Pheasant Hunting Tactics?

RuttCrazed · Post by **RuttCrazed** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:54 am

I am wondering if anyone has any "new" pheasant hunting tactics? We hunt a lot of crop land, which means a lot of running birds and despite having blockers, the birds still find a way to get away. We have tried pushing to bare fields, roads, etc.. and the blockers still see birds sneaking between them and making a run for it. We have tried quite blockers and noisy blockers, doesn't matter the birds still sneak by them. We have considered hunting towards each other, but that just seems too dangerous, regardless of how safe you are. I think the problem is a standard push through a field is too predictable and the birds just run around you and your blockers. In the afternoons we usually break up into 2 or 3 man groups and do ok hitting smaller cover, but in the mornings we like to hunt together as a family (it is a tradition) and I am just looking for ways to make it more effective.

Thanks,

Rut

Will · Post by **Will** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:27 am

How do your dogs handle the running birds? Are they pushing them also? Are they learning to "manage" the runners?

My best advice would be to enter the field very quietly....let the dogs work...everyone being as quiet as possible....keep the dogs as near gun range as you can....and see if they can get a few to stay put for you. If the dogs go on point...get there ASAP and try to get that bird up.

Pressured pheasants won't generally tolerate anything. The more you drive and push these birds unsuccessfully, the less your chances become of bagging some I think.

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:36 am

Sorry to say it but here when I hunt with a big group which is 1-2 times a year at most we hunt toward each other with the blockers staggered far enough apart that the pushers are between the blockers and not directly in front of them. You have to make sure that you have plenty of air under the bird before taking a shot as well. This is why I only hunt with a big group usually opening day and perhaps the first 2 days of pheasant season and from then on I hunt alone or with a small group with no blockers and then I follow my dogs rather than hack them around the field. They know where the birds are so let them find the birds and you just walk along, enjoy their points and shoot the birds. It was hard for me to adapt to just following the dogs but it has made me much more successful than before. It may seem silly when you are walking all directions in a field rather than walking a straight line from one end of the field to another but the dogs usually pick up foot scent and will track it back to the bird so just follow them wherever they go and you will get into birds.

RuttCrazed · Post by **RuttCrazed** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 7:21 am

I can keep my dogs fairly close if I keep track of them, but prefer to let them go and wait for the point.

Tommyboy,
You pretty much described exactly how I hunt now. I love to turn the dogs loose in a big field and then wander around behind them waiting for them to lock up. I will sometimes go back to fields we have hunted as a group and let the dogs go and still pick up birds.

Rut

nitrex · Post by **nitrex** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:14 am

I wish I could help you with some tactics, but if a few didn't escape, we wouldn't have any birds next year.

I never have them get away from my GSPs, but the crooked barrel on my Benelli keeps me from harvesting all of them

!!!!!

Nitrex

ACooper · Post by **ACooper** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:46 am

When hunting stubble are you walking with the rows or across the rows? Hunting across the rows is pretty effective it keeps birds from seeing you so far away and helps keep the dogs close and quartering. It makes walking tougher but worth it in my opinion.

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:35 am

Ruttcrazed if you follow the dogs through the CRP fields then you know there will be trails blazed through the grass by the birds but you do not notice them until you start following the dog and notice they are actually following one of these trails back to a bird.

Usually when you start the day out the whole field just looks like a sea of grass but follow your dogs and you will notice these trails. Like I said it may seem awful peculiar at first not walking a straight line from one end of the field to another but you will bag more birds in the end.

Good thing I don't hunt with you ACooper. Screw that walking across the stubble rows stuff. Isn't that hard on the dogs belly as well? Seems like a bigger risk of one of them getting an injury from the stubble if you are crossing rows constantly and a heck of a lot of work.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:28 am

tommyboy72 wrote:Ruttcrazed if you follow the dogs through the CRP fields then you know there will be trails blazed through the grass by the birds but you do not notice them until you start following the dog and notice they are actually following one of these trails back to a bird.

Usually when you start the day out the whole field just looks like a sea of grass but follow your dogs and you will notice these trails. Like I said it may seem awful peculiar at first not walking a straight line from one end of the field to another but you will bag more birds in the end.

Good thing I don't hunt with you ACooper. Screw that walking across the stubble rows stuff. Isn't that hard on the dogs belly as well? Seems like a bigger risk of one of them getting an injury from the stubble if you are crossing rows constantly and a heck of a lot of work.

I am not advocating which way you walk but if I was walking across the rows I think the dogs would be spending a lot of time running with them while quartering. Probably more than they would walking with them. Eiter way the dogs are going to do their thing and don't believe it makes a bit of difference to them. But it would be easier walking with them, I agree.

Ezzy

ACooper · Post by **ACooper** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:30 pm

No doubt walking across the rows is tougher but I am telling you it works, and I havent noticed any difference in wear and tear on the dogs. My dogs always get further out front when going with the rows, it easier for them also, but stay closer when going across. But with all that said the most beneficial part of going across the rows in my opinion is the birds cant see you as far away and we tend to get shots a little closer.

But I have shot plenty of birds going with the rows as well, to each their own.

I agree when hunting grass go with the dogs!

Shadow · Post by **Shadow** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:56 pm

open the dog box, turn on the Gramins- sit and wait- unless there are other hunters within 1/2 mile

mikebill11 · Post by **mikebill11** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:38 pm

I like the way you think/hunt shadow. some of the people I hunt with think my dog runs to big for pheasant. It might be true but I would rather hunt alone with my dog than with a large group and no dog.

tommyboy72 · Post by **tommyboy72** » Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:28 pm

Like I mentioned above I only hunt with a large group once or maybe twice a year on opening day and the following day. The reason is that I know the people that host these groups and just sort of go along to help out and to show these groups what real dog work is like. Most of the people in these groups are city slickers from down state or relatives of the city slickers from states that do not have pheasant. Many of these people bring their own dogs and you should see the fiasco that ensues. These guys have young pups out there that have had little to no training, may or may not have been desensitized to gunfire, and they are shocking the heck out of them with ecollars. I saw one pup last year that was maybe 3 or 4 months old and getting lit up for getting more than 50 yards out and then the guy wondered why his pup would not leave his side after a few instances of this. I prefer to hunt by myself or with 1 other good hunting buddy for the company. Periodically throughout the year I will take law enforcement officers hunting and they are really good to hunt with. I have taken FBI, OSBI, retired DEA, city police, and sheriff's deputies hunting and all of them were really good to hunt with, extremely safe, and very appreciative of the opportunity.

Shadow · Post by **Shadow** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:57 am

mikebill11 wrote:I like the way you think/hunt shadow. some of the people I hunt with think my dog runs to big for pheasant. It might be true but I would rather hunt alone with my dog than with a large group and no dog.

yea- what can I say- used to put three on the ground at a time- but I'd look at an area- wondering- so I'd turn the beeper on my female and tell her to get while I sat on the tailgate drinking coffee-- every now and then some would drive up- we'd chat- "you going to hunt that"- let you know in about 7 min

This morning I turned the Garmins on let the two go as I watched- tried the burr field- pheasants started lifting up about 1/2 mile away- yep- time to go see what's up- you see- I purchased duck cotton canvas bibs-

so- one is out there 384 yards, one 182, beeps both on point- pretty cool- 1/2 hour 7 flushes over points- Britt's were a mess and didn't want to leave- too bad- time to take the two pups out

I also have had quite a few complain mine run too big- yeh- not to hard to understand why they say that
pretty much come to like hunting alone

you sounds like a lot of fun

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