Pheasant in Alfalfa and bermuda fields w/ pointer

[Billinsd]

I hunt pheasant in the Imperial Valley, near EL Centro, California. I like to hunt open alfalfa, and Bermuda grass with my GSP. I usually hunt solo. I like to zig zag into the wind. Usually, I have seen the pheasant on the edges of these huge fields. People have told me that roosters will hunker down and run along the rows.

How do others hunt this type of terrain solo? What hunting techniques do you use?
Thanks Bill

[slistoe]

Get a big running, hard hunting dog that loves to find birds. Turn him loose and watch. Getting out of the truck or off your chair not necessarily required. When dog goes on point, walk over, load gun on the way, shoot at bird.
Repeat.

[gonehuntin']

People have fought that problem forever. There is no way to beat it without a blocker on the fence row. Some put portable radios on the fence row and hunt toward the radio, hoping the radio stops the bird. Some use stick men to simulate a blocker. Some dogs, in time, learn to circle in front of the bird on the fence row.

What I've done is as soon as I see the dog working a bird down the row, call the dog in , circle way ahead, and come down the fence row toward the bird. Sometimes it works, sometimes the bird just turns and runs the other way.

Point is, if you hunt alone, there is no real way to stop it. Fence rows are tough.

[gotpointers]

I've been through there on the way to San Diego. Amazing amount of farmland right next to the bone dry desert when coming out of Tucson. I've heard they get 9 cuttings a year on the alfalfa and it never gets rained on. Lots of great suggestions so far but the key is what Silstoe said about having a big running and hard hunting dog. I live in the middle of the alfalfa field's here in NM and run the pheasants to keep the dogs in shape. We still haul a lot of hay from where you are.

[Billinsd]

Get a big running, hard hunting dog that loves to find birds. Turn him loose and watch. Getting out of the truck or off your chair not necessarily required. When dog goes on point, walk over, load gun on the way, shoot at bird.
Repeat.

Good advice My dog is a medium running, medium hard hunting dog that loves to find birds. My next dog will most likely be a bigger running dog. Thanks
Bill

[Billinsd]

I've been through there on the way to San Diego. Amazing amount of farmland right next to the bone dry desert when coming out of Tucson. I've heard they get 9 cuttings a year on the alfalfa and it never gets rained on. Lots of great suggestions so far but the key is what Silstoe said about having a big running and hard hunting dog. I live in the middle of the alfalfa field's here in NM and run the pheasants to keep the dogs in shape. We still haul a lot of hay from where you are.

Thanks, do you have 4 inch high rows in your alfalfa fields in NM and do the pheasant run along them to escape? Do the pheasants run across the 4 inch high rows? I'm sure they could, but I imagine they would run along them. Running your dogs in the fields to keep them in shape is a great idea, if I did that my dog would do much better.
Thanks
Bill

[Billinsd]

People have fought that problem forever. There is no way to beat it without a blocker on the fence row. Some put portable radios on the fence row and hunt toward the radio, hoping the radio stops the bird. Some use stick men to simulate a blocker. Some dogs, in time, learn to circle in front of the bird on the fence row.

What I've done is as soon as I see the dog working a bird down the row, call the dog in , circle way ahead, and come down the fence row toward the bird. Sometimes it works, sometimes the bird just turns and runs the other way.

Point is, if you hunt alone, there is no real way to stop it. Fence rows are tough.

Do you mean rows with a fence on it, when you say fence rows? What I was asking was that the rows in the Imperial Valley are 4 inches high and people have told me that the pheasants will crowtch down and run along them and generally not perpendicular to them. The fields I hunt are a 1/8 to 1/4 mile or more across in some places. That is a great idea to circle way ahead of the bird. Thanks
Bill

[gonehuntin']

Yes, I'm sorry, I did misread the post. I thought you were refering to fence rows.

[whatsnext]

My EB is not a big running dog i would say 80 yards away most times sometimes 40 other times 150, anyway what my pup does is he will work a running bird for a period of time (1 minute at most i would say) and then if it keeps moving he picks a line. I have no idea why or how he picks his line but he does and he just runs it, what i believe usually happens is the birds will sit because of his faster pace and i do not know if this is because of increased pressure or whatever makes birds do what they do. This is a video of such a case, he was working this bird it kept moving so he grabbed the edge and just ran and this is what happens most times.http://youtu.be/F-2ksgiTIV4

[Billinsd]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... 2W-qJ4g3nQ

This is what the terrain looks like. Bill

[gonehuntin']

Looked to me, like your dog handled that perfectly. Bird moved, dog tracked for a very short distance, cut a wide circle and pinned him. Doesn't get much better than that.

[whatsnext]

Bill i think you need to work on your shooting i thought that bird was going to get away . Nice video thanks for sharing , row crops are hard to hunt for a pointing dog and i think your pups did a good job on that rooster.

[Billinsd]

Bill i think you need to work on your shooting i thought that bird was going to get away . Nice video thanks for sharing , row crops are hard to hunt for a pointing dog and i think your pups did a good job on that rooster.

Ha, that is not me. I found it on another website. I'm not even sure where the video was taken. Thanks all Bill

[gotpointers]

I've been through there on the way to San Diego. Amazing amount of farmland right next to the bone dry desert when coming out of Tucson. I've heard they get 9 cuttings a year on the alfalfa and it never gets rained on. Lots of great suggestions so far but the key is what Silstoe said about having a big running and hard hunting dog. I live in the middle of the alfalfa field's here in NM and run the pheasants to keep the dogs in shape. We still haul a lot of hay from where you are.

Thanks, do you have 4 inch high rows in your alfalfa fields in NM and do the pheasant run along them to escape? Do the pheasants run across the 4 inch high rows? I'm sure they could, but I imagine they would run along them. Running your dogs in the fields to keep them in shape is a great idea, if I did that my dog would do much better.
Thanks
Bill

Some of the older fields haven't been laser leveled and still have the 4" rows or borders. They do use the edges of them to make it an easier quicker path than through the tall stuff. The birds often stack up at the last corner avalible. I would also be looking in the areas of desert that border the fields for quail.

[birdshot]

Is there still fish farms on the way to Brawley? I had permission to hunt the ditch around the farthest south farm, can't remember the name, maybe Valley Fish Farms. Pretty good hunting spot and I could take all the crawdads I wanted from their strainers.

[Billinsd]

Is there still fish farms on the way to Brawley? I had permission to hunt the ditch around the farthest south farm, can't remember the name, maybe Valley Fish Farms. Pretty good hunting spot and I could take all the crawdads I wanted from their strainers.

I did a search and it looks like it is still there. Bill