Pheasants

[Delvehound]

So, I'm new to the bird world. I don't have a dog that'll do anything but sleep and drool (bloodhound), and with pheasant season coming up in a month or so, I'm thinking about getting some meat for the freezer. Does anyone know of a walk-in area that a) probably has pheasants, b) a pheasant's routine and c) how to hunt them without a dog?

I'm still learning how to hunt through trial and error. I haven't done any big game, so far I can do rabbits pretty well (step 1 - go to private land, and ask if they have a few rabbits I can have if I help with whatever they need a hand with, step 2 - go home with a ton of rabbits) [Beer]

I've tried taking the dog rabbit hunting a couple years ago. I figured he'd naturally sniff out rabbits being re's really curious about smells, but found out he's really gun-shy, and I've got no idea how to break him of that. I took him camping, and he's scared of the fire when it pops, just runs and hides behind the truck. Anyways, back to the topic at hand...

Any advice you guys can offer would be great! Thank you

[patrick0685]

Pheasant hunting is really fun...as far as the land I never managed to get out in CO so I cant help you there but I always wanted to go east and take part of the pheasant hunt they run at the start of season. To hunt them without a dog you need a couple of people, some to block the end of the field and some to walk the field, the bird will run then jump up when they see the blockers. You can just walk the field but you might not get them all bc they will run away and not always jump up. Either way its lots of fun and lots of walking.

[TRnCO]

I don't mess with pheasant much any more, but I've got a buddy that has gone to the Burlington "Rooster Round Up" and says it's worth the price. Check out the link.
http://rotaryroosterroundup.com/

[patrick0685]

thats what i was talking about...couldnt remember the name

[Delvehound]

Awesome, thanks! I'll check it out.

[Dave]

Off to blast the peasants.... I mean, pheasants.

[SamuraiCO]

Give feedback if you do the round up. I am heading out to NE at the end of the month for their opening weekend.

[SamuraiCO]

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g410/samurai64/2013-10-26_14-58-10_196_zpsbb214fa1.jpg

Got one yesterday. Should have had limit. First roster that got up was young so tail feathers were not as pronounced and sunlight did not give me a good look at the neck. Second one I missed went left to right and I was all twisted up and could not swing. Last one hit hard and he fell dead.

Farmers are still harvesting corn. No milo harvested yet so lots of land to keep them spread out. The group next to me had private land to hunt and they only got one between them.

Still lots of fun and dog running well.

[Delvehound]

Great job! Unfortunately, I won't be able to do the Round up, but I'll be out there sometime soon trying my luck. I go on-call for a week starting Wed... figures lol

[sniper7]

Great looking English setter samurai. My dad and I each have one. They are brothers, and my sister has one but she doesn't hunt. Have had them my entire life. Great dogs!

[Trout Hunter]

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g410/samurai64/2013-10-26_14-58-10_196_zpsbb214fa1.jpg

Got one yesterday. Should have had limit. First roster that got up was young so tail feathers were not as pronounced and sunlight did not give me a good look at the neck. Second one I missed went left to right and I was all twisted up and could not swing. Last one hit hard and he fell dead.

Farmers are still harvesting corn. No milo harvested yet so lots of land to keep them spread out. The group next to me had private land to hunt and they only got one between them.

Still lots of fun and dog running well.
Good looking pup. Save yourself some cash on shells and try kent fast lead, hits every bit as hard and usually can be had for $10 a box cheaper. Stuff hits hard.

[SamuraiCO]

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g410/samurai64/2013-09-18_12-40-08_122_zps865efe8a.jpg (http://s1100.photobucket.com/user/samurai64/media/2013-09-18_12-40-08_122_zps865efe8a.jpg.html)

Here is my new pup Logan. He is a nephew of Luke's. I got them from October Setters in Idaho. He will get out later in the season but still needs some field work and more basic commands.

I had a blast. Met a lot of nice hunters. Shared a field Saturday am with a group of fathers and their sons from NE. The rest of Saturday I had fields to myself. Sunday morning with a group of guys from Boulder about my age. Didn't see anything that morning to shoot at but was good fun to have company.

Thanks for the info about Kent shells. I will check them out. I really like those Prairie Storm shells. 3" 20ga they hit hard. They are a similar load to the Black Cloud the duck commander boys use. Plus they contribute to Pheasant Forever.

Did a lot of scouting and shared info with other hunters. Will be out again in two weeks hopefully with my buddy from Or and his son and father.

Since it was just Luke and me he got to ride in the cab and not in his kennel. Like Dez Young says "Never, ever spoil your gun dog" and I am a firm believer in that philosophy.

[Marine24]

"Never, ever spoil your gun dog" and I am a firm believer in that philosophy.

So true. Brought my first bird dog in for a few days when temps were running below zero and between my wife and son, they turned her in to a family dog.

Amazing though to see a well trained dog and his trainer work a field.

[rondog]

I couldn't have a hunting dog then, I reckon. To me, dogs are for spoiling! I don't think I could ever treat one like "just an animal" or a possession anymore.

[sniper7]

Mine gets pretty spoiled but repays me greatly in the field. I think the difference is when the shock collar gets put on he knows its time to work.

[rondog]

All I remember about pheasant hunting as a kid is that they take off and climb like F-16's. Dad always told me not to shoot until I'd covered them up with the muzzle. Can't remember if I ever hit one, we only went a couple of times. Friggin' coldest I've ever been.

[SamuraiCO]

Dez Young had a couple of hunting shows Hunting with Hank and Outdoors with Dez and Dash. They were both English Setters and I got to meet him a couple of times at the Sportsman show in Jan. He would always end his show stating "Never ever spoil your gundog" as his guest was sneaking treats to his pup.

Make no mistakes my wife has only one rule. Bring her dog back unharmed. They are our kids so they are treated very well but they know their role in our pack.

[Trout Hunter]

When we go up to SD all the locals we hunt with use the kents too. Best bang for the buck pheasant loads around. Also in the spring time if you watch sportsmans will have them on sale. Picked up 8 boxes of 3" 5 shot for $8 a box.

As far as gun dogs you can find a good balance between treating them good and spoiling them. For our Chessie she has been house trained from 7 weeks old. She gets to be in the house from Feb. to Sept first. Sleeps outside year round in a kennel. But Before hunting season rolls around she gets left out to develop her coat. Spends most of her time out there until the last hunt of the year and then she gets back to spending time in the house. She hunts as hard or harder than any bird dog ive been around. So I think theres a fine line to between being good to them and spoiling them. To me spoiling a bird dog though is playing fetch, tracking games, and getting out doing field work since its what they love.

[th3w01f]

Anyone heading to the Rooster Roundup in Burlington next weekend? We've been going for 10 years and wouldn't miss it.... not that we don't miss a lot. :)

[sniper7]

I'll be out there but on private ground

[SamuraiCO]

Never done the rooster roundup worth the money? I was planning on heading out Sat am somewhere in eastern CO Saturday.

[Delvehound]

I really would like to go do the roundup, however I realized it wouldn't be worth it without a dog to flush. I've decided I'm going to get out a few times this season with a buddy and his dog, and go cast-and-blast sometime mid month. Should be good times!

[th3w01f]

Never done the rooster roundup worth the money? I was planning on heading out Sat am somewhere in eastern CO Saturday.
We always have a lot of fun. There are usually a lot of hunters opening weekend and the hunting has been pretty hit and miss for us. The main issues we've had is that it's usually 60+ degrees out, super dry and very windy most openings. We'll scout the day before and see lots of roosters then morning comes and nothing but hens. That has just been our luck though, there are always a lot of birds being cleaned at the hotel and we usually see plenty of roosters standing in someone's front yard. :)

To me the value comes after opening weekend, if you go in Dec and Jan you basically have 50K acres to yourself; maybe a truck or two driving around but lots of hunting options. In 2011 we managed to make it in the middle of a nice snow storm and saw more birds than I've ever seen in CO.

We usually manage to pick up a couple birds each trip and there are lots of cottontails. Since it's just the two of us with our dogs we can't effectively hunt the huge fields but there are lots of areas that can be hunted with 1 or 2 people.

If you have dogs be aware that there are a LOT of sand burrs right on the side of the road, once you're off the shoulder you're good to go but I wouldn't step out of the car in socks. We're usually still finding them in the carpeting 6 months later. Dogs or not, it's good to bring a couple pairs of needle nose pliers to pull them out of your pants, laces, fingers....

[th3w01f]

If any of you are in Burlington this weekend keep an eye out for us. Me and my wife with two black labs (and two kids with Grandma but they won't be don't a much hunting), we're staying at the Best Western.

[sniper7]

I'll be out there in my green Tahoe. 3 of us younger guys and my white with black spots English setter

[02ducky]

Good luck you guys, we are heading out the week on the 20th. Looking forward to it.

[Jamnanc]

Going to julesburg early tomorrow. Got the daughter and dog all hyped up. Staying over and hitting it Sunday morning too. Hope the daughter can get one.

[sniper7]

Wow it sucks out here. Got 3 birds but they were hard fought. Going near cope tomorrow. Better up north I hear.

[Jamnanc]

Tried Yuma, not good. Missed an easy one, but only saw two roosters. Might be a good year to hit the game farm. Aside from the lack of birds, a day with my kid with no distractions is amazing.

[DavieD55]

I went solo to Logan and Phillips counties yesterday and managed to scratch a single rooster, only bird I saw all day.

[james_bond_007]

SAT. 09NOV13

Hunted Yuma and Holyoke
Saw about 6 hens...no roosters.
Hunted from dawn to dusk.

Many of the "prime" fields from previous years were grazed or mowed for hay etc. presumably due to the past few dry years.

[SamuraiCO]

Went out leisurely Sat am. Hooked up with another gentleman from Fountain at my first field and we hunted until the early afternoon. We were just west of Burlington out I-70 on walk in property. We had only seen one hen until the last field in the early afternoon. His dog was finished because of the heat and he was nursing an injury. My setter managed to push a bird in front of my new friend. He shot at a going away bird and dropped a leg. I finished as it flew left to right. My dog was right on the retrieve. I gave him the hard fought bird. My pup got birdy again but we did not see anything moving into the wind and guessed the runners circled out to our right upwind. Sure enough we turned and worked the grass closer to the road. Kicked out one rooster too far to shoot. I saw a runner in the grass not 10 feet from me. Dog goes on point then starts chasing. I stayed put just in case only to have that bird bust out 20 yards in front of my dog. Made a hail Mary shot but it was too far out.

Not bad for 5 hours of hunting and talking to others they had not even seen a rooster. We also had a real nice farmer stop and ask how our hunting was going on property that was another family member enrolled in the walk in program. He gave us his name if we wanted to hunt his property in the future. He had some others on his property that day but it would give me some more opportunity in the future. Love farmers like this such a nice guy.

I was mainly out as a training session for my 6 month old. He followed his uncle through the fields, reinforced casting and the whistle command for turn and come. As we worked the fields I would shoot away from him just to get him use to the shotgun. By the time we got to our last field he didn't even flinch and raced with my older dog for the retrieve when that pheasant went down.

[sniper7]

I'm glad I took the ar with me. Repaying my debt of prairie dogs to the farmer. Got about 15 of the 120+ I owe the guy. He charges me 3 and 1/2 PDogs for every pheasant I kill on his property! Over the years I've accumulated quite the debt!
had the yhm can on my 16" build. Took several easy one shot kills at 100-150 yards. Then the long range at 300-450 were fun with the bit of wind we had so I walked a few of them in on those guys. One took me 4 shots since he kept going between holes.

Shot of the day was a jackrabbit my dog scared up when we first headed over to the PDogs field. Got my dog safely at my side and the rabbit was full sprint running from left to right toward some cover at 130 yards (we walked it off later). Dropped him on the run with one shot. 40 grain ballistic tips loaded to the brim with varget. My buddies were blown away that I made the shot!
ill post pics of what that round does. I should have taken some pictures of the PDogs but we wanted to get after some more pheasants. Now I think we should have just stayed and shot PDogs all day.

[SamuraiCO]

Blast and blast kind of day lol. Would still love to hook up with you Sniper this year and watch a field worked by our setters.

[sniper7]

http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z386/citation10_photos/IMG_20131109_074504_420_zpsbd477126.jpg
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z386/citation10_photos/IMG_20131109_074508_237_zps4f6cdaa8.jpg

Pretty amazing what that ballistic tip can do.

Yeah samurai that would definitely be a blast. I love watching dogs work, even when there isn't any birds!

[hatidua]

I don't hunt pheasant but there are enough of them around Byers that two of them were turned into road kill within 200 yards of the CRC gate yesterday afternoon (they weren't there when I arrived, and they were rather fresh in the road when I left). I contemplated harvesting some fly tying materials off of them but left them for the coyotes.

[SamuraiCO]

Thank you for the tip.

[thebolt]

It's bad in central Kansas this year. The cover is OK but most of the birds did not survive the dry and intense heat from the last couple years.

[SamuraiCO]

Kansas has been tuff for the last couple of years. Between the drought, some bad spring storms and the continued loss of CRP lands our pheasant hunting will be taking a hit for some time. My buddies and I use to go to N Dakota every year but it got so good in Kansas it was hard to justify the drive.

Last few years we have stuck with Nebraska.

I wish the ethanol subsidy would go away. I also with those states getting rrevenue from oil and gas would shore up local support for CRP but I am being selfish with that thought.

[02ducky]

Went out today with my nephew and two labs. Hunted north if Snyder and Brush, the walk in access areas over there are pretty lame. Think I will stick with the areas Northeast by Sterling.

[hatidua]

I had to hit the brakes three different times today in Byers to keep from running over pheasants that were in no hurry to walk off the road.

[SamuraiCO]

Wonder if those are bleeding off of Kiowa or similar club. Too bad no walk in areas around there

[hatidua]

Wonder if those are bleeding off of Kiowa or similar club. Too bad no walk in areas around there

As the crow flies, they were 250 yards West of the shotgun area at CRC, out on the public road just between the bridge and that hill before the front gate (down near the wash).

[ray1970]

I see them there all the time. Pretty sure they are escapees. I think the guy with the house just to the east of CRC has some sort of pheasant hunting business of some sort. I may be wrong.

I've never had to brake for them. They pretty much get out of my way. If not, damage to my truck would be minimal anyways.

[def90]

My experience comes from growing up in Minnesota, I have no idea what the pheasant population in colo is like. You don't need a dog if you are in a good area. Corn fields and fence lines rule, just walk them with a small group of friends and don't pull a Dick Cheney.

sent from a soup can and some string..

[ray1970]

just walk them with a small group of friends and don't pull a Dick

Even taken out of context this is good advice.
[Coffee]

[DavieD55]

I think the guy with the house just to the east of CRC has some sort of pheasant hunting business of some sort. I may be wrong.

I've never had to brake for them. They pretty much get out of my way. If not, damage to my truck would be minimal anyways.

I think it is a private hunting club called "The Bluffs".

[SamuraiCO]

What is CRC? "The Bluffs" is owned by the family that owns Valhalla.

[DavieD55]

What is CRC? "The Bluffs" is owned by the family that owns Valhalla.

CRC = Colorado Rfle Club.

[SamuraiCO]

Have a couple of friends and their teen sons hunting NE this weekend. They had four bagged and two missed. Seen 40 just from this am. Have not got final report. With the crops harvested and colder weather they are bunching up.

[Rucker61]

We hunted a pheasant reserve south of Limon yesterday. We took nine, four from me. We had a good dog, and that helped.

[buckshotbarlow]

Got a new way to hunt birds....When the farmer is combining, drive to the end of the field, walk in about 30 yds (about 20 yds outside the standing corn/wheat/milo) from the end, and wait....After your gun empties, rinse and repeat. Got my limit yesterday in about 30 minutes with 2 trips. Shot a Winchester sx3, might have to get a new shotgun...

[buckshotbarlow]

Forgot to mention to have a rifle, or another gun with buckshot for the yotes also. Missed 2 man eaters at about 70 yds because i had nothing to kill them with...

[sniper7]

I like shooting from the combine myself. Pretty fun!

[SamuraiCO]

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g410/samurai64/20131201_082413_zps75f748ea.jpg

Two buddies and their two teen sons got 10 this am. Got 6 yesterday and 3 Friday. Getting better as temp cools off. Morning was best it just got too hot in the afternoon.
Nebraska is where they are hunting.

The pup is his new 5 month GSP out for her first hunt.

[sniper7]

Very cool! I'm glad the birds still exist! I'm going out in a couple weeks on my deer hunt and will go after some birds in the afternoons.