the birds are super spooky at the public place I'm hunting. A lot of birds there but it takes some strategizing to get a shot.

I don't want to have to fumble with digging out a transmitter for e-collar. Both hands on the gun as much as possible. I can still hunt fairly quietly by voice if the dogs are close. Quiet enough to gather a limit of six on the last five days I hunted. And the last rooster was WAY to close.

 

[NR_Hunter]

I've got buddies that like muck boots, but I never wear mine pheasant hunting. Some wetter falls I probably wished I would tho. They just feel kind of clunky for me. I just wear jeans, but if its cold/windy/snowy I'll throw some chaps on, but I try to go as long as I can without them.

 

[MNElkNut]

Agreed NR Hunter. Because of how wet it is and the fact that the cattails havent froze yet, I have hunted the last few times in Muck boots. They keep your feet dry in ankle deep water. They are the right tool for that job. But then I wore my Schnees leather boots. OHMYGOSH, the difference is amazing. No way would I wear them when I could wear my leather boots.

As far as going silent, I like to use the vibrate feature on my dogs collar. In the thick willows, she has to be very close and the ability to communicate to her without voice or whistles is priceless.

 

[jcneng]

I have 50+ years of chasing roosters in SD and all over NE. Based on what I've read MNElkNut is spot on. I have a pheasant stuff bag with just pheasant clothing items, it doesn't take much to stay warm when its really cold. A few specialty items include a larger bulkier left hand glove, a thin right hand shooting glove used with a hand warmer in the pocket, goggles, gaiters, lightweight chaps and Filson oil cloth chaps (very warm). All I've ever needed on my head is a cheap orange stocking cap over a ball cap. And always a neck gaiter when it gets really cold.