How long are your hunts?

[Stoneface]

In another thread someone said they only hunt one hour, maybe two. It got me to thinking about how someone in South Dakota could say, "The bird population was horrible this year," but horrible, by their standard, is fan-freakin'-tastic by, say, a hunter from southwest Missouri. Maybe it's the same when we say we "spent the day hunting."

So, when you hunt, how long do you hunt and about how many miles do you hoof in a given hunt?

Not many birds around here so I'll stay out maybe an hour if the conditions are bad and three hours, maybe four, if the conditions are great. That includes driving from one spot to another. I take my time and enjoy the walk and if it's hot out sometimes I'll stop and go for a swim with the dogs or something, so I'll cover just maybe a few miles an hour on average. If I could get out to where some good numbers are I imagine I'd hoof it.

[2dogs]

Depends on the temperature. When chukar hunting early season generally about 3 hrs. or so, done by noon when it gets hot. Later in season will go 4-6 hrs.

[jarbo03]

Depends on the weather, if it is warm I take it easy on the dogs and myself. During normal hunting season weather normally hunt sunrise to sunset while chasing upland birds, most trips are for 3 days.

[volraider]

Most of the time a hunt will last a 2-3 hours, we do have some loops that are closer to 6 hours in east TN. Private land hunts are 1 to 2 hours.

[TChism]

The length of my hunts varies a lot depending on weather, cover, the condition of my dogs, my condition level, how bad my feet hurt, how bad my back hurts, if I have other hunters with me and there intrests, and my enthusiasm on that particular day.

Sometimes I try to loop around and switch dogs up after an hour or two. Sometimes its a quick after work hunt (30 min) when the woodcock are moving thru. Some of my all time favorite hunts have been on death-marches across the open prairie on a cold, wet, snowy, late fall day.

A lot of it depends on what I want out of that hunt. Am I focused on finding and shooting birds or am I just wanting to get away from things for a while and hope we do finds some birds? Am I hunting close to home or did I drive 6 hours to get there?
Lot of variables.

[slistoe]

Couple of hours after work in the evening, 10 hours a day on weekends - although I must admit I only made 8 hours on the Sunday a couple of times last year. Definitely I need to work on my conditioning.

[Nick Miles]

4 hours in the morning and another 4 in the afternoon, usually over 3 or 4 days.

[asc]

Start around daybreak and quit around 11am, It's usually starting to get hot at that time here in Fl.

Dogs still want to go but I'm all done

[Mountaineer]

Out of necessity, I make a couple trips to Kansas and one to the U.P...over a week, breakfast to dinner hunts with reasonably short drives between spots...each cover may each take a big hour or so to hunt....basically 5 dogs to permit to sniff. Actually, for some pheasant areas, that is too fast and one could profit by looping back again.
Out of need, essentially the same in two neighboring states at home the remainder of the hunting season.
Out of common sense and an understanding of harm, hunts in Ohio for wild birds has been zero for the last 5 years.

Since hunting out the back door is no longer an option and travel is the word, I see no reason to hunt less than all day....other than weather dropping in or obligations.
Limit wise, I self-limit on ruffed grouse and if woodcock are around then they work to train.
Most hunters will occassionally end at a half-day on pheasants, of course.

Used to be tho, for ruffed grouse, the perfect time was an hour or two before dark.
Still is in fact but on a trip, if health for all is fine, one simply hunts.
But, length of hunt and best time to hunt any gamebird is quite often different.

[LincolnAlexander]

We (wife and I) are in Southern Ontario and our hunts range from about 2 - 6 hours; 4 hours is a typical length, hunting either Pheasent, Grouse or Woodcock.

[DougB]

I have about 10 WMAs within 15 minutes drive. Maybe an hour or so, depending on heat. Longer drives mean more time in the field, unless I double stepping into the field (really really infrequent)

[pointshootretrieve]

We hunt as many covers in a day that time allows, none of the covers allow a 4 hour hunt let alone an 8. I will say the dogs are never down more than 2 hours at a whack here in the north woods of Maine. When we hunted in North Dakota the seasoned vets would get nearly 3 hours on the ground and then to another cover and a dog with fresh legs would be put down, on occasion a dog may be put on the ground several times a day.

[slistoe]

I will go for 10 hours - the dogs run in 2 hour rotating shifts. If a dog sees 6 hours on the ground one day he will do 4 hours on the next.

[SetterNut]

When quail hunting around here, I start about 9 so they have been out moving around, and hunt till about 1 1/2 before sunset. Want them to have time to get covied back up. I don't generally stop of lunch.

Pheasant its dawn to dusk, with a break for lunch.

[Ruffshooter]

From 6:30 am to about 10:30 am then lunch maybe a dirve to another area Then from 12:30 or so to evening: All depends on how things are going, if my ankles keep moving, This is when I have full days and or up to camp. Many are just afternoon hunts which are for 3 hours usually. My ankles are giving out little quicker now. So we will see how this year goes. I certainly can not do that day in and day out, meaning the full day hunts.

Some days it is mixed, hunt duck in the am then Ruffs in the afternoon. Some days the other way.
The duck hunts are just usually 3 hours.

The hunts usually will be a bunch of one hour to 2 hour then move down the road a few miles till you see another area you like.

[Christopher]

This is a good question, and to be sure, the reply will vary from hunter-to-hunter.

When I'm chukar hunting, I agree with what the fellow said above, that is about 4 hours. I've talked to several other chukar hunters and most say their typical hunts last about 4 hours, much more for one day can push the dog(s) too much (IMHO). Of course if you've got 2 or more pups, you can hunt all-day if you rotate them.

Further, there are several other factors that can either shorten a hunt or lengthen a hunt:

1. Heat/Water availability--you gotta know when to call it, many good dogs die every year from heat stroke.
2. Cold weather--if its cold and if there is snow on the ground, my dogs run may run more hours, the snow covers the sharp rocks, provides water and keeps them really cool.

Lastly, a lot does depend on the condition of the terrain, the dog and the hunter. I've hunted many times in lower country CRP for roosters where we hunted all day long.

[m2244]

In VT there are a lot of hills and a olt of over logs and stones. My legs can only take about a half day of it now.

[Elkhunter]

2-3 hours each hunt. Hard to do much more than that.

[DonF]

I've had some really good shorthairs in the past and now I have setter's. Hunts don't take long with bird finders like them. They get in a fulls days work pretty quick!

[dead mike]

8-12 hrs during pheasant season.

[slistoe]

I've had some really good shorthairs in the past and now I have setter's. Hunts don't take long with bird finders like them. They get in a fulls days work pretty quick!

[GWPtyler]

Totally dependent on the quarry:
Pheasants: Limit is on three, and a hunt can last anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours. Depends a lot on the hatch, the cover, and the time of year.
Ruffed grouse/Woodcock: I've never shot a limit, so hunts last all day. Usually start in the morning around sunrise, hunt until 11-ish. Come in for a siesta and head out again around 3 to hunt until sunset.
Sharpies/Huns: These are more targets of opportunity for me, but again with a 3-bird limit, hunts tend to mirror pheasant days.
Waterfowl: Rise and shine a few hours before sunrise, drive to the slough/field to set up. Drink inordinate amounts of caffeinated beverages. Wait for it to get light enough to distinguish what types of birds are flying into your spread. Pick away at said birds until done. Get home before noon and sleep the rest of the afternoon away.

[JKP]

I will hunt 6-10 hours/day...a couple of hours will be for ducks in the morning....rest of the day phez/sharpies/huns.
Phez don't usually take too long, even where we go in ND. The rest of the day will be devoted to sharpies and huns. Since the numbers have never really recovered since 1994/5, we usually have to cover some ground to get in some shooting. In addition, by the time I get west, a lot of birds have been pushed/shot at...which makes it challenging. 20 years ago we could move 6-10 covies of huns/day...those days are rare now.

[deke]

In SD we hunted from opening until around one, went back to the hotel got the dogs some chicken noodle soup and made our food. Then back out to another spot, or maybe some ditch hunting if the dogs looked rough. Around home it really depends on how much fun we had the night before.

[Grange]

During the week I'll hunt after work until close, which is about 3 hours in the beginning of the season, and only about an hour by the time daylight savings ends. After than I'm limited to Friday-Sunday or when I take vacation. When I have all day I hunt from about 8 am until I get tired, which could be close or could be 2pm. I like to bring a lunch and water or soda, so I won't need to stop because I got too hungry or thirsty. Prior to the season I'm running the dogs on wild birds several times a week for about 1-2 hours.

[azquailhntr]

Here in the desert it really depends on the time of year. Early season it's first light for maybe 2 hrs. By then it's too hot to do much more. After Thanksgiving we go all day. 2-3 hrs morning, noon, and evening. I would say on those days we typically cover 10 miles or so depending on cover. Quail are not in the good years right now so you have to cover a lot of ground to put up some birds.

AZQ

[gonehuntin']

To me, weather doesn't matter. When In SD I hunt 10 A.M. until around 4:00 or a tad later.

Grouse hunting, a little longer. About 8:00 until 5:00. All hunting times listed include time spent moving between coverts and lunch.

[Francois P vd Walt]

We would start around 7–8am break at 12pm-13h00 start out again until we can not see the dogs anymore !

Depending on how many birds we need to bag 7–9 hours normally 40–50 days a year, for the rest we train them for a avarage of a hour a day.

This we keep ourselves fit and the dogs don't get over eager anymore

[Nick Miles]

7–9 hours normally 40–50 days a year, for the rest we train them for a avarage of a hour a day.

You're a lucky chap! I dream of 50 days a year shooting over my dogs!